Arturo Sandoval has earned a special national honor…
The 74-year-old Cuban jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero and composer will be among this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients.
Sandoval will be recognized alongside director Francis Ford Coppola, rock band Grateful Dead, blues and rock singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt and the venue The Apollo.
While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his friend and mentor and helped him defect from Cuba while on tour with the United Nations Orchestra. Sandoval became an American naturalized citizen in 1998.
His life was the subject of the film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story starring Andy García.
Sandoval has won 10 Grammy Awards, Billboard Awards and one Emmy Award. He performed at the White House and at the 1995 Super Bowl.
Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir will be recognized for The Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, died in 1995.
The ceremony will take place on December 8, for broadcast on December 23 on CBS.
This will be the 47th year of the honors, which started in 1978. It’s one of the premiere cultural events of the year in D.C., typically attended by the president and first lady, as well as the chief justice of the Supreme Court and congressional leaders. President Joe Biden has hosted the recipients at a White House ceremony and reception just before the Kennedy Center event. The night before, the State Department also hosts a ceremony for the honorees.
Done+Dusted will produce the ceremony for the third year, in association with ROK Productions.
The first Kennedy Center honorees were Marian Anderson, Fred Astaire, George Balanchine, Richard Rodgers and Arthur Rubinstein.
Jencarlos Canela is dedicating his latest single to his homeland…
The 34-year-old Cuban singer/actor has joined voices with Yotuel and Arturo Sandoval to sing for the freedom of Cuba. Together they’ve released the new single “Sueño,” via Alkatraks Music Group.
“I know that we’re about to meet again/ And build what we have dreamed of/ Wait for me in the same place/ Wait for me that there is little left to hug each other,” go part of the lyrics in Spanish, which also includes the line “Patria y Vida” from Yotuel’s Latin Grammy-winning song of the same name.
The moving track comes with a music video that combines images of the artists and others clad in white embracing on the beach.
“Dream, that’s my dream/ A dream that is our dream/ A dream of freedom,” the song ends.
Ana Golja’s latest project is headed to the big screen in a special way…
The S.N.A.P. Films Inc. production The Cuban, starring the 24-year-old part-Spanish Canadian actress, will play at Ontario’s Sunset Barrie Drive-in Theatre on Tuesday, August 11.
The film, the third feature from director Sergio Navarretta co-starring legendary Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr., follows the film’s 2019/2020 festival run, including a World Premiere at the Whistler Film Festival, where the film won a Borsos Award for Cinematography, followed by a U.S. premiere in February at the Pan African Film + Arts Festival, where the film won both a Special Programmers Award and the coveted Audience Favorite for Feature Narrative Award.
The Cuban, which Golja produced, had originally been slated to open theatrically in April, but like all film and cultural events had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, following a successful and warmly received screening as part of the virtual edition of the Canadian Film Festival on Super Channel, the filmmakers and team at A71 have decided to bring the film to Canadian audiences.
The drive-in release is a natural follow-up to the film’s Toronto premiere event on July 20, opening the Lavazza Drive-In Film Festival presented by the Italian Contemporary Film Festival.
The Cuban is a touching story of a friendship that blossoms through music and the power of the imagination – and the film is incredibly topical at a moment that the world has its eyes on the realities of long-term care.
A naive pre-med student named Mina (Golja) gets her first job in a nursing home and meets an elderly Cuban jazz musician named Luis (Gossett). When the young woman realizes music triggers Luis’ memories, she uses it to break him out of his dementia and to create moments of lucidity and joy.
At the heart of The Cuban is music. In the film, music dissolves the boundaries of age, ethnicity, gender, culture and politics. It bridges the present with the past and has the power to trigger memory and awaken long-forgotten emotions. Afro-Cuban Jazz, permeates The Cuban, drawing in the audience in the same way it draws in the characters. It brings vibrancy and joy to a previously stale environment and it triggers the pulsating, sensuous and colorful world of Luis’ own imagination.
The film’s incredible soundtrack was composed by multi Juno Award winner and Grammy nominated artist, Hilario Duran. Duran grew up and received his musical training in Havana and has since gone on to work with legendary musicians like Chucho Valdes, Dizzy Gillespie and Arturo Sandoval. He is a widely respected piano virtuoso on the international jazz scene.
In addition to Golja and Gossett, The Cuban also stars Shohreh Aghdashloo, Lauren Holly and Giacomo Gianniotti.
“We are extremely excited to finally be bringing this beautiful and affecting drama to drive-in theatres this summer”, says A71 CEO, Justin Rebelo. “Sergio Navarretta has crafted a thoughtful and moving film with a powerful central performance from one of the truly great actors of our time, Louis Gossett Jr., surrounded by an incredible cast of Canadian and international stars. Another star of the film is the incredible original score by Afro-Cuban artist Hilario Duran. The warmth and lyricism of the music feels like a perfect fit for a hot summer drive-in experience.”
The Cuban was written by Alessandra Piccione and lensed by Celiana Cardenas.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has released its annual list of invitations to join the organization, with the 26-year-old Mexican actress and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples among the 819 extended an invite.
Aparicio, one of Timemagazine’s100 most influential people in the world in 2019,earned an Oscar nod in the Best Actress category for her performance in Alfonso Cuarón‘s 2018 Spanish-language drama Roma. With the nomination for her actig debut, she became the first Indigenous American woman and the second Mexican woman to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
But Aparcio isn’t the only Latino/a to make the list…
Other invitees in the Actors branch include Bobby Cannavale, who appeared in The Irishman, Overboard’s Eva Longoria, Knives Out star Ana de Armas and Gringo actor Yul Vazquez.
Invitees in the Music branch include Andrea Guerra (Hotel Rwanda) and Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, who worked on the music for Clint Eastwood’s films Richard Jewell and The Mule.
The Directors branch sent out invitations to Latino filmmakers Icíar Bolláin (Spanish), Felipe Cazals (Mexican), Sebastián Cordero (Ecuadorian), Luis Estrada (Mexican), Alejandro Landes (Colombian-Ecuadorian),Jorge Alí Triana (Colombian) and Andrés Wood (Chilean).
This year’s new class demonstrates The Academy’s commitment to erasing the stigma of not being inclusive, particularly in terms of women, international members and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities.
The organization reports this year’s class breakdown is 49% international, 45% women, and 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial.
The overwhelming number of those invited to join the Academy end up accepting.
The total active membership in 2019 was 8,946, with 8,733 eligible to vote. Total membership including active, voting and retired was 9,794. Today’s additions will take the membership count past the 10,000 mark.
AMPAS says members can voluntarily disclose their race/ethnicity, sex or can choose “prefer not to.” So, demo stats may not be 100% accurate. AMPAS also “recognizes and respects” the personal choice in identification, but doesn’t track LGBTQ+ or differently abled, although a source says, while protecting privacy and not forcing answers, they are “working towards it.” In other words this is no longer your father’s Academy.
“We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “We are committed to staying the course.”
“The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travelers in the motion picture arts and sciences. We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now,” said Academy President David Rubin.
Here’s a look at some of this year’s Latino invitees:
Actors Yalitza Aparicio – “Roma” Bobby Cannavale – “The Irishman,” “The Station Agent” Ana de Armas – “Knives Out,” “Blade Runner 2049” Eva Longoria – “Overboard,” “Harsh Times” Yul Vazquez – “Gringo,” “Last Flag Flying”
Casting Directors Libia Batista – “Eres Tú Papá?,” “Viva” Javier Braier – “The Two Popes,” “Wild Tales” Eva Leira – “Pain and Glory,” “Biutiful” Yesi Ramirez – “The Hate U Give,” “Moonlight” Yolanda Serrano – “Pain and Glory,” “Biutiful”
Directors Icíar Bolláin – “Even the Rain,” “Take My Eyes” Felipe Cazals – “El Año de la Peste,” “Canoa: A Shameful Memory” Sebastián Cordero – “Europa Report,” “Crónicas” Luis Estrada – “The Perfect Dictatorship,” “Herod’s Law” Alejandro Landes – “Monos,” “Porfirio” Jorge Alí Triana – “Bolívar Soy Yo,” “A Time to Die” Andrés Wood – “Araña,” “Violeta Went to Heaven”
Documentary Cristina Amaral – “Um Filme de Verão (A Summer Film),” “Person” Violeta Ayala – “Cocaine Prison,” “The Bolivian Case” Julia Bacha – “Naila and the Uprising,” “Budrus” Almudena Carracedo – “The Silence of Others,” “Made in L.A.” Paola Castillo – “Beyond My Grandfather Allende,” “Genoveva” Paz Encina – “Memory Exercises,” “Paraguayan Hammock” Mariana Oliva – “The Edge of Democracy,” “Piripkura” Iván Osnovikoff – “Los Reyes,” “La Muerte de Pinochet (The Death of Pinochet)” Tiago Pavan – “The Edge of Democracy,” “Olmo and the Seagull” Bettina Perut – “Los Reyes,” “La Muerte de Pinochet (The Death of Pinochet)” Marta Rodriguez – “Our Voice of Earth, Memory and Future,” “Campesinos (Peasants)”
Executives Ozzie Areu Barbara Peiro Frank Rodriguez Mimi Valdes
Film Editors Alejandro Carrillo Penovi – “Heroic Losers,” “The Clan” Alex Marquez – “Snowden,” “Savages”
Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Mari Paz Robles – “I Dream in Another Language,” “Cantinflas” David Ruiz Gameros – “Tear This Heart Out,” “Amores Perros” Susana Sánchez – “The Liberator,” “Goya’s Ghosts”
Marketing and Public Relations Inma Carbajal-Fogel Emmanuelle Castro Fernando Garcia Dustin M. Sandoval
Music Andrea Guerra – “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Hotel Rwanda” Arturo Sandoval – “Richard Jewell,” “The Mule”
Producers Edher Campos – “Sonora, the Devil’s Highway,” “The Golden Dream” Nicolas Celis – “Roma,” “Tempestad” Alex Garcia – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Desierto” Enrique López Lavigne – “The Impossible,” “Sex and Lucia” Álvaro Longoria – “Everybody Knows,” “Finding Altamira” Mónica Lozano – “I Dream in Another Language,” “Instructions Not Included” Gabriela Maire – “Las Niñas Bien (The Good Girls),” “La Caridad (Charity)” Luis Manso – “Champions,” “Binta and the Great Gabriela Rodríguez – “Roma,” “Gravity” Mar Targarona – “Secuestro (Boy Missing),” “The Orphanage” Luis Urbano – “Letters from War,” “Tabu”
Production Design Sandra Cabriada – “Instructions Not Included,” “The Mexican” Estefanía Larraín – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Neruda”
Short Films and Feature Animation José David Figueroa García – “Perfidia,” “Ratitas” Oscar Grillo – “Monsters, Inc.,” “Monsieur Pett” Otto Guerra – “City of Pirates,” “Wood & Stock: Sexo, Orégano e Rock’n’Roll” Isabel Herguera – “Winter Love,” “Under the Pillow” Summer Joy Main-Muñoz – “Don’t Say No,” “La Cerca” Juan Pablo Zaramella – “Luminaris,” “The Glove”
Sound David Esparza – “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Equalizer”
Visual Effects Leandro Estebecorena – “The Irishman,” “Kong: Skull Island”
Members-at-Large Daniel Molina Carlos Morales Jesse Torres
Camila Cabello is Havana great time at the Grammys…
The 21-year-old Cuban and Mexican singer kicked off the 2019 Grammy Awards with flash and style, and a show-opening blast of Latin pop saborduring a steamy performance of “Havana” that included J Balvin, Ricky Martin, Young Thug and legendary Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.
The performance, which included cameos from her abuela, sister and parents, opened with a brightly colored set dressed to look like a street in Cuba, serving as an homage to the jams that took place on the patio at Cabello’s grandmother’s childhood home in Havana.
With extras scattered about dancing, banging on improvised percussion, playing dice and hanging on the corner, Cabello — wearing a yellow skirt and matching bikini top that echoed the hue of her dress in the “Havana” video — stripped off a red robe as a friend primped her inside a pink-lit bedroom.
Making her way to a green room next door, Cabello threw in some Spanglish riffs as the neighbor downstairs banged on the ceiling, even as the singer made her way down a fire escape to join a group of dancers in primary colored dresses swinging colorful bandanas. Dropping a yellow one, Cabello caught the attention of Thug, who strolled up in bejeweled tux with silver boots for a verse backed by a group of loose-hipped male and female dancers.
The street jam heated up as Martin shimmied out in a white suit and spun Cabello around and the stage exploded in a riot of sensual salseros. Sandoval took a bleating solo, segueing smoothly into J Balvin’s spotlight, which opened with him sitting on a park bench reading a paper with the pointed headline “Build Bridges Not Walls.”
J Balvin, wearing a red track suit, asked where his people were in Spanish, as he joined Cabello and Martin center stage to soak in the the standing ovation.
“Havana (Live)” was up for best pop solo performance tonight, though Cabello lost to Lady Gaga.
The Recording Academy has announced that the 47-year-old Puerto Rican superstar will take the stage during this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony.
Martin, a two-time Grammy winner, will join Camila Cabelloduring her show opening number.
In addition to Martin, J Balvin, Young Thugand Arturo Sandovalare also expected to appear alongside Cabello, a two-time nominee this year.
Additionally, the show will feature a special tribute to eight-time Grammywinner, Dolly Parton, who will also take to the stage for the first time in 18 years to perform her new music.
Set to perform the iconic country star’s classic hits will be Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Townand Maren Morris. Parton will then take center stage to sing her latest tunes from her 2018 album, Dumplin’— the soundtrack to Netflix’s original motion picture by the same name starring Jennifer Aniston.
Previously announced artists performing during the biggest night in music include Cardi B, Dan + Shay, H.E.R., Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, Janelle Monáe,Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Diana Ross.
Hosted by Alicia Keys, the 61st Annual Grammy Awards will take place live from the Staples Center on Sunday, February 10 at 8:00 pm ET, and will be broadcast live on CBS.
The 67-year-old Cuban jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer’s bullfighting song, “La Virgen de la Macarena,” continues its olé-worthy run on Billboard’s Latin Digital Songs chart.
Sparked by the 2003 track’s use an iPhone 7 ad, it currently ranks No. 2 on the chart, right behind right behind Shakira and Maluma’s hit “Chantaje.”
The Apple spot, “Dive,” was shot in Barcelona and features a virile man of a certain age who bears a winking resemblance to Pablo Picasso, who continued to seduce young muses in his senior years.
The week before the Apple ad debuted in early November, Sandoval’s “La Virgin de la Macarena” sold 5 downloads. In the commercial’s first week, the track sold 1,362 downloads.
The song had 35,000 Shazam tags in November, and a total of 6,000 downloads sold and 83,000 streams.
“La Virgen de la Macarena,” also known popularly as “the bullfighting song,” is a classic paso doble, a rousing piece of sonic bravura synonymous with the bullring. Written by Spanish composers Bernardo Bautista and Antonio Ortiz, it has been covered by artists including Paco de Lucia, Trio Los Panchos, Maynard Ferguson and Canadian Brass, but was first widely popularized through a recording of the piece by Mexican trumpeter Rafael Mendez.
The Virgen de la Macarena of the song is a statue of the Virgin Mary that resides in the cathedral in Seville, Spain. La Macarena has historically been closely associated with matadors and bullfighting. In 1920, the Virgen was dressed all in black to mourn the famous bullfighter Joselito, who died after being gored in the ring.
Sandoval’s version of “La Virgen de la Macarena” was included on his 2003 album Trumpet Evolution, an homage to great jazz trumpet players that also includes the Chet Baker classic “My Funny Valentine” and “’Round Midnight.” The album was released by Emilio Estefan’s Crescent Moon label.
“La Virgen De La Macarena” had its biggest week in the time frame ending November 24, when the song sold 2,200 downloads, a 96 percent increase from the week prior. It was streamed 23,000 times, an 84 percent increase from the week before.
The latest chart (for week of January 21) marks the track’s peak at no. 2 on the Latin Digital Song Sales chart, with 3,013 downloads.
The “Dive” ad currently has over 4 1/2 million views on YouTube, and thanks to Apple, new fans of “La Virgen de la Macarena” who may have never been anywhere near a bullring have discovered its brassy, dramatic appeal.
“I’m playing this song right before I do anything!” wrote one customer in the comments on the song’s Amazon Music page.
Here’s your chance to learn from living legend Arturo Sandoval…
The 65-year-old Cuban jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer is among the masters scheduled to teach at the Wallis Annenberg Center.
Sandoval, was the subject of the 2000 television film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, starring Andy García, will serve as an artistic advisor to the Center, where he’ll teach master classes open to the public and take part in other activities on the campus.
Sandoval, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, will be joined by Broadway diva Patti LuPone and Oscar– and Tony-winning actor Denzel Washington, among others.
“We are proud to welcome five extraordinary Artistic Advisors to The Wallis for the upcoming season,” Patricia Wolff, interim artistic director, said in announcing the lineup. “These are artists who define excellence in theater, dance and music. They are not just advisors in name but will participate in the season with a focus on education.”
Sandoval’s master classes, which will be open to the public, will take place on October 27.
All events will take place in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.
Prince Royce will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House…
The 24-year-old Dominican American singer-songwriter will join Gloria Estefan, Arturo Sandoval and other musicians to bring their Latin sounds to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next week.
The latest “In Performance at the White House” program will be taped on Monday and will showcase Latin music during Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place from September 15-October 15.
In addition to Prince Royce, Estefan and Sandoval, the White House says Ricky Martin, Lila Downs, Raul Malo, Romeo Santos, Alejandro Sanz, Natalie Cole and Marco Antonio Solis also are expected to join President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to help highlight a variety of styles of Latin music.
The first lady also will host a workshop for area students on the history of Latin music on Monday afternoon.
The entire program will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov on Monday. It will be also broadcast by PBS stations nationwide on October 8.
Mario Molina has earned a major presidential honor…
The 70-year-old Mexican chemist and environmental scientist has been named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Molina, the first Mexican-born citizen to ever receive a Nobel Prize in chemistry, joins a list of 16 individuals that includes jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, veteran Washington Post journalist Ben Bradlee, former President Bill Clinton and country singer Loretta Lynn.
The award established 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy is the country’s highest civilian honor given to Americans who’ve made contributions “to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
Molina, one of the most prominent precursors to the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, has received several awards and honors throughout his career, sharing the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry with Paul J. Crutzen for their discovery of the role of chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFCs) in ozone depletion.
Molina had been assigned by President Barack Obama to form part of the transition team on environmental issues.
He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science.
This year’s other honorees include: baseball player Ernie Banks, Senator Daniel Inouye (posthumous), Nobel Prize-winning scholar Daniel Kahneman, Senator Richard Lugar, astronaut Sally Ride (posthumous), civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (posthumous), ex-UNC basketball coach Dean Smith, Gloria Steinem, civil rights leader Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian, and Judge Patricia Wald.
“The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” said President Obama. “This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world. It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation’s gratitude.”
Sandoval will be recognized alongside director Francis Ford Coppola, rock band Grateful Dead, blues and rock singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt and the venue The Apollo.
