Pedro Perez-Sarduy -Poet, Author, Journalist
Pedro Perez-Sarduy receiving the UNESCO Victor Hugo Medal Award
Pedro Pérez-Sarduy is a poet, writer, journalist and broadcaster living in London, and has been the recipient of a number of awards.
He is the author of Surrealidad (Havana 1967), Cumbite and Other Poems (Havana 1987 and New York 1990), and his first novel, Las Criadas de La Habana (The Maids of Havana, 2003), based on his mother's life stories about pre-and post-revolutionary Havana. This is the first novel by a contemporary AfroCuban writer on family life in Cuba. His Journal in Babylon is a series of chronicles on Britain, and he has also written numerous articles. His latest book of poetry Malecón Sigloveinte (2005) has been published in Cuba.
Together with Jean Stubbs, he wrote Afro-Cuban Voices on Race and Identity in Contemporary Cuba, a book based on interviews with Afro-Cubans (living in the Island). This book is important because it is the first treatment of racial issues in contemporary Cuba that gives AfroCubans a voice. He is also co-editor with Jean Stubbs of Afro-Cuba: An Anthology of Cuban Writing on Race, Politics and Culture (1993) and co-author of the Introduction for the anthology No Longer Invisible/Afro-Latin Americans Today (1995).
In addition to writing, he has been a radio journalist since 1965, beginning with Cuban national radio as a current affairs journalist and with Cuban television on the first African and Caribbean music show. He was then with the BBC Latin American Service from 1981 to 1994.
John Comino-James - Photographer
John Comino-James was born in Somerset in 1943 and has lived in Oxfordshire since 1984. Although he is largely self-taught as a photographer, he acknowledges the benefit of a number of workshops held at The Photographer’s Place, Derbyshire where he worked with John Blakemore, Hamish Fulton, Jo Spence and Dewi Lewis. He also benefited from workshops led by Steve Pike, Judy Dater, and Chris Killip at Duckspool, Somerset.
As a member of Oxford Photography he contributed a series of portraits to the Yarnton History Project in 1993. Between 1989 and 1994 he photographed in the weekly street market at Thame Oxfordshire and in 1994 this work was published as both a book and an exhibition under the title Nearly Every Tuesday. In addition his work has been exhibited at Hillingdon Borough Libraries, Sir John Cass College, London, The Ferry Pool, Oxford, and at Radley College. It has also been included in group shows at The Crompton, Derby, The Photographers Workshop, Oxford, West Oxfordshire Arts Association, Bampton, and at The Mill, Banbury.
In 1989 John began photographing in the Fairs at Thame. From 1994 until 2002 his work was almost entirely concerned with Travelling Showmen, the photographs including not only the public face of the Fairground but also the private space of showmen’s winter quarters and family events such as weddings and christenings. In 1998 a small selection of this work was included in the exhibition FORM & FANTASY: Art and the Fairground at the Mid-Pennine Arts Gallery in Burnley, and in 2003 Fairground Attraction, a book of this work about the life of travelling showmen, was published by Dewi Lewis Publishing. In 2006 John self-published a small book on the life of Tony Spurrett, a travelling showman who he first met at the fair in Thame in 1989.
John first visited Havana in January 2002 and during a number of successive visits he made many photographs in Cayo Hueso, Centro Habana.. In 2006 some of these photographs were published in a book A Few Streets, A Few People (Pocas Calles, Pocas Personas) by Dewi Lewis Publishing. The book was launched with an exhibition at Hoopers Gallery in London.
Between 2007 and 2008 John photographed in Thame, Oxfordshire, concentrating on the small businesses that in the words of one shop owner “make Thame Market town and not a Supermarket town”. The work includes in interviews with some shopkeepers and references to the present day incarnations of the market and fairs that, with the church, led to the development of the town. This work was published as a book In a Very EnglishTown, by Dewi Lewis Publishing.
Cuban Combination - Cuban band
Cuban Combination was formed when some of London's best Latin musicians got together and decided to launch a band combining some of the finest talent from the UK and Cuba. Mixing traditional skills and repertoire with bold musical innovation 'Cuban Combination' wants to get Britain dancing. Wherever you're from, their blend of soul, son, jazz, timba, rock and reggae will hook you in.
A UK based band 'Cuban Combination' is one of the most popular Cuban dancing music bands in the UK. Their repertoire includes authentic and original compositions, as well as some of the best known Cuban songs, including some from Buena Vista Social Club, which have been carefully written and selected by Cuban musicians of great prestige. The band members include, musical director Rene Alvarez on piano and vocals, Randy Lester Hechevarria on percussion, Yuriselys Moreno as lead vocalist, Michel Castellanos on timbales and drums, Kris Kedzior on bass.
www.cubancombination.com
CubanaDanza - Cuban dance company
Cubacheche’s creation of CubanaDanza in 2009 was inspired by the love of dance evident in the large number of Cubans living in the UK, especially in London and their need for contact with the culture of their birth place. An additional incentive was the great interest in Cuban dance and culture also shown by many non-Cubans.
CubanaDanza was created to perform and teach the wide variety of styles and genres of Cuban popular and folkloric dance. This group of professional dancers, mostly Cuban and all UK-based, are all well known within their field for performances of popular and/or Afro-Cuban dance. CubanaDanza offer a visual feast in which their striking choreography, colourful costumes and intoxicating rhythms bring to life the vitality of Afro-Cuban and Cuban dance.
Their audiences can encounter the deities of the Yoruba pantheon, the Abakua diablitos and other figures of Afro-Cuban folkloric traditions, all of which influence and enrich dance and culture in Cuba today. They can also enjoy stunning displays of Cuban rumba – transported to the UK from the barrios of Havana – and be thrilled by sensational salsa choreography performed by this group of energetic and passionate dancers.
Ariel Rios Robert - Afro-Cuban dance instructor
Ariel has been the director of the Conjunto Folklorico of the University of Havana and trained at the National Arts Instructor’s School for teachers-in-training. He has seventeen years of experience as a professional dancer and international performer, specialising in contemporary, modern, Afro-Cuban, and Cuban popular dance. He has performed and choreographed for internationally renowned companies including the National Ballet of Cuba, the National Folk Company of Cuba, Isadanza and Yoruba Andabo.
His company, The Conjunto Folklorico of the University of Havana, was awarded first prize three times in the National University Festival. He has co-ordinated and choreographed national and international dance tours – some of the more renowned including the 'Caribbean Festival' in Santiago de Cuba. In addition, Ariel has taught in the National Arts Instructor’s School for teachers-in-training and written an article on “Teaching Methods” for people of different nationalities and languages.
www.afrofusiondance.com
Mestizo - Ahmed Dickinson trio
Award-winning guitarist Ahmed Dickinson and virtuoso percussionist Hammadi Rencurrell have been joined by violinist Emma Blanco to form Mestizo, a trio whose music combines traditional Cuban rhythms and styles with harmonies and melodies deeply influenced by Jazz.
Ahmed Dickinson was born in Havana. A sophisticated virtuoso on his instrument, he is a specialist in music by Cuban composers, ranging from classical works to the more contemporary Filin’ movement. His debut album won the Best Instrumental Soloist and Best Instrumental Album prizes at Cubadisco 2009. Ahmed has performed in prestigious venues across the UK and at festivals around the world.
Hammadi Rencurrell, also from Havana, is a dynamic percussionist and music teacher who has performed and taught worldwide. Hammadi was presented with a UNEAC (Cuban Union of Writers and Artists) prize at the VII Festival Internacional Percuba. Time Out (London) described him as a "Cuban percussion virtuoso".
Emma Blanco, from the UK, was appointed leader of the National Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra in 2003. She has also led the London Soloists’ Chamber Orchestra and plays with many other London-based orchestras. Emma has recorded for many artists, played on film and TV sessions, and has given live performances in prestigious venues in the UK and internationally.
Kid Afrika - Cuban urban artist
Cuban born and UK based, Kid Afrika mixes Latino rap with funky, soulful vocals, laid down over a backdrop of hip hop, reggaeton and Afro-Cuban beats. This unique fusion of poppy salsa and rumba hooks with a tight hip-hop flow, combined with his explosive live shows, have gained him the reputation of being one of the most charismatic, energetic, and talented Latin performers in Europe right now.
Arriving in London in 2003 fresh from Havana’s thriving hip hop scene, Danny Ramirez Jova, aka Kid Afrika, established himself as one of Cuba’s hottest rapping talents. Since arriving in the UK he has performed in various clubs and festivals throughout Europe and has built up a following based on the reputation of being one of the most hard-working and dynamic performers this side of the pond.
He has 3 tracks included in MTV's first feature film Transit made for the Staying Alive/Aids Awareness campaign, appears on various compilation albums, and is featured on Detroit soul sensation Amp Fiddler's single Right Where You Are remix. In 2007 he was chosen as the face to represent the Back to Roots MOBO competition sponsored by Western Union.
Recently he was asked to take part in Vivienne Westwood's Gold Label Chaos Point, a performance art catwalk show in aid of the children’s charity NSPCC. The show featured performances from members of The Royal Ballet and performance artists, and was opened by a live performance by Kid Afrika accompanied by the London Musici Orchestra.
Having just signed a deal with Avex, Japans biggest independent record label, his debut album Kid Afrika is due for release in the near future.
www.kidafrica.com
