If Cuba and Canada seem like an unlikely connection, you havenB次元官网网址檛 lent your ear to the sounds of Adonis Puentes.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 no secret that the music from Brazil, the music from the United States and the music from Cuba is the strongest popular music in this part of life that we are living,B次元官网网址� says the musician. B次元官网网址淎nd itB次元官网网址檚 been like that for more than a century.B次元官网网址�
So, how does the son of a famous Cuban musician end up calling Victoria home? B次元官网网址淚t was my destiny,B次元官网网址� he says.
In 1995, Puentes, with his twin brother Alexis (who performs today as Alex Cuba) and their father Valentin Puentes, brought their Cuban sound to Canada, touring from Victoria to Halifax.
B次元官网网址淢usicians and people in sports are the people who get to see the planet in Cuba,B次元官网网址� he says. He fell in love, both with a woman and with the country, particularly the Island city where he first took the Canadian stage.
The Juno award-winning artist will celebrate 20 years of fusing his Cuban heritage with his Canadian journey this Thursday night (March 29), backed by Voice of Cuba Orchestra at the Capital Ballroom.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an incredible opportunity to play in Victoria in the way I want to,B次元官网网址� he says, referring to the B次元官网网址淎+ bandB次元官网网址� of Cuban musicians heB次元官网网址檚 lined up for what is both a live show and salsa dancing competition that kicks off with lessons for beginners.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not every day that I have the opportunity to show up with the most powerful guns to put on a great show,B次元官网网址� says Puentes, who will also celebrate his birthday that night.
Dicen, his new album, has been called a B次元官网网址渕odern Cuban music masterpiece,B次元官网网址� but for Puentes, itB次元官网网址檚 just another snapshot of where heB次元官网网址檚 at artistically. Recorded in L.A., under the tutelage of producer Oscar Hernandez, itB次元官网网址檚 the first record of original music from Puentes in almost a decade.
He doesnB次元官网网址檛 refer to the collection as songs, but revelations; each a different mood, a separate state of mind. A Cuban artist making music in a relatively small city on a Canadian island might seem counterintuitive, but Puentes doesnB次元官网网址檛 see it that way.
B次元官网网址淵ou can be in the biggest city in the world, but you still have to move, because you are pursuing original music,B次元官网网址� he explains. Having worked with some of the best producers and musicians in places like L.A., Miami, and New York, itB次元官网网址檚 Island life that has given Puentes a space to be himself, to explore his voice.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the only place where I can drive for hours without using GPS,B次元官网网址� he jokes.
His records are picking up steam in Latin American countries like Colombia and Peru B次元官网网址� even China.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 that ingredient of making you dance. The music is geared toward the dancer, so thereB次元官网网址檚 no need for English.B次元官网网址�
Cuba is one of the few places on the planet where people are still living life through music, he says. He visits often, if nothing else to immerse himself in the music he grew up with, providing the foundation for the journey heB次元官网网址檚 taken since.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 beyond the songs I write, itB次元官网网址檚 beyond my voice,B次元官网网址� Puentes says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 more [about] passing the point of view and the concepts of a Cuban musician. ItB次元官网网址檚 my musical house. The voice of Cuba is a musical house.B次元官网网址�
Tickets for the March 29 show are $22, available online at . For more on Adonis Puentes, visit him online at .
