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Since 1986 they have presented the who's who of the what’s what of Latin music.
Como No have covered every Buena Vista angle from Omara to Compay, Ibrahim to Eliades, many times over, rolled out Nu Yorica’s finest from Celia Cruz and Wilie Colon to Spanish Harlem Orchestra and they’ve sharpened the cutting edge with the UK debut’s for the likes of Gotan Project, Kinky and Orishas.
Como No have worked with the traditional from Veracruz’s Mono Blanco to Colombia’s Toto La Momposina and Peru’s Susan Baca and still there’s more to do.
They habitually promotes in a number of major London venues: Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre, Royal Albert Hall, Shepherds Bush Empire and most recently the slendour of The Round House in Camden.
But they also work in clubs, theatres, outdoors and indeed they’ll put anything on anywhere if it seems like a good idea at the time.
In the past year Como No's definitions of Latin music have extended to shows or tours by Jane Birkin’s Arabesque and Blind Boys of Alabama
NEW EVENTS
BUENAVISTA SOCIAL CLUB® Present: ELIADES OCHOA LIVE IN CONCERT Saturday 28 February 2009 7.30pm Barbican Hall | London ComoNo!!! Tickets: £15 / 22.50 / 27.50
With his trademark cowboy hat, Eliades Ochoa is one of the most instantly recognisable figures from the Buena Vista Social Club album and film. Eliades and his fine band are the custodians of Chan Chan and the rest of the Cuban guitar-led and conga driven son repertoire including songs like El Cuarto de Tula and El Carretero.
Hailing from the countryside near Santiago in the east of Cuba, Eliades Ochoa's roots are in guajira (Cuban country music)and his hat and penchant for wearing black have led some to dub him 'Cuba's Johnny Cash'.
THE VENUE
BARBICAN CENTRE
The Barbican Centre, located in the heart of the City of London is the largest multi-arts centre in Europe, featuring art, film, music, theatre, dance and education all under one roof and under one creative direction. The centre offers a wealth of conference, exhibition and banqueting space and a great choice of eating and drinking with something to please every taste.
Seating up to 1947, Barbican Hall plays host to corporate events ranging from graduations to AGM's. For slightly more compact events, Barbican Theatre with its excellent acoustics and production facilities, makes an ideal venue for product launches.
The Barbican also offers facilities for smaller events ranging in capacity from 10 to 280 delegates. Seating from 153 to 280 delegates, the three cinemas are well-appointed comfortable auditoriums suitable for the most sophisticated presentation. In addition, seven conference suites can be used for board meetings or as syndicate spaces.
Corporate hospitality packages are also available where a visit to a performance or exhibition is followed by drinks and/or dinner in our conservatory and garden room. A tropical, indoor oasis, the conservatory is home to over 2,000 species of plants, quails, finches and koi carp and offers a unique venue in the City of London.
BARBICAN CENTRE
Silk Street
London
EC2Y 8DS Nearest tube: Barbican Box Office : 020 7638 8891 Website: www.barbican.org.uk
ELIADES OCHOA
BIOGRAPHY
Eliades Ochoa - “The Last Grandmaster of the Buena Vista Social Club”
He's been called the "Cuban Johnny Cash;" and, like Cash, he's also a Grammy winner. He won his hardware from 1997's Buena Vista Social Club. In 1999, he was also nominated for his solo album, Sublime Ilusion in the category of "best traditional tropical and Latin performance" and he was later nominated in the same category for Estoy Como Nunca (Better Than Ever).
His trademark cowboy hat belies the fact that he is a 'Guajiro' (Cuban provincial) and his musical interests run along this traditional line. His repertoire includes 'son' (a quintessential Cuban sound with a shuffling accoustic beat punctuated by vocal chorus made up of a tres, bongos, claves, and maracas) guararcha (a rustic country style), bolero, changui, and Afro-Cuban music (which is based on the clave rhythm: five notes stretched over two bars). And his tres (a type of guitar) has added D and G strings to get the tres's distinctive paired-string chime.
He was born in the rural mountain village of Songo La Maya (Santiago Province) on June 11, 1946. He was a child of his father's second marriage. One of six siblings, he was the oldest boy. His older sister, Maria, appears on "Tribute To The Cuarteto Patria" and is known in Santiago as "La Dame de la Musica Campesina." She has also recorded her own album, "Asi Quiero Vivir" (This is How I Want to Live). Eliades and Maria also have three much older half-siblings from their father's first marriage.
Growing up in a musical family where both his mother and father played the tres, Ochoa picked up his tres at the the tender age of 6. At the age of 11, his mother and father were out of work; so Ochoa began playing in the prostitution district in Santiago to help support his family. He has never had formal education except from the streets of Santiago.
THE VIDEO
CHECK OUT THE FULL VIDEOS IN YOU TUBE
Ochoa has toured over 50 countries. He has collaborated with Cameroon saxophonist Manu Dibango, Americans Bob Dylan and Charlie Musselwhite, and various Cuban legends. He is the winner of not only a Grammy and two other Grammy nominations, but also many Lucas awards, several Golden Records, and various other international prizes.
PICTURES
ELIADES OCHOA CONCERT DETAILS & BOOKING
PRICES
Tickets: £15 / 22.50 / 27.50 (Saturday 28 February 2009 7.30pm) Barbican Hall | London
You can also catch Eliades Ochoa at other venues on his UK tour in February and March.
Thursday 26th February 2009, The Dome, Brighton
Sunday 1st March 2009, Colston Hall Bristol.
Wednesday 4th March 2009, The Picture House, Edinburgh.
Thursday, 5th March 2009, The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. .
