President Barack Obama is out of office, but the long-overdue and meaningful process of normalization between the U.S. and Cuba he began, though challenged, lives on through the Harlem/Havana Music and Cultural Festival during Harlem Week.
The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce — in concert with the Congressional Black Caucus, Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo — has continued the sentiment of Obama’s initiative. And though the current U.S. administration seems intent on eviscerating the Obama legacy, the bountiful relationship between Harlem, U.S.A., and Havana, Cuba, irrefutably still exists.
During Harlem Week 2017, from Aug. 12 through Aug. 23, there will be opportunities to experience the vitality that has given Cuba such a commanding place among world cultures. This year’s Harlem/Havana events and activities will show that a positive beginning has morphed into a most promising plateau.
That promise flowered recently when Voza Rivers, first vice chairman of Harlem Week, recounted the success of last year’s venture. The renowned producer and cultural maven noted that Harlem/Havana will continue this year during Harlem Week with a series of outdoor and indoor events in cooperation with Jazzmobile, Harlem Summer Stage and Harlem restaurants.
The Harlem/Havana International Art and Photography Exhibit runs through Oct. 30 at the Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion, 512 Malcolm X Blvd. at W. 136th St., featuring works from Cuba master artist Eduardo (Choco) Roca Salazar, Elio Vilva-Trujillo and Manuel Mendive, courtesy of the Center for Cuban Studies.
Oscar Abreu will be representing the Dominican Republic in the exhibit. Harlem conributions include works by master artist Ademola Olugebefola, Grace Williams, JaSon Auguste and artworks from the private collection of Stephanie Francis, along with photographs from Geoffrey Eaton, Wayne Benjamin, and Debbie Jackson.
People taking advantage of Restaurant Week in Harlem, which runs through Aug. 19, can enjoy great Cuban cuisine, beverages and special discounts. Food and drink from Cuba is always front and center at Floridita Cuban Restaurant, a fixture in Harlem for 48 years at 2276 12th Ave at 125th St.
On Friday, the restaurant features performances by Havana’s Cesar Lopez and Harlem’s Joey Morant, at 7 p.m.
Today, the Jazzmobile’s Summerfest’s HARLEM/HAVANA tribute stars Cubaans Cesar Lopez and Obini Bata at U.S. Grant National Memorial Park, Riverside Drive (at W. 122nd St.) starting at 7 p.m.
Tomorrow, the Harlem/Havana Salute to Afro-Cuban/Latin Jazz Night will be held at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, 163 W. 125th St., starting at 5:30 p.m. The Summer Stage in Harlem event is being held in partnership with the Jazzmobile organization.
Tim Porter Trio and Jorge Luis Pacheco Y Su Grupo of Cuba join in a night of music and cultural exchange at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, 58 W. 129th St. (between Malcolm X Blvd and Fifth Ave.) on Friday, at 7 p.m. A Q&A discussion with the artists follows the performances.
At Harlem Week’s Summer in the City festivities on Saturday, there will be a Salute to Cuba with Cesar Lopez, from Cuba, R&B star Johnny Gill from Harlem, along with Harlem/Havana fashions, all on the stage at W. 135th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. at 4 p.m.
The music of Cuba — and its generations-old bond with American jazz — will be honored on Aug. 20 at the Harlem Week’s Harlem Day.
Latin jazz pioneer Chano Pozo, a multitalented percussionist, singer, dancer and composer, will be saluted along with influential jazz trumpeter and bandleader Dizzy Gillespie as jazz music history makers during a Harlem Week/Harlem Music Fest event on the Fifth Ave. stage, at W. 135th St., from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will also be Cuban musicians and dancers and R&B musical theater on the stage, as well as hip-hop and gospel performances.
The historic ties between Afro-Cuban jazz and the various rhythmic styles that grew from indigenous Cuban music have for generations held universal appeal.
Perhaps the only way you could top what occurs during Harlem Week is to go to Havana, as Rep. Charles Rangel did last year.
Cuomo led a state trade mission to Cuba in April of 2015. In 2016, Rangel traveled to Havana with a Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce delegation that included Rivers and GHCC President and CEO Lloyd Williams.
While in Havana, the now-retired congressman helped arrange meetings with senior officials of the Cuban government on trade, business and tourism.
“I am urging Congress to take action that will allow communities like ours to benefit from the current policy changes taking place between the U.S. and Cuba,” Rangel said then.
