Miami, Jan. 3, 2022 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center presents the next Little Havana Social Club event, Tambores, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22. Tambores is a journey through the Americas celebrating its African-rooted music and dance traditions, from the Caribbean to the River Plate. The event will conclude with a parade inside the Koubek Center.
Featuring groups from the Ivory Coast, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Uruguay, Tambores celebrates the drumming tradition present in the Americas and the Caribbean, from one of its African sources through the different variants, shaped by geography, economics, religious beliefs and colonial history. Drums are the beating heart of music created to dance, celebrate, and speak to the heavens.
Featured artists will include YORUBA ROOTS, a Cuban ensemble featuring a trio of the hourglass-shaped batá drums used in the ritual music of La Regla de Ocha, the Afro-Cuban religion commonly known as Santería. The group comprises René Pedroso, a musician with more than 25 years of experience with the National Folkloric Group of Cuba, on the iyá (the “mother” drum), Manuel Clua (itótele), and Michael Gil (okónkolo), with Demian El Buddha (voice), and guest artists Eduardo Rodriguez and Arsenio Diaz.
Haitian drumming group DJAWENTO features singer and songwriter Inez Barlatier that highlights the essential influence of West African drumming on Yanvalou, Djoumba, Petwo, Tara and Kongo, traditional Haitian drumming rhythms. This music is both great fun and profound, part of carnival and religious ceremonies.
Inspired by the Mandingo people part of the Mali Empire, SON MANDINGA is a group comprised of brothers Andrés and Guillermo Schloeter that celebrates the African-rooted sounds of their birthplace Aragua, on the North-Central coast of Venezuela. The country received enslaved Africans since 1570 from Cape Verde, Guinea and other nations, including, later on, in the 19th century, Yorubas, members of the same group brought to Cuba and Brazil.
Meanwhile, the 12-piece group TOCANDO CANDOMBE, founded in Miami in 2014, plays candombe, an irresistible street music and dance that emerged in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. The group features eight drummers playing three different-sized drums, each with a specific role, and four dancers.
Lastly, the event will highlight DJIAN TIÉ, a percussion and dance ensemble from the Ivory Coast led by Orlando-based choreographer and drummer Djian Tié. Born in Ivory Coast, Djian Tié began his career at age 4. By age 16, he formed his first dance company, which won Ivory Coast’s 1993 National Dance Competition. His choreographic skills span from traditional African styles to hip-hop. Since arriving in the United States in 1999, Djian Tié has performed and taught African dance and drumming for many prestigious organizations and universities.
Venezuelan-born DJ Mr. Pauer will once again host Little Havana Social Club. A knowledgeable and creative music producer, Mr. Pauer has long worked with African-rooted rhythms in his distinctive tradition-meets-technology style and is a perfect emcee to bring us all along through this musical journey, following the drum.
The Little Havana Social Club program channels the spirit of a fiesta de barrio (neighborhood party), informed by the many sounds and flavors of Latin American and Caribbean traditions but with a twist of contemporary Miami.
WHAT: Little Havana Social Club – Tambores
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Koubek Center
2705 SW 3rd St
Tickets: $15 purchased online in advance, $20 at the door
Tickets sales: https://bpt.me/5324133
About the Koubek Center
A South Florida landmark with a long and rich history as a cultural hub, The Koubek Center is dedicated to building community through the arts. Over the past several decades, the Center has offered a variety of activities including workshops, art exhibitions, theater performances, literary readings, and concerts. It is a place for artists and local arts organizations to explore and experiment, engage in collaborations, and share their work with the community. The Koubek Center includes a 200-seat theater, an expansive garden, classrooms, and rehearsal and multi-use spaces. Built in 1929 by Austrian trader John J. Koubek as a gift to his wife, it was later donated to the University of Miami and acquired by Miami Dade College in 2011. For more information, visit www.koubekcenter.org.