Calor Cubano is one of Cuba's premiere cabaret shows. A steamy musical revue with an unmistakable Carnival   atmosphere. Straight from the Parisien Cabaret of the world famous Hotel Nacional in Havana, get ready to Mambo, Salsa, Samba and Rumba! ......to climatic Carnival celebration!

 

Conceived as a musical voyage of the Cuban culture, the show provides a historical "tableaux" of musical influences from African and Spanish to Latin American and Caribbean. A "Hot" and "Sizzling" production with over 65 performers on stage  and more than 600 dazzling and spectacular costumes amongst them. Come spend an evening with Calor Cubano!

 

OPENING

Colonization of the Spanish in Cuba with the arrival of Queen. From the sixteenth century through the nineteenth was accompanied by the importation of large numbers of African slaves. In Cuba, many of the slaves were Yoruba, people from the part of West Africa what is now Nigeria. Far from primitive savages in their homeland, these were people from an old and sophisticated culture, and the richness and complexity of their religious beliefs reflected that.

 

The Cuban music derives mainly from Spain and Africa: from the colonizers and from the slaves whom the Spanish imported until well into the 19th Century. The indigenous people, having been mostly killed off by the 16th Century, left little mark on the musical culture. In Cuba the African population at times has exceeded the European population and the culture has been profoundly influenced by Africans and the Cuban popular music carries with it today the sounds of Africa in its rhythms, melodies, structure, and language.

 

The next transition is musical segment incorporating the use of the Batá Drums performed by African Slaves. The music of Santería, or the songs to the gods, involves the Batá drums. These are three in number, hourglass shaped with skins on both ends, and played horizontally with both hands on the laps of the sitting musicians. From large to small, they are called iyá, itótele, and okónkolo or omelé.

 

Music and Orisha

Santeria derives from Nigeria. Santeria is a magico-religious system that has its roots in nature and natural forces. Each Orisha or Saint is identified with a force of nature and with a human interest or endeavor. Through song and dance the Calor Cubano will pay tribute to a few of the Saints all associated with particular colors, which is representative of the costumes:

 

CHANGO (Red): The God of fire, thunder and lightning, but Chango is also the symbol of justice and protects his followers against enemies. Chango symbolizes passion and virility and is often invoked in works of seduction.

 

OSHUN (Green): Symbolizes river waters, love and marriage. She is essentially the archetype of joy and pleasure.

 

ELEGGUA: (Red & Black) Known for his mischievous behavior and childlike appearance. As guardian of the gate he protects people's homes and controls their destinies. His colors are black and red.

 

YEMAYA (Blue, White & Silver): Is identified with the seven seas, but is also the symbol of Motherhood and protects women in their endeavors. Eleggua symbolizes the crossroads and is the Orisha of change and destiny, the One who makes things possible or impossible. He symbolizes the balance of things.

 

OBATALA (White): King of White Cloth. The father of all Orisha, the symbol of peace and purity.

 

INTERGRATION

The mixture of the two races Spanish and African gave birth to the Cuban people and their cultural expressions and depicted in the show by a sensual and passionate dance. The integration of the races black and white also gave birth to the “Mulatto” group that’s very prevalent in Cuba.

 

MUSICAL STYLES

The show takes you on a journey of the various musical styles that were originated in Cuba and it a key element in the Cuban culture. Music is a way of life and form of expression the essence of the spirit of its people.

 

Rumba

Having flourished as a Cuban-flavored commercial dance-music import in the Americas and Europe starting in the 1930s and continuing through the early 1960s, rumba on its native soil began as and continues to be informal, street dance music popular in lower-class urban black neighbourhoods. Usually, three conga drums, a pair of palitos, a clave, and a lead vocalist and chorus (who sing in call-and-response fashion) accompany one or two dancers (the number depending on the style).

 

Bolero

A sentimental, danceable song genre originating in Cuba in the early 20th century, now popular throughout the Spanish Caribbean.

 

Salsa

Similar to Mambo in that both have a pattern of six steps danced over eight counts of music.

 

Contradanza

A 19th-century Cuban salon and popular dance and music genre.  Although rhythmically tame by contemporary Afro-Cuban standards, the contradanza was scandalously syncopated for its time because it represented one of the earliest obvious entrances of African rhythm into Cuban music salons which had until then been a venue for strictly European forms like waltzes, quadrilles and schottisches.

 

Habanera

The muescendant of the contradanza, the habanera or contradanza habanera (Havana-style contradanza), the habanera's distinguishing musical feature is its short, repeating 2/4 rhythmic figure in the bass line.

 

Chachca

Medium-tempo dance music in 4/4 that originated around 1953 in the charangas of Havana. A laid-back, simplified mambo.

 

Songo

A modern Afro-Cuban dance-music style originating in Havana, popularized in the 1970s by the group Los Van Van. Songo

 

FINALE

A Carnival parade and celebration of LIFE and Cuba’s evolution and history. The entire cast with the crowd participation symbolizes the harmony between all people of the world!