FIU concert to highlight music of Cuba’s Wars of Independence

Concert includes musical selections not performed in 100 years

WHAT: The Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University will present the concert “Classically Cuban: The Music of the Cuban Wars of Independence,” featuring a selection of songs, marches and hymns of the late 19^th century. Researcher Emilio Cueto, who will introduce and narrate the concert, selected the music from his compilation of 800 such works. An ensemble of FIU and University of Miami musicians, under the direction of FIU Professor Armando Tranquilino, will play the selections. The concert will feature the first song composed to the Cuban flag, written by a Baltimore musician as early as 1851, as well as marches dating from Cuba’s “Ten Years’ War” (1868-1878). The bulk of the concert will consist of music written or adapted during the 1895-1898 period, preceding the establishment of the Cuban Republic in 1902. One of the highlights of the evening will be bugle calls played by Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in Santiago de Cuba.

WHEN AND WHERE: The concert will be held on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center Concert Hall, FIU-University Park, 11200 S.W. 8^th St. The event is open to the public. Tickets cost $20 for adults; $15 for seniors and students; and $10 for FIU faculty, staff and students.

WHY: Because Spanish censorship would not permit the printing of Cuban patriotic music inside the island, the production of Cuban musicians from the time period is relatively small compared to that of American composers who were sympathetic to Cubans seeking independence. Some of the compositions were never heard by Cubans and had been long-forgotten. For some of the selections, it will be the first time they have been played in a U.S. concert hall in more than 100 years.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PURCHASE TICKETS: Call the Cuban Research Institute at 305-348-1991.

Media Contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234

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About FIU:

Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.