| Format: | LP |
| Availability: | Out of stock |
VAMPI259
03/06/2022
In 1956, the percussionist and composer from Guantanamo, Elio Reve, founded the orchestra popularly known as La Reve, which in the space of a few years became the Cuban music group par excellence for foreign audiences. Elio, dubbed the father of chang¸Ì for his seminal work on this genre, is also considered one of the forerunners of salsa music and his orchestra included musicians of the stature of vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer; pianists Chucho Valdes, Cesar Pedroso and Juan Carlos Alfonso; and bass guitarist Juan Formell, who left the group in 1969 to form Los Van Van. Acting as an artistic ambassador for Cuba, the Orquesta Reve made several tours abroad in the seventies, traveling to countries such as Spain, Belgium and the People's Republic of Angola, and these journeys are well documented on the internet. However, little is known about their trip to Peru in 1971 The local record label MAG quickly signed the Cuban groups that arrived in the Peruvian capital and that the head of the label, Manuel Guerrero, agreed to record. The La Reve LP was followed by a Los Compadres album the following year. De Habana a Lima... comprises a dozen songs labeled chang¸is, mostly written by Cuban composers, the exception being the closing track: 'Domingas', an original song by Brazilian artist Jorge Ben. In contrast, the album opens with the distinctly Cuban song 'Guajira guantanamera'. Quite an invisible record even for hardcore collectors, and almost impossible to find in any condition, De Habana a Lima is now reissued for the first time.
