Erik Alejandro Rodriguez, who performs as Cimafunk, is a prominent figure in a rising generation of Cuban artists, and his fusions of Afro-Cuban musical traditions with funk, hip-hop, and African rhythms have a fresh and uplifting vibe. Rodriguez’s stage name comes from the Spanish word cimarrón, which translates to “wild” or “untamed” and in the […]
Tag: Cuba
Posted inMusic
HotHouse meets Havana on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured gig poster was designed for the HotHouse by graphic designer and photographer Shelley Hiam.
Posted inMusic
Roberto Fonseca blends the sounds of past and present into dynamic Afro-Cuban jazz
I had a chance to see Roberto Fonseca play at the 2015 Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, in a duo collaboration with Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara. In his thrilling, visceral performance, the Havana-born musician, composer, and bandleader embodied the multifarious musicality of Cuba’s best jazz pianists. Blessed with access to the island’s […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Asylum City
The harrowing stories of six asylum seekers who now call Chicago home
Posted inFood & Drink
Mima’s is where Cubs go for Cuban
Lincolnwood’s erstwhile Taste of Cuba has relaunched in Irving Park.
Posted inArts & Culture
In Dolores Prida’s semiautobiographical play Casa Propia, a Cuban immigrant family deals with home ownership
Director Sándor Menéndez creates an adult fairy tale, complete with songs.
Posted inBlogs
Moonlight, Major Lazer, and midwestern Devo heads: music stories making the rounds on the Web
The Reader‘s weekly look at music stories we didn’t publish ourselves
Posted inBlogs
Murders, shootings, and robberies are on the rise downtown and other Chicago news
Also, don’t expect to fly directly from Chicago to Havana any time soon.
Posted inBlogs
Hey, Mayor Rahm, reopen the mental health clinics!
Looking to blame someone or something for the failures of his reign, Mayor Rahm discovers “mental health crises” four years after he closed mental health clinics in low-income, high-crime neighborhoods.
Posted inBlogs
George Klauba’s new exhibit recalls love in the time of revolution
A series of paintings look back on a brief affair in Cold War-era Cuba.
Posted inBlogs
Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes salutes his old group Irakere
His young, current band Afro-Cuban Messengers celebrates the music he first made four decades ago.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago theater director Lisa Portes on dealing with actor freak-outs
Director Lisa Portes spearheaded the Carnaval of New Latina/o Work at DePaul happening July 23-25.
Posted inBlogs
White Sox closing deal with Jose Abreu, their next superstar—or next big bust
Will the Cuban slugger with no big-league experience be worth $68 million?
Posted inBlogs
The American-Cuban project Ninety Miles sans Cuba
Ninety Miles play Symphony Center Friday without the Cuban half of their American-Cuban collaboration
Posted inBlogs
Things you should read: David Grann’s “The Yankee Comandante”
Spending an hour or two with David Grann’s “The Yankee Comandante”