The Cuban Music Festival “SABOR de mi CUBA” will be held on January 23 next year in Space Denega (Kamigawara-cho, Hirosaki City).

This is an event where dancers and performers active in Japan and overseas can experience traditional and popular music such as song, rumba, and salsa, which are popular in Cuba, as well as familiar music. In addition to a dance space and cafe space, the venue will also have a space for selling small items associated with Cuba.

Mr. Yoshitaka Akaishi, chairman of the executive committee, who is the organizer, is currently a salsa dancer at a dance studio in the city. Mr. Akaishi started Cuba Salsa at the age of 21, and left the SDF he was working at that time. “I had the opportunity to announce my salsa dance in various places, but each time I felt a lack of strength. I wanted to learn salsa dance in Cuba, and to increase my own withdrawals,” says Akaishi. I studied abroad in Cuba for one year and received direct guidance from the local dancers and studied languages.

Mr. Akaishi explained that the charm of Cuban music is "Music that can be enjoyed just by listening. There are Neputa in Hirosaki, so I think that many people are accustomed to dancing. The drum rhythm of Neputa and Cuban music is similar , Cuban music is easy for Hirosaki people to accept. "

On that day, SAEKO participates in the International Music Festival in Cuba every year and is active as a choreographer and dancer domestically and internationally as well as the acoustic Japanese duo "Dos Sones de Corazones" supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Japan. Various artists such as Mr. San participate. “It was a big event for my friends to call in,” Akaishi laughs.

About the event, "There are various kinds of music in Cuba, but there seems to be no event in Japan where you can enjoy it all together, and some customers come from Morioka and Tokyo," Akaishi said. “I would like people to know about Cuban dance through this event, but if it is an opportunity to get to know about Cuban music, culture, and the country,” he said.

Advance ticket is 5,000 yen with 1 drink. Free 2 drinks if purchased by December 22nd. The ticket on the day is 5,500 yen with 1 drink.