Chorus Festival Starts with Tribute to Fidel Castro

A Cuban anthological piece called "Juramento" was sung before the ashes of Fidel Castro in the Cemetery of Santa Ifigenia Wednesday, to give a start to the 32nd International Chorus Festival.

The famous Cuban musical composition written by Miguel Matamoros was arranged by recently deceased Electo Silva, Cuba's National Music Award, founder and director of the Orfeon Santiago and the architect of the Cuban chorus movement, to whom this edition is dedicated.

This edition will gather more than 25 groups performing in Cuba to be present at the Festival.

Foreign choirs such as La Juntada (Argentina) and Austral (Australia) are accompanying the Cuban choirs, which will fill the streets and plazas with music and harmony.

Until next Sunday the Dolores Room will be the main head place for the presentations, which will spread up to the San Basilio Magno Chapel, of the Office of the City's Preserver; the Esteban Salas Conservatory, several churches and schools, penitentiaries, universities, museums and hospitals.

Special homage will be received by groups and the directors with birthdays in these dates and in particular Exaudi, which under the guidance of the teacher Maria Felicia Pérez arrives to its three decades with a fruitful work in singing at voices.

Along with the artistic proposals there will be workshops in which diverse topics will be tackled, such as the topics referred to the choral tradition, choral folk genres of the Argentine music, the sounds in the Cuban chorus music a capella in the 20th century and the influence of the French music.