Bamboleo

Bamboleo ranks among Cuba’s signature offerings, much like aged rum or hand-rolled cigars, delivering a flavor so compelling that a single encounter rarely satisfies. This fourteen-piece timba ensemble ignites every stage through its rhythm section, coordinated dance routines, and sharply attired vocalists and instrumentalists alike. At the helm stands pianist, arranger, composer, and songwriter Lázaro Valdés, a Havana native who attended the Alejandro García Caturla Academy throughout the 1970s. After earlier stints alongside Pachito Alonso, Bobby Carcassés, and Héctor Téllez, he assembled the group by drawing elite players, many of them graduates of Havana’s National School of the Arts. Vocalist Haila Mompié injected additional energy and personally brought in fellow singer Vannia Borges. Born in Havana, Borges began formal music lessons at age five and made her professional debut in the early 1990s with the all-female ensemble D’Capo. Roughly four years afterward she joined Pachito Alonso y su Kini Kini, remaining until 1997, when she switched to Bamboleo. Guantánamo-born Yordamis Megret arrived the following year, shortly after Mompié’s departure. Megret had started guitar studies at ten and likewise earned her diploma from the National School of Arts; post-graduation she performed with Ricacha before singing in José Luis Cortés’s salsa unit, P.G. The band’s first international dates occurred in 1996, coinciding with the release of its debut album Te Gusto o Te Caigo Bien. Subsequent U.S. appearances took the musicians to Chicago, Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. Following the issues of Yo No Me Parezco a Nadie and Ya No Hace Falta, Bamboleo embarked on worldwide tours that included Europe, additional American cities, Japan, and China’s Heineken 2000 World Music Festival. The group also lent its sound to the Temptations’ Grammy-winning album Ear-Resistable, appeared on MTV’s Road Rules, and shared bills with James Brown, Femi Kuti, and George Benson.