This April 29, the Cuban singer and composer Estrella Acosta (1964) will present to the Dutch public her most recent album titled Land. The phonogram is made up of seven songs and will be published under the independent label eStar.
In the launch concert, entitled “Cuban Country Queens” and scheduled for 8:30 pm in the Paradox room in the Dutch city of Tilburg (Netherlands), the artist will share the stage with musicians from her band and Cuban percussionist Leonid Muñoz , special guest to this project.
Launched on April 21 on digital platforms, Land It constitutes a tribute to various composers linked to Cuban country music, such as the well-remembered Celina González and Radeunda Lima.
“It is also a tribute to my maternal family and my roots. Although I was born in Havana, I spent a large part of my childhood with my grandmother and uncles in a small town called San José de los Ramos, in the province of Matanzas. I am a guajira-habanera ”, she declares to OnCuba.
Although she left the island at the age of eleven, Estrella Acosta does not forget her origins: “There is something very strong that attracts me to music, especially Cuban and Brazilian music. Perhaps that love comes to me from a very young age, because I always liked to sing and dance. My parents enrolled me in piano, guitar, ballet classes. In addition, in Cuba music is heard and enjoyed all around us. I believe that our cultural roots are very rich and that is manifested in all forms of art and in our way of living”, she emphasizes.
Graduated from Cultural Anthropology at the University of Texas (United States), the interpreter lived for years in cities as diverse as Mexico City, New York and Rio de Janeiro. She finally settled in Amsterdam.
“In Austin I played popular carioca music and at that time I fell in love with samba and la bossa nova. So much so, that after graduating I went to Brazil to be able to immerse myself in the beautiful music of that country. It was here in the Netherlands that I returned to my roots and began to sing Cuban music. I dedicated myself to the trova, the bolero, the son and country music, ”she maintains.
Around 2004 Estrella decided to form the band corner 25 (in homage to the central G and 25 in Vedado). From that moment they began to perform at music festivals in various countries, always mixing jazz with other styles and genres. Currently the group is made up of musicians Marc Bischoff (Germany); Efraim Trujillo (Holland-USA); the Venezuelan Samuel Ruiz and the Uruguayan Enrique Firpi.
Influenced by the style of María Teresa Vera and Celia Cruz, among other artists, the habanera does not miss the opportunity to revere the work of Cuban composers in each of her performances inside and outside the Netherlands. A good example is his album moon womenpublished in 2017.
“For me it is a blessing that the people here like our music so much. I decided to take advantage of this interest from the Dutch public and introduced music by Cuban composers such as Margarita Lecuona, María Cervantes, Marta Valdés, Liuba María Hevia, Lázara Ribadavia, Elda Carrillo, Teresita Fernández, Lena Ferrer and many more. My desire is to highlight the enormous contribution that Cuban women have made to our music and also to inspire new generations of artists,” she tells us.
His albums include guajira soul (2006) nominated for the Edison Award from the Netherlands and corner 25.
About his plans to perform in Cuba, he told us: “I know and maintain ties with various Cuban artists. Some have collaborated on my records and we are also friends. I would like to sing there one day, but for now my priority is to make the great treasure of our music known to the world”.
On the other hand, about his nostalgia for the island, he comments: “It is a nostalgia for the days of my childhood with loved ones. Longing for flavors, smells, sounds, caresses, whispers… things that no longer exist or can be explained. With music I manage to mitigate the nostalgia. Also with Cuban food. I like to cook Creole dishes while I listen to a good oriental son”.
