2nd May 2019 at the Barbican, London EC2.
Part of La Linea festival.
Country: Cuba. Style: Cuban / Malian.
Lineup: Boncana Maiga (v), Florent Alapini Atoyebi "Jospinto" (v), Juan Alfredo Hurtado Valero (v), Felipe Cabrera Cárdenas (b/MD), Jose Rivero "Pepe" (p), David Reicer Bencomo Guedes (flute), Eduardo Coma Vega (violin), Reicel Pedroso Diaz (violin), Nelson Palacios Rodriguez (violin), Nahomi Guerra Mayab (viola), Angel Aguiar (guiro), Abraham Mansfaroll Rodriguez (timbales), Inor Sotolongo (congas) and guest: Mory Kanté (v/kora).
Following a competition in Mali in December 1963, ten music students were selected from different regions of the country. They were granted scholarships to study in Havana arriving in January 1964. The seven students who stayed the course formed a group, Maravillas de Mali, whose first performance was at the Embassy of Guinea in Havana in September 1965. The leader, flute player and arranger of the group was Boncana Maïga, from Gao in eastern Mali. After eight years in Cuba and recording an album they returned to Mali, adding Kassé Mady Diabaté to the lineup. Around 1976 the group mutated into Badema National and this group was one of the most popular in Mali during the next decade. Maïga went on to have a long career as a performer and producer (including the Africando project). In 2018, by which time he was the last surviving member of the original Maravillas de Mali, Maïga revived the group. A new album was recorded with Beninese vocalist Jospinto, Cuban musicians and a guest appearance from Guinean vocalist and kora player Mory Kanté. The band came to Europe for concerts last year and this.
In this photo: Eduardo Coma.
More information:
www.facebook.com/MaravillasDeMali/.
