Luis Carbonell

Performance poet, "declamador," musician, and one of the pioneers of AfroCuban culture, Luis Carbonell's charged verse first came to prominence in the nascent black arts movement of Cuba during the '30s.

Carbonell taught the Papines to be a professional rumba group. He initiated Pablo Milanes. In 2000 at 77, he holds many memories and initiatives. He moved in the circles of Rita Montaner and other great Cuban performers.

Carbonell is available for gigs as of 9/22/00, see below.

Luis Carbonell visits NY, 9/00

Luis Carbonell (b. 1923, Santiago de Cuba) is perhaps Cuba’s most prominent performance artist. Since his rapid rise to fame in 1948 with his recitals of poetry, character sketches, and short stories of Afro-Cuba, Afro-Antillian, and Afro-Latin-American themes, Carbonell has appeared regularly on stage, radio and television in Cuba, as well as performed throughout Latin - America, Spain and the USA. Known as "el acuarealista de la poesía antillana" (the water colorist of Antillian poetry), he created the genre of performed poetry to percussion and music. A specialist in the poetry of his long time friend Nicolás Guillén, Carbonell also recites the work of poets from Puerto Rico (Luis Palés Matos), the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Chile (Neruda), Equador, Spain (Lorca), and the USA. A renown teacher, Carbonell has taught artists in all genres of Cuban music, from Ester Borjas (lyric song), the Papines (rumba), to Pablo Milanés (new song/ troubadour), as well as conceived, produced and performed on many of their recordings. A living encyclopedia of Cuban music, Carbonell has performed with the greats of the 20th century, including composers Ernesto Lecuona and Gilberto Valdés, as well as singer/actress Rita Montaner, and "Bola de Nieve."

Luis Carbonell is in New York City until October 17, and available for performances. He can be contacted through Ivor Miller at imiller@hampshire.edu, through his sister Clara Armstrong at (718)-231-4981, or in his hotel: (212) 371-4000, ex. 1914.

From Boletin UNEAC

"La Peña Guantanamera de Cultura Lili Martínez abrió sus actividades del 2000 con un acto de homenaje a Luis Mariano Carbonell y a Jesús Orta Ruiz, figuras cimeras de la Cultura Cubana, por sus más de 50 años de vida artística. En este acto, celebrado el pasado 29 de enero, en el Museo Máximo Gómez, estuvieron presentes destacados artistas de la provincia."

Links

Rosita Fornés y Luis Carbonell actuarán en noviembre en el teatro Gusman, 10/99
http://www.elherald.com/content/archivos/cuba/dadecuba/docs/075552.htm

Discography

Luis Carbonell en la Poesía Antillana, vol. 3

Contains twenty poems, many of them are accompanied by Cuban percussion, with the participation of stellar artists, including Los Papines (rumba group), Elena Burke (singer), Mallena Burke (singer), Omara Portuondo (singer of Buena Vista Social Club fame) Martín Rojas, Romasito Martínez.

Total time is 70:38. The album was produced in Havana in 1999.

Carbonell's sister can be contacted for copies, at $20 each, plus $3 for shipping.

Send checks to
Clara Armstrong
3678 Willet Avenue, apt. 3
Bronx, New York
(718) 231-4981.

Contacting AfroCubaWeb

Electronic mail: acw_AT_afrocubaweb.com [replace _AT_ with @]