The Hague, 17 November 2017. In the evening of Thursday November 16, the celebrations for the National Culture Day held by the Embassy of Cuba in the Kingdom of the Netherlands continued in the Cervantes Institute main offices in Utrecht. This time was a special ocassion as it coincided with the 498th anniversary of the foundation of Havana City, the capital of Cuba.
The Director of the Cervantes Institute in Utrecht Mrs Pilar Tena and the Ambassador of Cuba in the Kingdom of the Netherlands Her Excellency Mrs Soraya Álvarez Núñez said the opening words of the evening in whic they thanked the presence of all attendees and the significance of this date for Cuba.
The evening included presentations by Cuban writer, journalist and documentary-maker Juan carlos Roques and Dutch cultural promoter and founder of the JazzConexion project Eli Sivrants, who elaborated on the impact and the consequences for Cuban and interantioal music of the emblematic orchestra "Buena Vista Social Club."
Among shared anecdotes, life stories and the good music performed by duet "Trovando," the over 110 attendees enjoy this musical trip through the highlights and tours of the "Buena Vista Social Club." Some of the attendees also enlived the evening by taking part in the reading of some excerpts of Juan Carlos Roque's book "Cómo Cuba puso a bailar al mundo: Veinte años del Buena Vista Social Club (how Cuba made the world dance: twenty years of the Buena Vista Social Club)."
(Embacuba Países Bajos)