Flavo Correa, in the middle, is the lead singer and percussionist.
By Umer Nangiana
With signature songs such as Son, Vintage Mambo, Bolero and Cha Cha Cha, popular Cuban percussionists and singers from Havana are making their debut in Doha late this month.
Starting their journey here with Big Smoke concert at Grand Hyatt on September 30, the Cuban band will perform for three days in Qatar.
Presenting a journey through Cuba’s musical history, The Sugar Kings are perfect for all lovers of Latin music.
With hand-rolled special Cuban cigars on offer at Dunes, Grand Hyatt, the Big Smoke night is going to be special for all cigar and Latin music lovers in town.
Established in 2006, The Sugar Kings Cuban quartet will present Son, Guaracha, Bolero and Cha Cha Cha, complete with vocal harmonies, exciting rhythms and abounding Cuban sunshine.
The quartet debuting in Qatar exclusively at Grand Hyatt Doha consists of four incredibly talented musicians Flavio Correa, Elpidio Caicedo, Daniel Carnago and Rolando Dominguez.
Band leader Correa specialises in Latin percussion and Afro-Cuban drumming, Cuban rum-ba and afro-Cuban folkloric music.
He has composed music for and appeared in the BBC production of The Hour starring Dominic West, and ITV’s Auf Weidersehen Pet.
He currently plays with internationally acclaimed Cuban violinist, Omar Puente.
The Cuban percussionist and singer, based in London, grew up in Centro Havana in a neighbourhood surrounded by Cuban musicians like Joseito Fernandez, author of world famous Guantanamera and Lazaro Herrera trumpet player with Septeto Nacional. He specialises in Latin percussion and afro-Cuban drumming, Cuban rumba and afro-cuban folkloric music.
After moving to London, Flavio founded his band, The Sugar Kings, naming it after the beloved Havana baseball team of pre-revolution days when the glamorous Cuban capital was brimming with notorious gangsters and Hollywood stars.
The Sugar Kings Cuban quartet invokes the spirit of old Havana.
The Cuban capital is a vibrant city with music in every corner.
The heartbeat of every Cuban band is percussion.
Typically, there are more than four or five percussionists in most bands, all rhythmically involved in the composition. The other members of the quartet coming to Doha include Elpidio Caicedo, the bass player and singer. Born in Buena Ventura near Cali (the Colombian capital of salsa), Caicedo is one of Latin America’s top Salsa bass players and singers and regularly performs with such greats as Omar Puente and Roberto Pla.
Daniel Carnago hails from Santiago de Cuba, the Island’s cultural capital of the east. He is classically trained on the distinctive and beautiful Cuban Tres guitar and was a longstanding member of Cuba’s formidable ‘Septeto Contemporaneo’.
Rolando Dominguez aka Domingo was also born in Santiago de Cuba. After studying in Bayamo he was much sought after on Cuba’s thriving music scene and played lead trumpet in the Casino de Bellamar Big Band.
The band will have two more performances at Grand Hyatt the following two days including at a brunch on October 2.
