Traditional Trova and Nueva Trova constituted movements in Cuban songwriting. Not only did prominent singer-songwriters emerge within the historical context of their flourishing in Cuban music, but they have continued to thrive to this day. Among the most significant exponents of Cuban music in the 20th century (2000-2011) are Yolo Bonilla, Rubén Lester González Valdés, Adrián Berazaín Azcuy, Ariel Barreiros, Fernando Bécquer, Michel Portela, Yaima Orozco, Ray Fernández, and Roly Berrío.

Yolepsis Hechevarría Bonilla, better known as Yolo Bonilla, learned to play the guitar in 1992 and decided to compose songs. As a singer-songwriter, he performed at various amateur festivals organized by the Federation of Secondary School Students, where he won several awards.

Following Yolo Bonilla’s two concerts at the Casa del Caribe during the World Festival of Youth and Students, the National Council of Cultural Centers has decided to nominate him for the first category A of the Amateur Artists Movement, for his entire artistic career.

To dedicate himself professionally to music, he decided to abandon his career as a doctor in 2003. He began developing troubadour compositions aimed at fusing different rhythms from Cuban and Brazilian music, incorporating elements of jazz, hip hop, funk, reggae, and rock into his music.

His work has been highly praised by the country’s print press. Very positive articles have been published by Joaquín Borges Triana and Vladimir Zamora in Juventud Rebelde and Caimán Barbudo, respectively, as well as favorable reviews from online magazines such as La Jiribilla and Esquife.

Erick Sánchez had a musical inclination from a very young age. In high school and at rural schools, he sang songs by Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, and others, accompanied by a friend on guitar. In 2000, during the Ibero-American Song Festival, he performed a concert in the neighborhood called La Timba.

In June 2005, he gave his first solo concert at the Che Guevara Hall of the Casa de las Américas (3rd and G Streets, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana). He performed both older songs and some of his latest compositions.

His work is composed of songs that represent a variety of musical genres, including boleros, ballads, reggae, Renaissance songs, guajiras, and, above all, sones. The song “Casa de Cristal” (Crystal House) was once the theme song for the radio program of the same name, hosted by Ana María Ramos.

Erick Sánchez has performed on countless trova stages throughout his career. He is considered one of the leading figures in the “A guitarra limpia” concerts organized by the Pablo de la Torriente Brau Center.

Silvio Alejandro Rodríguez is a prominent Cuban troubadour with an extensive artistic career, who has toured numerous internationally, primarily in Europe and Latin America. His work is featured in the Clean Guitar Concert “La Impúdica es la Guitarra” (The Impudicity is the Guitar), released at the Pablo de la Torriente Brau Cultural Center.

He has released three albums, titled “Quedado en La Habana,” “Multitudes en la Silla,” and “Tanto Remar.” He currently shares the Tres Tazas space with musicians of various generations, visual artists, and other artists, which he hosts at the La Rampa movie theater (23rd Street between P and O, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana).

Rubén Lester González Valdés began his musical career as a composer, arranger, and guitarist in the rock band “La Guerrilla.” He later joined the trova-fusion group “Altoriesgo,” led by Santiago-born singer-songwriter Felipón, where he served as bassist.

He has attended various national music events and festivals, such as the Romerías de Mayo (May Pilgrimages), the Festival of Political Song, and the Pepe Sánchez Festival, among others. He participated in the International Transmusical Festival in Paris, France, with singer-songwriter William Vivanco, and also in the International Project Los Caminos de Santiago (The Roads of Santiago) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He represented the Santiago songwriting scene in Rome and Naples, Italy.

Rubén González is included in the Miguel Matamoros Provincial Music Center and the Provincial Center for the Performing Arts’ catalog of excellence for his outstanding work as a composer of soundtracks for theater and audiovisuals.

Adrián Berazaín Azcuy began his musical career very early, teaching himself. In 2000, he became a member of the Hermanos Saíz Association. Two years later, until 2005, he organized and hosted the “La Séptima Cuerda” club with a group of friends who met monthly at the Rubén Martínez Villena Library (Obispo No. 59, Habana Vieja, Havana) in Old Havana, since at the time they had no place to play.

Some of his work has been adapted for television, and his style has been heard in various audiovisual works. Examples include the soap opera “El balcón de los helechos,” the feature film “Jura decir la verdad,” and the short films “High Tech,” “Monte Rouge,” and “Photoshop.”

Adrián Berazaín’s talent has also been present at national events such as “Al sur de mi mochila” (South of My Backpack) held in Cienfuegos, “Longina” in Santa Clara, “Canción política” (Political Song) in Guantánamo, and at the “La tropa cósmica” (Cosmic Troop) gatherings held in the Cuban capital.

Ariel Barreiros Rouco, originally from Aguada de Pasajeros, has been a member of the Hermanos Saíz Association since 1990 and has been listed as a National Project for that organization since 2001.

In 2004, he was selected to join the artistic brigade that celebrated New Year’s Eve with Cuban collaborators in Venezuela. A year later, Ariel traveled to Venezuela as part of the artistic delegation for the Youth and Students Festival.

He was chosen to participate in the tributes held in Bolivia on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Ernesto Ché Guevara’s assassination in La Higuera. He later traveled to Guatemala as part of a brigade of poets and troubadours to share with our collaborators there.

Fernando Bécquer, a prominent Cuban troubadour, whose works are influenced by Cuban musical genres such as bolero, feeling, and traditional Cuban music. He brings his music, categorized as Nueva Trova, to numerous venues and shows, including the peñas (musical centers) that are quite common today within the Cuban music scene.

Michel Portela is a member of the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS) and ACDAM; he is also one of the most active members of the Santa Clara Trovuntivitis movement. He has given concerts in various cultural centers across the country, one of the most acclaimed being in May of this year at the A Guitarra Limpia venue.

His discography includes the CD La voz del Diablo Ilustrado, in which he performs the song Tu príncipe azul, and the compilation album, in which he performs the song of his authorship that opens the CD La rapadura.

Yaima Orozco was part of a traditional Cuban female music group as a vocalist in 2002 when she auditioned and was approved as a member of the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS).

Their songs are characterized by different genres such as bolero, traditional Cuban song, son, balaba, and pop, which are enjoyed by the audience at each of their performances.

The young performer and composer, already considered one of the most prominent exponents of the new generation of Trova music in Cuba, is part of the project promoting the songs from the book El diablo Ilustrado, in which she performs the song Como matar un fantasma.

Ray Fernández has performed in various venues across the country, but it was undoubtedly the Dulce María Loynaz Hall at the Hispanic American Cultural Center. With a remarkable growing musical maturity, the charismatic artist embarked on his new recording project.

The CD, titled Paciencia, was recorded at the Areíto studios of the EGREM record label and contains genres ranging from Canción, Güajira and Changüí, to a tango that he achieved through complex musical arrangements, what initially could have been a conga or a Bolero and for which he counted on the collaboration of some of his friends from the Argentine project “Cuatro de trova”.

Roly Berrío became known in his hometown as a troubadour in the early 1990s, thanks to the exquisite descargas he performed in parks and other venues. His few performances outside his province have been met with great amazement and satisfaction, as despite the quality of his musical offerings, he remains virtually unknown.

He has performed on several “A Guitarra Limpia” shows and was once invited to the Centro Hispanoamericano de Cultura as part of the “True Complot” series, where his participation was highly applauded.

His work doesn’t appear on radio or television programs, but the audiences who follow him to each of his performances, whether in concerts or at popular mixtapes, recognize this troubadour as one of the most important creators of contemporary Cuban song.