Nueva Trova is a movement in Cuban songwriting. Its roots lie in traditional trova and feeling. The first performers and composers of Nueva Trova emerged in the island’s capital. The melody is treated more freely, employing all kinds of harmonies, and exhibiting great rhythmic diversity.

Among its most significant exponents is Teresita Fernández, a renowned Cuban troubadour and author of beloved children’s songs, whose first compositions appeared in the 1950s. She made her debut in 1965 at the Sala Arlequín, one of the small venues on La Rampa. Sindo Garay and Bola de Nieve attended the event.

Teresita’s works have enabled many generations to pay attention to the small details of life. Her extensive repertoire, although almost always closely related to children’s songs, includes boleros, musical poems, carols, and habaneras. Among her awards is the 2009 National Music Prize.

Pablo Milanés Arias is a Cuban composer, singer, and guitarist. His discography includes more than 30 albums. He has received numerous awards in South America, Europe, and other countries. He has recorded with artists such as Maná, Silvio Rodríguez, Joaquín Sabina, Ana Belén, Joan Manuel Serrat, Víctor Manuel, Los Van Van, Lilia Vera, Caco Senante, Ismael Serrano, and Luís Represas.

Pablo Milanés has contributed musical pieces for plays and documentaries, and has experimented with film scores. He possesses one of the most excellent and versatile voices of all time in Cuban song. As a composer, he has explored diverse genres of Cuban popular music. His lyrics feature phrases of great poetic sophistication, and his melodies demonstrate exceptional sensitivity. His most significant works include Acto de fe (Act of Faith), 1980; Ámame como soy (Love Me as I Am), 1985; Amo esta isla (Love This Island), Amor (Love), 1975; Como una bendida (Like a Blessing), Cuando lejos estás (When You’re Far Away), and Yolanda (Yolanda), among many others.

Augusto Blanca Gil, Cuban singer-songwriter, painter, stage designer, and theater actor, is one of the most prominent exponents and considered one of the founders of the Cuban songwriting movement known as Nueva Trova, which emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 2003, he was awarded the Diploma of Artistic Merit by the Instituto Superior de Arte. Since that year, he has launched his solo project with intense dedication. In 2005, he won the Trova Award at Cubadisco for his production “Luna trovera.” That same year, the Pablo de la Torriente Brau Cultural Center awarded him the Pablo Award. He has taken his music to several international festivals, including the Political Song Festival in Berlin; the La Unitá Newspaper Festival in Italy; Carifesta in Barbados; the Luna de Otoño Festival in Mexico; the Barna Sand Festival in Barcelona, ​​Spain; and the Venezuelan Poetry Festival.

Noel Nicola, Cuban composer and performer, is considered one of the pioneers of the Nueva Trova Cubana (Cuban New Trova) and was the first President of this Cuban song movement (1972-1977), in addition to being one of its greatest exponents. His songs, sometimes in conga or rumba rhythms, are dominated by biting satire against bureaucracy, social conventions, and hypocrisy in relations between the sexes. This approach to song is present in almost all of his work, but also includes his meditations on old age and love.

Among his most distinguished songs are: For life together, For an imaginary María del Carmen, The day begins, It’s dark and What’s more, I forgive you (or I forgive you, as it is known worldwide). His works have been performed by great musicians of different nationalities, among whom stand out: Carlos Díaz, Daniel Viglietti, Elena Burke, Guadalupe Pineda, Isaac Delgado, Jesús del Valle, Joan Manuel Serrat, Manuel Argudín, Miriam Ramos, among others.

Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez, Cuban musician, poet, and singer-songwriter, is a leading exponent of Cuban music. Silvio is one of the most internationally renowned Cuban singer-songwriters. He founded the Nueva Trova Movement. Among the awards bestowed upon this great Cuban musician are: 2006 Haydee Santamaría Medal; 2004 National Music Prize; 1984 Félix Varela Order; 1982 Alejo Carpentier Medal.

Among his recorded works we can mention: Days and Flowers” ​​(1975); “At the end of this journey, life” (1978); “Women” (1979); “Cloud Tail” (1980); “Unicorn” (1982); “Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés live in Argentina” (1984); “Triptych” (LP), (1984); “Causes and chances” (1986); “Oh melancholy” (1988); “Silvio Rodríguez in Chile” (1990); “Hand in hand” (1993); “Silvio” (1992); “Rodríguez” (1994); “Domínguez” (1996). “Descartes” (1998); “Butterfly” (1999); “Expedition” (2002); “Appointment with Angels” (2003); “Once upon a time” “it was” (2006); Second date (2010).

Eduardo Ramos, Cuban troubadour; in his musical career, he also works as an arranger and record producer. He is one of the founders of the Cuban songwriting movement known as Nueva Trova. He joined the Sound Experimentation Group of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) in 1969 and remained a member until 1973.

As a composer, Eduardo Ramos’s lyrics reflect everyday events. He also sings of love through them. He uses simple yet poetic language. One of his best-known is “Su nombre es pueblo” (Their Name Is the People).

Vicente Feliú Miranda joined the Nueva Trova movement and is considered one of its most significant voices. This Cuban musician has taken his music to all corners of the globe. He has shared stages with major international music stars. His musical output is extensive, encompassing music for plays, television, and shows. He has also worked as an assistant director and musical director, collaborating on cultural programs. He was a music advisor for Cuban radio and television, and a radio scriptwriter, broadcaster, and director.

Sara Rosa González Gómez, Cuban composer and guitarist, is the founder of the Nueva Trova Movement and considered one of its leading exponents. She has produced music for film, television, and radio. She has toured countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. At Cubadisco 2002, she won the award in the Testimony category for “Sin ir más lejos.”

He has shared the stage with Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Augusto Blanca, Joan Manuel Serrat, Chico Buarque, Mercedes Sosa, Soledad Bravo, Daniel Viglietti, Pete Seeger, Roy Brown, Pedro Guerra, Beth Carvalho, Liuba María Hevia, Anabel López, Marta Campos and Heidi Igualada, among other artists. Among his works are: To my brothers who died on November 27th, Like a caged beast, Shaggy mane, From parents to children and alongside the Revolution, The Angel, The Moncada program, Fragment of November 27th, Son of the soul and The fault of the stew (based on the novel by Abel Prieto The flight of the cat), among others.

Pedro Luis Ferrer, Cuban guitarist, composer and singer, began his professional career as a troubadour in 1973, and in the middle of this decade he recorded his first LP entitled “Pedro Luis Ferrer”. The songs Mariposa and “Romance de la Niña mala” stand out on it. Also during these years he traveled to Europe for the first time, to countries such as Poland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. He performed on the guitar works by great composers (Leo Brouwer, Carlos Fariñas, Harold Gramatches, Edgardo Martín, Isaac Albéniz, among others), with which he surpassed and expanded his knowledge as a self-taught artist.

In his creations, he has explored various genres of Cuban music, including guarachas. He has composed works for guitar and various orchestral formats. He has created preludes and fugues for piano. He cultivates the décima, the sonnet, the redondilla, and free forms of poetry. He has also written music for television series, which have become very popular, such as “Operación Sitio.” His songs have been performed by musicians of the stature of Celia Cruz.

Amaury Pérez Vidal, Cuban composer, poet, guitarist, and singer, was a member and founder of the Nueva Trova Movement. His songs, with lyrics by José Martí, were recorded by the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Armando Guerra. His works have been recorded by numerous performers. He has a broad and extensive musical output. In film, he has composed the music for Hombres del mar (Men of the Sea) and Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth). For Cuban television, he composed the themes for Mañana es domingo (Tomorrow is Sunday) and the theme song for the series Hasta el último aliento (Until the Last Breath), Muy personal (Very Personal) with Amaury Pérez.

His compositions include Gabriela; They Won’t Stop It; Give Me; When I Go; Alphabet; Remember April; Ten; Yes I Could; Fly, Sorrow; Make You Come, among others. He has a recorded output of twenty albums. His other works include “Balance,” “Only in September,” and “Something in Common.” He is one of the most popular Cuban popular music artists, both in Cuba and internationally. He is one of the few figures to have been included in the “Book of Honor of the Grand Theater of Havana.”

Marta Isabel Campos Morales, popularly known as Marta Campos, is a Cuban composer and guitarist who graduated from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory of Music. Her repertoire includes works by prominent composers, including Noel Nicola, Miguel Matamoros, Pablo Milanés, and Sivio Rodríguez.

Marta Campos’s work as a composer includes titles such as: Aguanta corazón (Hold Your Heart), Short Bolero, Hay amores (There Are Loves), Lullaby for a Black Child, Theme for My America, El beso (The Little Kiss), Love Song to Nicaragua, Sol y luna (Sun and Moon), Quiero dormir con la luna (I Want to Sleep with the Moon), Con amores (With Loves), among others.

Ireno García, Cuban troubadour and composer, participated in a program promoting young composers in the 1980s, where Silvio Rodríguez presented his piece “Canción para recordar a María” (Song to Remember María), where he received an award. For several years now, he has been working alongside the renowned actress Coralita Veloz, who recites poems between songs. He performs the poetic work of the distinguished Cuban composer Eliseo Diego in a unique way.

Alberto Tosca Sánchez, Cuban composer and guitarist. He is a renowned exponent of the Cuban song movement known as Nueva Trova, which he joined in the late 1970s, in 1978 to be exact. He has taken his music to numerous venues. He has performed at musical events such as the Varadero International Festival and film festivals.

In his works, we can appreciate the influences of great Cuban and foreign musicians, including Noel Nicola, Joan Manuel Serrat, Vicente Feliú, Silvio Rodríguez, and Amaury Pérez Vidal. Alberto Tosca’s compositions also contain traces of musical genres such as rock and rumba. His wealth as a composer exceeds seven hundred songs.

Jose Aquiles Vireles Rodríguez, a prominent Cuban troubadour, joined the Nueva Trova Movement in 1974. Four years later, he participated in the 11th Youth and Students Festival with the Yaguajay Group, as part of the Holguín Artistic Brigade. He was a finalist in the Adolfo Guzmán Cuban Music Competition (1985), with the piece “Ayudame a encontrar el mundo” (Help me find the world), performed by the Matanzas trio Nueva Era.

For his song “Sera,” he received the Second Prize and Critics’ Prize at the Adolfo Guzmán Cuban Music Competition (2000). Two years later, he won the Grand Prize at the same Cuban music competition with “Mira,” a work defended by Leo Vera. His music is included in the repertoires of major performers. He is one of the most prolific composers from Santiago de Cuba of the last two decades in the field of Cuban music. Among his accolades is the Jose María Heredia Plaque.

Enrique Kiki Corona, better known as Kiki Corona, is a Cuban singer and composer, a member of the Nueva Trova Movement. In 1978, he joined the group Canto Libre. In 1986, he received Second Prize for Composition, Jury Mention, and other awards from various media outlets and specialists for two finalist songs in the Adolfo Guzmán Cuban Music Competition, becoming the only composer to have been selected by the jury with two works.

Two years later, Kiki Corona joined the group Mayohuacán as a singer and composer, and with them he performed concerts throughout the country and abroad. In 2001, he received a nomination at Cubadisco in the Children’s Music category for his CD, Nanas para ti.

Jesús del Valle, popularly known as Tatica, is a prominent Cuban troubadour considered one of the founders of Nueva Trova. As a musician, he has been a member of prominent Cuban groups such as Jelengue.

He has not only dedicated his artistic career to music, but has also worked as an actor. He began his career in the Teatro Estudio group and was also a member of the Conjunto Nacional de Espectáculos. Together with Carlos Ruiz, he has worked since 1979, performing song, poetry, and comedy recitals, performing with great success on stages in Cuba, Latin America, Europe, and Africa.

Lázaro García, a prominent Cuban singer-songwriter with a largely empirical musical background, joined a small group in his city at the age of 18, which at the time was performing Spanish versions of Beatles songs. In 1972, he became interested in the Nueva Trova movement, of which he was one of the founders. He has performed in various editions of the Adolfo Guzmán Competition, an event in which he has won several awards.

He is, without a doubt, a genuine cultivator of troubadour song, and his beautiful lyrics, along with his authentic Cuban spirit, have made him one of the most prominent exponents of this genre in Cuban culture.