Wings of Cuba - Live Latin and Funk Music

Join Ángel Guilarte (Santiago, Cuba), Yunior Maden (Havana, Cuba) and their invited guests, handpicked from Wellington's top musical talent, for the newest and most exciting latin music project in the city, WINGS OF CUBA.

Dance the night away to totally original songs written by the group right here in Wellington and inspired by the world-renowned flavourful rhythms of Cuba, mixed with modern funk.

Born and bred in Santiago de Cuba (the birthplace not only of Castro’s revolution but of the genres salsa, mambo, bolero and much of the latin music we hear today) Ángel Guilarte grew up in a musical family. With his natural musicianship paired with his flair for original harmonies, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Cuban music scene, joining the internationally famous salsa orchestra, “El Niño y La Verdad” as bass player.

Yunior Maden harks from the Havana neighbourhood of San Miguel del Padrón, where the booming sounds of reggaetón ring out in the streets at all hours, combined with salsa & influences from popular music of the United States. These ingredients are what mixed up and fermented together to create the uniquely Cuban genre of “timba”. This genre is based on Cuban son with salsa, American funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music.

Trained to be a professional musician since he was a child, Yunior came to master the percussion instruments of conga and bongó with 25 years of playing, rising to become the full-time tumbador (conga player) of “Azúcar Negra” a 13 piece internationally touring salsa/timba orchestra. A staple on Cuban television, and headed by stalwart Leonel Limonta, the group has a 20-year history, a string of hits and has composed music for the likes of Charanga Habanera and Issac Delgado. They could only be described as falling squarely within the echelons of Cuban musical royalty.

Drawn from their homelands in Cuba to the shores of Aotearoa by love, these two phenomenal musicians have teamed together here in Pōneke to create an original latin and funk project the likes of which have never been seen before. For true music aficionados, this is a unique event not to be missed.