HAR Late: A Night in Havana

This event has passed, HAR LATE: A Night In Havana returns on Friday 21 February 2025.

Direct from Cuba, and exclusively for summer 2024, all-star London based group Tristan Butler y Timba Británica will be joined by world famous, Grammy-award-winning vocalist, Mayito Rivera for a sensational night in the heart of Leeds. World-class music, salsa dance class, frozen mojitos, and a DJ playing the best Cuban vinyl taking you to midnight – a taste of Havana without the 9-hour flight!

The evening will begin with a Cuban dance workshop led by the esteemed dancer Yersin Rivas. In this immersive experience, dancers will delve deep into the rhythms and rich cultural heritage of Cuban dance. Rivas began his career as a member of Cienfuegos’ Casa de la Cultura, performing in theatres and stages across Cuba. After arriving in the UK, he quickly became a hit on the local and international Salsa scene, where he remains one of the most sought-after instructors for Cuban Salsa, Afro-Cuban and other traditional dances. This welcoming, informal class is open to experienced dancers and beginners alike.

Mayito Rivera – “The Poet of the Rumba” will take to the stage with London’s Timba Británica for the headline set. A giant of Cuban music, Rivera is renowned for the power and atmosphere that he brings with him everywhere he goes, moving audiences as well as keeping them moving. For fifteen years he was front man with Los Van Van, uncontested as Cuba’s top band, winning countless awards, as well as being Grammy-nominated for his own project Negrito Bailador. His guest appearances with other groups are legendary – “creating the mood, among the bandmembers and audience, that history is taking place before their eyes.” (timba.com). At the same time, he has featured on nearly every all-star compilation produced in Cuba in the last decade.

Mayito will be in the UK performing his career defining repertoire, alongside Tristan Butler y Timba Británica. This 15-piece latin orchestra, led by Tristan Butler, one of the UK’s most sought-after percussionists, is dedicated to performing the intricate, groove-based arrangements of modern Cuban Salsa.

DJ Lubi Presents.