HabanaEnNewYork Presents: Melvis Santa & Ashedi!
A night of authentic Afro-Cuban Rumba, Son y Timba!
(Black History Month Celebration)
Music by DJ Asho y DJ Ala Banciosa
Performance by Melvis Santa & Ashedi!
Doors Open: 7PM
Performance Starts: 9PM
Night Ends: At Midnight
Tickets: $10 in Advance
$15 at the Door
DROM | 85 Avenue A | New York, NY 10009
Melvis Santa & Ashedi
Afro-Cuban music can transform time and consciousness with its multilayered polyrhythms and hypnotic chants, taking us out of our ordinary state of mind and invoking the spirits of the Afro-Cuban pantheon of orishas.
2018 Grammy nominee Melvis Santa and her group Ashedí (translated to ‘invitation’ in the Lukumi dialect of Cuba) bring this powerful, ecstatic tradition to new spaces. A 4 piece format, which Melvis leads on piano and vocals while fronting a full percussion section of sacred batádrummers. Ashedí features Afro Cuban master percussionists Roman Diaz, Rafael Monteagudo, and Anier Alonso.
About Melvis
Born in Havana, Melvis Santa has been well known in Cuba since she was fourteen years old and formed the vocal group Sexto Sentido. In 2010 Melvis spread her wings and appeared as one of the lead vocalists of Interactivo, a seminal fusion band in Cuba, recording and touring worldwide. Based in New York since 2014, she continues to make a mark as a performer and educator teaching Afro-Cuban music and dance workshops at NYU, CUNY Graduate Center, YALE University, Tulane University of New Orleans, and others. Melvis has also worked with a who’s who of the jazz and Latin communities, from Ravi Coltrane to the Buena Vista Social Club.
About Roman
Master percussionist, scholar, and composer Román Díaz are regarded as a “living repository” of Afro Cuban music. He has performed and recorded with Merceditas Valdés, Raíces Profundas, Los Marqueses de Atarés, Jane Bunett, Orlando “Puntilla” Ríos, Paquito D’Rivera, Oriente Lopez, Giovanni Hidalgo, David Virelles, Chucho Valdés, and Wynton Marsalis. Mentored by the great Pancho Quinto, the founder of the seminal rumba ensemble Yoruba Andabo, he aided in the creation of the sound that has defined rumba since the 1980’s in Cuba and all around the world. His mastery of Batá along with his rock solid groove on congas is present on countless recordings worldwide. He has traveled extensively teaching master classes on Afro Cuban percussion. Román is a unique musical visionary capable of steering the evolution of this art form far into the future because of his deep understanding of the culture and the sensibility with which he tells a story.
DJ Asho
Ariel “DJ ASHO” Fernandez-Diaz is a Cuban cultural ambassador who has held notable performing and curatorial residencies at institutions such as the Bronx Museum of the Arts and at numerous hip clubs up and down the Eastern seaboard and New York City. A dream came true when he was invited to offer his DJ distinctive repertoire at a very special Central Park Summer Stage event a few years back in front of 10,000 peoples. Known from Miami to Oakland, in the DC area, he was the catalyst behind AfroCuba! which brought a rich mix of fans together on a weekly basis. In Cuba, he was among a generation of youth who identified with Hip Hop as a form of musical resistance. Previously, he's worked as an engineer, producer, mixer, DJ, and author/columnist having established a leading magazine for youth and young adults focused on Afro- Cuban culture and identity. While he still considers himself a “Hip Hop fan,” he’s deeply knowledgeable about the diverse music from his island nation. No musical set from DJ ASHO is ever quite the same. Though, he does consistently combine amazing selections ranging from obscure and historical Afro-Cuban tracks to the greatest hits from Cuban Son, Salsa & Timba with nods to Fela Kuti and Boricua heavyweights such as Hector LaVoe and the Fania era. A musical ride with DJ Asho is pure alchemy; just the right dose of heady musicology and straight up fun to feed the mind and heal the soul.
DJ Ala Banciosa
Lindsay Reyes also known as DJ Alabanciosa is a Colombian American salsa and timba DJ in NYC who is known for championing new and independent salsa and timba bands, over the well-known and established ones. She coined her way of playing music as “underground,” idea which she later manifested in the creation of a series of monthly parties in Queens called Salsa Underground. The parties managed to successfully integrate new and independent bands with the traditional salsa bands of the older generations. At the heart of her philosophy is the desire to preserve salsa music, which has over the years been displaced by other genres such as reggaeton, and has failed to attract young followers. She feels part of the problem is the lack of variety being played on the radio, and on the dance floor. Salsa music, she believes, is so extensive and has so many rhythmic styles, that it does not make any sense to stick to only one type of salsa or generation. To do the genre justice you have to play a little bit of Son, mambo, cha cha cha, charanga, rumba, and even timba, which most DJs in NYC shy away from. She feels timba music is key in attracting younger followers who might find in this explosive, fused and fun music, elements that they can relate to jazz, r&b, hip hop.
