• Submitted by: admin
• Music
• 05 / 26 / 2010

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Famed Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez will appear in Florida during his first U.S. tour since 1979 -- although not in Miami.

Rodriguez, 63, known for his poetic ballads and his revolutionary politics, will play the Bob Carr Center in Orlando on June 23.

Rodriguez will open his tour June 4 at New York's Carnegie Hall (the concert has sold out), with a second show there on June 10, and will also perform in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington.

Renowned throughout Latin America for his songcraft and artistry, Rodriguez is controversial among many Cuban exiles, who identify him with the policies and ideals of the Cuban revolution.

The tour is being presented by Fuego Entertainment, a company owned by Hugo Cancio, who left Cuba in 1980 and was a pioneer in presenting Cuban musicians in Miami in 1998.

This winter, Cancio became the first to present Cuban musicians in Miami since restrictions on Cuban cultural exchange were loosened by the Obama Administration, with concerts by the groups Charanga Habanera and Buena Fe.

``There are a lot of Cubans and Latin Americans in Florida who would like to see Silvio in concert,'' Cancio said Tuesday of his decision to present Rodriguez in Orlando.

``Although I would have loved to do it in Miami, it would have been too controversial.

We need to avoid any type of situation where people think this is a provocation.''

Cancio said Rodriguez's stature as an artist outweighed any controversy over his politics.

``You can't write anything about Cuban music for the last two generations without mentioning Silvio's name, regardless of his political views,'' Cancio said.

BY JORDAN LEVIN
[email protected]

Source: Miami Herald