A Cuba Benefit Concert with Sol y Canto

The United Church of Christ of Boxborough is sponsoring a benefit concert for Cuba, featuring the Pan-Latin ensemble, Sol y Canto. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the Second Baptist Church in Santiago and neighboring communities. Tickets are $25 per person, $15 for students, plus a small ticketing fee ($30 at the door).

Cuba is currently experiencing its worst economic depression since the Revolution of the 1950s. The COVID Pandemic forced the country to close its doors to tourism for several years, which severely impacted the economy. In addition, the main power plant in Cuba broke down last fall, resulting in widespread power outages across the island for several weeks. Since then, electricity has been rationed, and families can expect to have power for only a few hours each day. Food and water are also rationed. The people are struggling to survive.

Not able to attend but would like to contribute? You can follow this link to make a donation. Please type "Cuba Relief" on the Special Collections memo line.... and thank you!

Artists: Sol y Canto

Sol y Canto is the award winning Pan-Latin ensemble led by Puerto Rican/Argentine singer and percussionist Rosi Amador and New Mexican guitarist, singer and composer Brian Amador. Featuring Rosi’s crystalline voice and Brian’s lush Spanish guitar and inventive compositions, Sol y Canto is known for making their music accessible to Spanish- and non-Spanish speaking audiences of all ages. On occasion the group is accompanied by virtuoso musicians from Latin America and the U.S.

Sol y Canto’s original songs are distinguished by poetic, often quirky lyrics set in a framework of varied musical styles with surprising twists. They can make you dance, laugh, cry and sigh all in one concert. Their arrangements of classic and contemporary Latin tunes are always fresh and original. With Brian’s commanding, intricate guitar playing, Rosi’s rhythmic drive on cajón and bongos, and liberal use of vocal improvisation, the duo often sounds like a much larger ensemble.

Since 1994, Sol y Canto has brought audiences to their feet from the Kennedy Center to the California World Music Festival, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as countless club shows and house concerts. The Boston Globe hails them as “sublime ambassadors of the Pan-Latin tradition”.

Music critic Norman Weinstein of the Christian Science Monitor and Boston Phoenix observes:

“Every Sol y Canto album is a demonstration of what the poet Federico García Lorca identified as deep song. Always they evoke the sensual splendor of simply being vitally, vividly alive in a magical and mysterious universe. Brian Amador is a Spanish modernist poet in the guise of a musician…Together, Rosi and Brian Amador create a musical marriage made in heaven.”

Organizer: Maricel Lucero

Maricel Lucero was born in Cuba in 1958, months before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. She immigrated to the U.S. with her immediate family when she was 10 years old and was not able to return to her homeland until the 1990s. During her first return trip, she learned about the daily economic struggles Cubans experience. Upon her return to the U.S., she decided to dedicate her efforts to helping her Cuban friends and family. For the past twenty years, Maricel has organized many humanitarian trips, bringing medicine, clothing, shoes, and toiletries to people in need.

United Church of Christ, Boxborough (UCCB)

Whether you’re looking for meaningful worship, a welcoming community, ways to volunteer, a place to meet people, or an opportunity to learn and grow, you are welcome at UCC Boxborough. UCCB's worship services are full of progressive theology, personal connection, reverence, and laughter. But they are much more than their Sunday worship services.

Welcoming All, Caring for the World, Growing in the Spirit