The BAM Noche Cubana Gala - Highlights

Guests taking to the dance floor during Cutumba's performance

Outisde it may have been cold and rainy on Tuesday, but inside BAM things got hot and sun-soaked for the BAM Noche Cubana Gala!  View this full article for highlights and images from the event...


The Arturo O'Farrill Ensemble performing at the BAM Noche Cubana Gala.  The motorcycle in the background is part of a special edition of BAMart, curated with the Magnan Metz Gallery and featuring contemporary Cuban artists.

 This past Tuesday, BAM celebrated the vibrant artistic spirit of Cuba with a gala that embraced the flavors and rhythms of the Cuban culture.  We invited two incredible groups of artists to perform at the event, both representing distinctive yet equally spectacular and iconic sets of the Cuban music scene - the Arturo O'Farrill Ensemble led by Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Arturo O'Farrill, and Ballet Folklorico Cutumba performing Afro-Cuban-Franco-Haitian folkloric and popular music and song.

The gala was chaired by BAM Board Trustees Therese M. Esperdy and Alberto Sanchez (Mr. Sanchez representing Banco Santander, S.A.), and guests included representatives and colleagues from many of the partners and sponsors of the current Si Cuba! Festival. 

Guests were invited to kick-off the night with a cocktail hour and mojitos aplenty, followed by a Cuban-inspired dinner by restaurateur Great Performances.  Our fabulous decor sponsor, Fleurs Bella, turned our Lepercq Space into a warm tropical oasis and the perfect setting for the extraordinary performances.  The dance floor was packed by the time Cutumba took the stage, and following their set DJ Idlemind kept the party going well into the night.

Don't miss Cutumba when they next perform at BAM for DanceAfrica 2011! 

Therese Esperdy, one of the gala chairs, with a guest during cocktails.



BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins dancing with Fernando Saez of the Ludwig Foundation.



Baba Chuck Davis introducing Cutumba.





All photos by Elena Olivo.