Carlos Varela invited to Ottawa festival

THE organizers of the Ottawa Blues Festival have invited Cuban trova singer Carlos Varela to join the line-up of celebrities who, between next July 7 and 17, will light up the stage in that Canadian city. According to Varela’s promoter, La Rueda Producciones, the singer "will now have the opportunity to enter Canada and captivate thousands of Bob Dylan fans." The U.S. singer-songwriter is among the most famous artists invited to perform at the Cisco Bluesfest as the festival is also known.

The Cuban artist, author of "Una Palabra", a song that is heard twice in the film Man of Fire by U.S. director Tony Scott, will perform on the same bill as French-Spanish singer Manu Chao, Canadian artist Sarah Harmer, the Steve Miller Band and Los Lobos, among others.

Varela’s performances in Ottawa will be followed by others in Quebec, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, the latter being the setting for the trova singer’s Canadian debut last year. Carlos Varela has recorded seven albums since his career took off in the 1980s, as part of the movement named by Cuban critics as "New Trova". This second generation of Cuban singer-songwriters followed that of Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés, among other founders of the New Trova Movement.

Several of Varela’s songs have been hits performed by Spanish singer Ana Belén and her compatriot Joaquín Sabina. Among those who have shared the stage with the Cuban musician are U.S. artists Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, and the Argentines León Gieco, Fito Páez and Mercedes Sosa. •