Rumba Para Bebo

[APWW PGM #678] [Originally Aired in 2013] The legendary Cuban pianist / bandleader / composer Ramón "Bebo" Valdés used to say, el día que me muera, no quiero lloradera. Que toquen una rumba, que tomen ron y coman chocolate, y que toquen mi música más bailable. The day I die, I don’t want weeping. Have a rumba, drink rum and eat chocolate, and play my most danceable music. Bebo passed on March 22, 2013 at the age of 94, and to honor his memory in high spirits, Afropop Worldwide producer Ned Sublette travels to the Voll-Damm Barcelona International Jazz Festival for an exclusive presentation: highlights from the historic Rumba Para Bebo – part concert, part memorial, part Cuban jazz jam, part rumba, and part Kongo ceremony. The show features Bebo's son and former pupil, the reigning grandmaster Cuban pianist / bandleader / composer Jesús "Chucho" Valdés and the Afro Cuban Messengers, and with special guests Jerry González, Omar Sosa and Malongo, Mayra Caridad Valdés, Lázara Cachao, Javier Massó “Caramelo,” Javier Colina, Mauricio Vallina, Paloma Manfugás, Eladio Reinón, David Pastor, and more!