On the 19th of September, 1900, the band had its first official performance. It was conducted by Calixto Varona. The repertoire comprised Spanish pieces, waltzes, polkas and, naturally, the Cuban National Anthem. La Banda Municipal de Santiago was the second banda created in Cuba, after that of...
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On the 19th of September, 1900, the band had its first official performance. It was conducted by Calixto Varona. The repertoire comprised Spanish pieces, waltzes, polkas and, naturally, the Cuban National Anthem. La Banda Municipal de Santiago was the second banda created in Cuba, after that of Havana. In 7908, it won the first prize at the national competition organised in the capital city.
La Banda, as heard in its present-day form, represents if not the faithful copy, at least the orchestral and musical continuation of the former brass band of the town of Santiago, in the Oriente province, birthplace of the son and the trovo (the troubadour ballad repertoire which dates back to the first decades of this century). Conducted since 1974 by the brilliant maestro Castillo Penalver, this banda has featured some of the main figures of Cuban music .
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