Only Cuban community music school marks its 50th anniversary

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Nov 28 (ACN) With an artistic gala showcasing the talent of its students, the 50th anniversary of the community music school Lauro Fuentes, the only one of its kind in Cuba, was held in this city today.

This school teaches people from seven to 90 years old with musical aptitudes.

The show was held in the Concert Hall Dolores, offered by a representation of the students, among which the children stood out, who demonstrated the continuity of the rich sonorous tradition that characterizes this eastern city, cradle of the trova, son and Bolero.

Vilma Inés Pelegrín Rodríguez, director of the "Lauro Fuentes", explained to the ACN that the specialties taught are singing, choral singing, guitar, piano, violin, trumpet, saxophone, percussion, flute and clarinet, while highlighting the dedication of the 40 teachers with which the center has, with current enrollment of 590 students.

Students from the provinces of Holguín, Granma and Las Tunas have also passed through our classrooms, she added.

Among the projects of the institution, she praised the children's group Son 14, which is inspired by the emblematic orchestra founded in the city of Santiago by important interpreters such as Tiburón Morales, who has been one of the figures that has supported the development of this project, created 50 years ago to promote popular and traditional music.

Pelegrín Rodríguez highlighted the work with blind and visually impaired children, who also receive classes in the center, from the collaboration of the Santiago branch of the National Association of the Blind, and the Antonio Fernández León School, in the town of Boniato, where the call is made to children with a musical vocation.

Then those little ones receive the classes in the "Lauro Fuentes" with the Braille reading and writing system, and they get involved in the school projects, which fills them with joy; It is beautiful to appreciate the joy in their faces and in those of their relatives, commented Pelegrín Rodríguez, at the same time that she highlighted the consecration that deserves this type of education.

Samira Nuño Pérez, 11 years old and visually impaired, expressed her satisfaction with the activities at the center, where she enrolled this year in the singing specialty, and integrates one of the choirs.
I love the pop genre and Cuban music, so I feel very happy in this school, the girl said.