Havana Cultura partners Gilles Peterson

27 Oct 2009

A double album of Cuban music, which was released on 26 October, is the latest project from the ongoing Havana Cultura global art initiative for the Pernod-Ricard-owned rum brand, Havana Club.

The collection is the culmination of DJ/producer Gilles Peterson's year-long search for the best new musical talent in the Cuban capital of Havana, and combines newly-written material with outstanding contemporary tracks and traditional classics. Here's a video from the Havana Cultura website with Gilles Peterson introducing the project.

This is the first international musical project from Havana Club’s global art initiative, Havana Cultura, and it also sees a series of Cuba-inspired gigs hitting the northern UK cities of Leeds and Manchester during October and November. The sessions will culminate with a grand finale which will feature an exclusive performance by Peterson, and invite consumers to discover the spirit of Havana with drinks such as mojitos and frozen daiquiris.

The collaboration promises to be the biggest compilation of contemporary Cuban musicians since Buena Vista Social Club captivated a worldwide audience 12 years ago, and is no doubt an ambitious project. But following on from Malibu’s interactive mixing and Bacardi’s ongoing B-Live initiative, it does raise a question over whether or not rum brands can market themselves without having a music element.

Even though the projects differ hugely in terms of their remit and each one has their merits, if all rum brands choose to use music as a key part of their marketing strategy, it’s clearly going to be difficult for consumers to remember which brand was behind the interactive mixer and which one partnered Gilles Peterson. Perhaps there’s the potential to mine the rich cultures of Latin America or the Caribbean more vigorously to reflect other aspects of life in those vibrant parts of the world.

This video was kindly provided by Contagious Magazine