Direct from Cuba "MARACA" - Summer of 2011 U.S. Tour Dates Announced!

Direct from Havana, Orlando "Maraca" Valle returns to the U.S. this Summer with some of the most talented musicians and Soneros Cuba has to offer! He's bringing with him a 13 piece band, featuring; ex-Chucho Valdes & Irakere, Omara Portuondo & Ibrahim Ferrer's bandmates. Check out the confirmed engagements to date - more to come. We will continue to keep you updated, as the tour progresses!

Photo by Nacho Vásquez / Colorization by PJ Oliva

About Orlando "Maraca" Valle

Born in Havana, world class virtuoso flautist and ex-Chucho Valdes & Irakere's bandmate Orlando "Maraca" Valle is arguably the most famous and versatile contemporary Cuban flautist in the world. Once described as "One of the hottest names in Afro-Cuban music" by The Los Angeles Times and as "the most influential Afro-Cuban band of the emerging century" by the Chicago Tribune, Maraca has been leading his different bands and projects for more than 15 years with many performances in some of the most prestigious international jazz , Latin & world-music festivals and venues worldwide, including North Sea, Playboy, Monterey, Houston, Montreux, Lugano, Nice, Marciac, Vancouver, Montreal, Juan-les-Pins, Vittoria-Gasteiz, Pori, Jamboree, Vienne, Istanbul, La Villette, and many more. Whether the repertoire calls for incendiary dance music or creative Afro Cuban jazz, Maraca continues to astound his audiences. He has released 9 albums as a soloist, and 3 professional video-clips, each one of them rewarded during national contests in Cuba and highly acclaimed by national and international critics. His nomination to the 2003's Grammy Awards as "Best Salsa Album", made him the youngest Cuban artist ever nominated by NARAS. Maraca's original style of fusing jazz improvisations with his afro-cuban roots (rumba, folklore, danzon, chachacha, mambo, son & timba), has made his sound highly recognized worlwide, as the epitome of Cuban popular dance music and afro-Cuban jazz.