Manuel Barrueco "Cuba!"

"Cuba!", guitarist Maneul Barrueco's 1999 EMI release, was called "an extraordinary musical achievement" by the San Francisco Chronicle. Cuban music is as rich as is varied, and Barrueco has chosen works by composers such as Ernesto Lecuona (the most famous composer that Cuba has ever produced) and Hector Angulo (tracks 8-16 comprise the "Cantos Yoruba De Cuba", melodies belonging to the Yoruban people, who came to Cuba as slaves from the west African state of Nigeria). Also of Afro-Cuban inspiration are tracks 20-21, which comprise the "Rito De Los Orishas" by Leo Brouwer. Brouwer, a guitarist himself, was born in Havana and is recognised as one of Cuba's most important contemporary composers.