Cuban Film Star to Present Documentary in Havana
The most sought-after Cuban contemporary actor Jorge Perugorria will present the documentary “Iré Habana” here in late May, Cuban Film Institute sources confirmed

This is the second time he has co-directed a documentary, after his first try with compatriot filmmaker Arturo Soto, a film on the Madrid-based music project Habana Abierta, very popular in Cuba.

“Iré Habana,” in Yoruba, stands for “blessing to Havana.”

"It is a song to the health of the city, whose inspiring beauty we feel is threatened," the actor stated for a local radio station.

Made by filmmaker Angel Alderete, the film -in DVD format- presents the music by a namesake album by Cuban pianist and composer Jose Maria Vitier, a fusion of Latin jazz with genres ranging from traditional trova to Cuban country music.

The album will be presented May 28 at the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi Convent, in Old Havana, UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site since 1982.

Sponsored by the Spanish General Society of Authors and Publishers, the documentary includes Vitier as pianist, percussionist Yaroldi Abreu, bassist Jorge Reyes and soprano Barbara Llanes.

It will open May 25, as one of the activities in the program of the 9th International Fair Cubadisco 2005.

Springboarded to fame by Tomas Gutierrez Alea’s film Strawberry and Chocolate (1993), Perugorria recently finished shooting the film Rosa de Francia, by Spanish cinematographer Manuel Gutierrez Aragon.

In addition, in April he opened an exhibition of 30 canvases and 300 silk screens in the gallery of Palazzo (Florence, Italy), one of the least known sides of his career.

He is currently preparing for another exhibition at the Museum of Art in El Salvador, along with Salvadoran painter Gustavo Cesar Echevarria.