Latino / latino / Salsa

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 – Athenea, A Woman of Many Roots

by Sandra Gasana

“I was born in Cuba, but I’m actually a quarter Ethiopian, a quarter Haitian, a quarter Chilean and a quarter Spanish,” she tells us in the middle of her show. Indeed, the Lady in Red from head to toe (I’m not exaggerating, even her hair was red) charmed us during her outdoor performance at the Festival Nuits d’Afrique.

Arriving with an array of musicians on stage, including her husband Ricardo on keyboards, the band’s musical director, and an excellent pianist, she blew us away from the moment she took to the stage. She is accompanied by a percussionist, a drummer, a saxophonist, two trumpeters and a guitarist. She decided to open with a cover of Gloria Estefan’s Mi Tierra, but followed this up with one of her own compositions. And it’s here that we discover her talents as a percussionist and dancer, as well as playing the maracas.

“The next one is a composition of mine, Amarga Gloria, and it’s about the contradiction that exists with immigration. We think all our problems will be solved, but we’re going to run into other problems here.”

She alternates between salsa and cumbia, and sometimes changes rhythm in the same song, which adds richness and depth to the track. She has a great stage presence, taking up space and revealing herself completely, interacting with her audience. And there’s no denying her talent for staging dramatic finales! But hey, you had to play the game!

She surprised us with her cover of Papaoutai, which she interpreted very well and allowed us to discover that she sings in French. My favorite was her Spanish rendition of the Jacksons’ Blame It On The Boogie, which I really enjoyed. She finished with a few classics from the salsa repertoire, before getting us all up and dancing, and allowing each of her musicians to do their solo.

Publicité panam

Latest 360 Content

Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Turnstile – Never Enough

Turnstile – Never Enough

FIJM | Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo: An Intimate Duo of Virtuosos

FIJM | Dianne Reeves and Romero Lubambo: An Intimate Duo of Virtuosos

FIJM | Brandon Woody’s Upendo: Baltimore Represents !

FIJM | Brandon Woody’s Upendo: Baltimore Represents !

FIJM | Stella Cole: From Tik Tok to The Biggest Jazz Stages

FIJM | Stella Cole: From Tik Tok to The Biggest Jazz Stages

ALICE on Her X

ALICE on Her X

FIJM  | Samara Joy: Pushing Classic Vocal Jazz Repertoire to its Limits

FIJM | Samara Joy: Pushing Classic Vocal Jazz Repertoire to its Limits

FIJM | Nas symphonic and Nas not symphonic

FIJM | Nas symphonic and Nas not symphonic

Suoni | The Jellicle KIKI Ball #2 – Feline Grace is Served

Suoni | The Jellicle KIKI Ball #2 – Feline Grace is Served

Suoni | The Dark, Wicked, Warm and Absurd on the Same Dish

Suoni | The Dark, Wicked, Warm and Absurd on the Same Dish

FIJM | Azimuth: Brazilian Jazz Fusion of the Highest Order

FIJM | Azimuth: Brazilian Jazz Fusion of the Highest Order

FIJM | Anomalie and Lewis: Two hour Jam by Two Heavy Hitters

FIJM | Anomalie and Lewis: Two hour Jam by Two Heavy Hitters

FIJM | Thanya Iyer and Arooj Aftab, Perfect Transplants!

FIJM | Thanya Iyer and Arooj Aftab, Perfect Transplants!

Festival de Lanaudière | Renaud Loranger Explains The Program

Festival de Lanaudière | Renaud Loranger Explains The Program

FIJM | Kojo Melché Roney, Born to Drum

FIJM | Kojo Melché Roney, Born to Drum

FIJM 2025 | King Makaya triumphs again

FIJM 2025 | King Makaya triumphs again

FIJM | It’s About Time to Ackowledge Peter Evans Fabulous Playing

FIJM | It’s About Time to Ackowledge Peter Evans Fabulous Playing

FIJM | Yasmin Williams: Reinventing The Guitar!

FIJM | Yasmin Williams: Reinventing The Guitar!

FIJM | Natalia Lafourcade Sparks a Place des Arts Gone Mexican

FIJM | Natalia Lafourcade Sparks a Place des Arts Gone Mexican

FIJM | Clown Core: the theatre of extremes, between Pennywise and Krusty

FIJM | Clown Core: the theatre of extremes, between Pennywise and Krusty

Domaine Forget | A Summer of Discovery

Domaine Forget | A Summer of Discovery

FIJM | Wynton & JLCO: Something of an Opening Ceremony

FIJM | Wynton & JLCO: Something of an Opening Ceremony

Subscribe to our newsletter