Cuban Classical Music in Exile: A Centennial Celebration

Centennial Tribute to Maestro Aurelio de la Vega
World Full Premiere of The Olympian Gods
Pasadena, California

On a luminous evening in Pasadena, the Guerra String Orchestra, under the direction of composer-conductor Dr. Yalil Guerra, presents a concert of profound artistic and historical significance. This special program pays tribute to Aurelio de la Vega on the centennial of his birth, honoring one of the most distinguished voices of Cuban and Latin American concert music.

A composer of international stature, De la Vega’s work represents intellectual rigor, expressive depth, and a commitment to artistic integrity. His music—rooted in modernist language yet unmistakably shaped by Cuban sensibility—stands as a testament to the enduring vitality of the island’s classical tradition beyond its geographical borders.

This program centers on the theme of Cuban classical music in exile—a cultural space where memory, identity, and artistic innovation coexist. Creating music outside one’s homeland is not an act of rupture, but of expansion. It allows tradition to travel, evolve, and dialogue with new environments.

Far from political discourse, this concert reflects a human experience shared by artists across history: the search for artistic truth wherever life unfolds. Cuban composers in exile have continued to cultivate the island’s rich musical DNA—its lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and expressive intensity—while embracing the broader artistic landscapes of the United States and Europe. The result is a repertoire that is both deeply rooted and universally resonant.

The evening will also feature the world full premiere of The Olympian Gods, a new orchestral work by Dr. Yalil Guerra. Inspired by the grandeur and mythology of ancient Greece, this composition explores archetypal forces—power, beauty, wisdom, conflict, and transcendence—through a vibrant and cinematic string orchestra palette.

In dialogue with the tribute to De la Vega, The Olympian Gods symbolizes continuity: the passing of creative fire from mentor to disciple, from one generation of composers to the next. It affirms that the tradition of Cuban classical music not only endures—it flourishes.

Set against the cultural backdrop of Pasadena’s artistic community, this concert promises an evening of reflection, celebration, and renewal—where heritage and new creation meet under one stage, and where music transcends geography to speak in its most universal language.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

St. Andrew Catholic Church, 311 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, United States

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