{"product_id":"fantasia-vinyl-lp-cd","title":"Fantasia – Vinyl LP\/CD","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. Preludio \/ 2. Este Camino Largo \/ 3. Decide Tu \/ 4. Interludio \/ 5. El Arriero \/ 6. Te Canta Mi Tambor \/ 7. Ritmo Abierto \/ 8. Postludio \/ 9. Final\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe next album in our Cuban Classics series is a hard one to pigeonhole. It’s a real oddity, unique and not in keeping with the majority of Cuban albums we know, but it's all the better for this. Coming courtesy of Juan Almeida, the \u003cem\u003eFantasia\u003c\/em\u003e LP is an eclectic and epic, instrumental ride through Latin jazz-funk, trippy electronics and orchestrated classical music. Sounding at points like a \u003cstrong\u003efull-blown orchestrated score\u003c\/strong\u003e to a dusty animated film extravaganza, with phrases and passages repeating like the appearance of ghostly spectres throughout the recording. At others, it busts into exotic funk, psychedelic-trippiness and Afro-Cuban percussion. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs rich and varied as the record, so too was Juan Almeida's (Juan Almeida Bosque) life. A descendant of African slaves born in a poor neighbourhood in Havana in 1927, Almeida went from bricklayer to university law student, through which he would meet \u003cstrong\u003eFidel Castro\u003c\/strong\u003e. He played a key role in the Cuban revolution, becoming the only black commander and famously voicing \u003cem\u003e“Aqui no se rinde nadie!”\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cem\u003e“Nobody here surrenders!”\u003c\/em\u003e) when outnumbered at the start of the offensive. Castro would later make him one of his vice presidents, but Almeida’s legacy does not stop there. He also became the composer of over 300 popular Cuban songs, many of them recounting his days as a guerrilla. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProduced, orchestrated and conducted by \u003cstrong\u003eRafael Somavilla\u003c\/strong\u003e, who worked on a vast array of Cuban recordings including \u003cstrong\u003eRaúl Gómez's \u003cem\u003eInstrumental\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e which we also reissued on Mr Bongo. The feel of Fantasia is big, luscious, grand and pop-classical. It has become a \u003cstrong\u003ehighly sought-after,\u003c\/strong\u003e cult Cuban rarity amongst collectors and like many great albums, every repeat listen brings with it new elements previously unnoticed. Such is its richness and depth. A truly mesmerising, off-the-beaten-track instrumental record.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe vinyl release is presented with a \u003cstrong\u003eCuban Classic Series OBI Strip.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U53lQ49U-Lk?si=TDfFBzRsarpUyHhJ\" height=\"315\" width=\"100%\" allowfullscreen=\"\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Juan Almeida","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl LP","offer_id":58738349965696,"sku":"MRBLP295","price":10.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":58738349998464,"sku":"MRBCD295","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0972\/1384\/1792\/files\/MRBLP295JuanAlmeida_Fantasia_Shopify_Square.jpg?v=1787213416","url":"https:\/\/vinylvers.com\/products\/fantasia-vinyl-lp-cd","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}