Rolling Stones darán concierto gratuito en La Habana el 25 de marzo

La actuación, la primera de la legendaria banda de rock en la isla, tendrá lugar en la Ciudad Deportiva de la capital cubana, tan sólo tres días después de la histórica visita del presidente de EE.UU., Barack Obama, al país.

“Hemos tocado en muchos lugares especiales durante nuestra larga carrera, pero este espectáculo en La Habana va a ser un hito para nosotros y esperamos que lo sea también para todos nuestros amigos en Cuba", señala la banda en el comunicado, divulgado en las redes sociales.

La presentación en La Habana será el colofón de su gira por América Latina "Ole Tour", que también ha recorrido estadios multitudinarios en ciudades como Buenos Aires, Río de Janeiro o Montevideo, y todavía tiene que pasar por Lima, Bogotá y México DF, antes de desembarcar en la capital cubana.

El comunicado del grupo de rock indica que el evento en La Habana es posible gracias a la colaboración de la Fundashon Bon Intenshon, de Curacao, que apoya proyectos internacionales en áreas como la educación, el deporte o la cultura.

El "Concierto por la Amistad", como lo han bautizado, será filmado para la posterior realización de un documental sobre la gira de la banda responsable de éxitos como "Satisfaction", "Gimme Shelter" o "Start me up".

Hace varios meses, el líder de la banda Mick Jagger realizó una visita privada a la isla que disparó los rumores sobre una posible presentación de sus "satánicas majestades" en la isla, algo que desde la semana pasada ya se daba por hecho al conocerse que miembros de su equipo ultimaban detalles para la organización del concierto con Instituto Cubano de la Música.

Este es el comunicado oficial que confirma el concierto en La Habana:

THE ROLLING STONES ANNOUNCE FREE CONCERT IN CUBA!

The Rolling Stones will perform a groundbreaking concert in Havana, Cuba on Friday March 25, 2016.  The free concert will take place at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana and will be the first open air concert in the country by a British Rock Band.  Always exploring new horizons and true pioneers of rock, the Stones, who have toured every corner of the globe, will bring their high octane performance and incredible music catalogue to the Caribbean for the first time ever.

This once-in-a-lifetime concert event follows the band’s America Latina Ole tour, which is currently receiving rave reviews, playing to huge audiences in stadiums in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio De Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre with Lima, Bogotá and Mexico City following next week. The band are also leading a musician to musician initiative in which much needed musical instruments and equipment are being donated by major suppliers for the benefit of Cuban musicians of all genres. Donors include The Gibson Foundation, Vic Firth, RS Berkeley, Pearl, Zildjian, Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Roland and BOSS with additional assistance from the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation.

The Rolling Stones said: “We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too.”

This historical concert will no doubt have Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood mesmerizing a new audience of fans with a set packed full of classic Stones hits as well as special gems from their million selling albums.

The Rolling Stones concert, which has been in the planning stages for several months comes only days after President Barack Obama’s recently announced visit to Cuba.

This entire event is being made possible by the benefaction of Fundashon Bon Intenshon on behalf of the island of Curaçao. Fundashon Bon Intenshon initiates and supports international charitable projects in the fields of education, athletics, cultural literacy, healthcare and tourism as well as other attempts to mitigate the impact of general poverty.

It is being promoted by AEG’s Concerts West and Musica Punto Zero who extend their gratitude for the support provided by the Institute of Cuban Music in bringing this event to the people of Cuba.

The Rolling Stones “Concert for Amity” will be filmed and produced by award winning production company JA Digital with Paul Dugdale directing and Simon Fisher and Sam Bridger as producers. Julie Jakobek of JA Digital said: “It’s a great honour to be working with the Rolling Stones again on this hugely exciting and historic event”.