Orozco Contemporáneo

Innovating through dance, folklore, and transdisciplinary art to embody Cuban identity and creativity.

Celebrating Cuban Identity Through Art

Orozco Contemporáneo: A Transdisciplinary Artistic Journey Rooted in Cuban Culture and Innovation.

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Dancers

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Choreographers

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Possibilites

Artistic Innovation Hub

Exploring contemporary art through Cuban identity and transcultural expressions in performing arts.

Creative Collaborations

We integrate diverse artistic practices, fostering innovation and dialogue within the performing arts community.

Cultural Experiences

Engage with our unique performances that celebrate folklore and contemporary narratives, enriching cultural understanding.

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Okana Yala

The root of the heartbeat

Orozco Contemporáneo — a company founded and directed by Liliet Orozco, a Cuban dancer, choreographer, cultural manager, and academic — presents the project Okana Yala, an artistic extension sponsored and supported by the parent company.

Okana Yala arises from the need to open creative and symbolic pathways between Cuba and its diaspora, articulating dance, music, and singing as inseparable languages. Its proposal focuses on transdisciplinary live performances, where tradition and contemporaneity intertwine to generate universal aesthetic experiences.

- Okana: the first letter of the Yoruba Dilogún, linked to the beginning and opening of paths.

- Yala: a Yoruba-Bantu phonetic resonance that invokes singing, calling, and melody.

- Synthesis: "the dance that opens paths, invokes the root, and projects towards the future."

Host Voice: Elain Morales

Cuban singer-songwriter and musician with a recognized international career, nominated for the Latin Grammy in 2012 and a winner of two Emmy awards. His uniquely timbred voice has been distinguished for its versatility and expressive depth. His style traverses timba, son, jazz, bolero, and flamenco, transcending genre boundaries.

In addition to his musical work, Morales has engaged in significant cultural activism and efforts against gender violence in Cuba, noted in international journalistic sources. In Okana Yala, he embodies the voice that opens and sustains the bridge between root and future, making Cuba en Mí a performance where singing becomes body, memory, and social commitment.

Musical Director: Alejandro Valdés

Alejandro Valdés Reyes is one of the most prominent figures in the so-called Nuevo Flamenco of Cuba. A composer, producer, and guitarist, he is also the founder and director of the group Palo de Agua.

His album Calles del Olvido was awarded for its sonic innovation by combining flamenco guitar, gaita flute, darbuka, electric bass, and Afro-Caribbean vocals. Valdés proposes a conscious departure from traditional flamenco frameworks without renouncing its technical rigor, while integrating a Caribbean vision of melancholy, rhythm, and improvisation. His art does not replicate clichés: it deconstructs them to rebuild a truly Cuban flamenco identity, tragic and sensual at the same time.

In Okana Yala, Alejandro Valdés, serves as the musical architect of the performance, generating the organic foundation that articulates dance, music and voice into a unique stage experience.