The Sad Night of Chano Pozo

The Sad Night of Chano Pozo, written by the prestigious author Leonardo Padura Fuentes and with illustrations by the renowned graphic artist Ajubel, tells the gripping and sobering little-known story of the overwhelming success and precipitous downfall of one of the most important Cuban musicians, the percussionist Chano Pozo who, together with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, led one of the greatest musical revolutions of the 20th century: Bebop and Latin Jazz.


The quality of the literary content and the beauty of the artwork make this, and the volumes to follow, a unique reading experience.


With the launch of this book, in Spanish and English, these two old friends and colleagues of artistic endeavors are taking their first step in the creation of Memories of Cuba; a collection of some of the most emblematic anecdotes, life-stories and events in the social and cultural history of this Caribbean island.


Leonardo Padura Fuentes, author of the acclaimed and multi-award winning novel The Man who Loved Dogs, is recognized as one of the most important and influential Latin American writers of today, being responsible for the renewal of detective and historical fiction. A novelist, journalist and screenwriter, Padura is the author of ten novels already translated into 18 languages. Awards granted to his work as a whole include: The “Raymond Chandler Award” granted by the Courmajor Festival, the exclusive “Roger Caillois” granted by the French Pen Club together with the “Maison de l´Amérique Latine”, and the National Prize for Literature of Cuba and Princess of Asturias Award for Literature 2015..


Ajubel, on the other hand, is a graphic artist and illustrator of international prestige with more than 120 awards international awards including the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2009. His version of Kipling´s The Cat that walked by Himself was chosen as one of the five best books made in 2012 using iBooks Author.


With The Sad Night of Chano Pozo, these two notable Cuban artists have taken the first step of a journey into the heart of Cuban history and culture. It will be a long journey but, as the old Chinese saying goes, the longest journey always begins with the first step.


The Sad Night of Chano Pozo has been published exclusively in electronic format for iPad and Mac computers (with OS Mavericks)


Upcoming titles from the Memories of Cuba collection include:


- Chinatown: the longest journey. (The birth, splendor and decadence of what was the mostpopulous Chinatown of Latin America)

- Yarini, the King. (The life and fate of the most famous pimp in the history of Cuba)

- Angerona´s Romance. (An usual love story between a romantic German and a pragmatic Haitian woman who founded the most productive and singular Cuban coffee plantation)

- Malanga´s Last Rumba. (The adventures and misadventures of a mythical rumba dancer).

- The Two Times of San José de Bellavista. (The myths and ghosts in a house in Havana in the 19th century)