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CURATED BY LUCA BRANDOLI & KIMBERLY MIGUEL MULLEN

Luca Brandoli is an internationally acclaimed percussionist and singer who has performed with professional bands in the US, Japan, Mexico, Europe, Canada, Cuba, and other countries. Brandoli is the Director of Grupo Barracon, a Cuban band whose CD’s were nominated 4 times in 2011 and 2012 by Cubadisco, the Cuban Grammys. Based in Los Angeles and Cuba, Brandoli has dedicated his life’s work to studying popular and folkloric Cuban music for 30 years. Brandoli has also been teaching AfroCuban percussion and song in several colleges throughout the US, including the University of California Los Angeles with a residency for 7 years. As a result of Brandoli’s extensive research in AfroCuban Folkloric Music, he has authored 13 books on AfroCuban religious songs. Known for his extensive knowledge, Brandoli has become a sought-after percussionist and singer for religious ceremonies, both in Cuba and the US.

Kimberly Miguel Mullen, M.A., an internationally recognized dancer and ethnologist who teaches and performs worldwide. As a solo artist, she was one of a chosen few to perform with the late legendary Cuban percussionist Francisco Aguabella. The Los Angeles Times has described her movement, as “spectacularly supple,” a well-crafted mixture of traditional techniques from the African diaspora and Silvestre contemporary dance, Mullen, who earned a Masters of Arts degree from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures, actively pursues her interests in dance ethnography, traveling throughout the world while creating links among cultures through the expression of dance. Since 2005, Mullen has also been recognized as an international popular dance DVD personality and choreographer renowned for infusing traditional dance forms into mainstream markets. Her debut dance workout DVD, “Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body,” was awarded “Best Dance DVD 2009” by Health Magazine. www.kimberlymiguelmullen.com