write-up by Elisangela Martínez Medina:

Mariela Suárez, musical director for Havana NRG, plays violin, piano and sings coro. Mariela is from Havana, Cuba, the Vedado district. Other band members are from various parts of Cuba that include La Havana, Holguin, Pinar del Río and Matanzas. In addition to the Cubanos in Havana NRG, one band member is from Peru and another is from the United States.

Havana NRG creates a fusion of timba, salsa, meringue, and the more traditional grooves of charanga and son. They’ve brought this rhythmic cocktail to audiences all over Texas, as well as New York, Miami, Albuquerque, and San Francisco. They have also played internationally in Japan, Italy, Germany, Portugal and Israel.

Mariela and the band are pleased with the new CD.
The CD starts with a couple of smooth salsa tracks with that unmistakably Cuban spice. There are a couple of merengues, one being very romantic that dancers can float across the floor to, another with a heavier, funky beat for all those shimmies and tricky turns. There are a couple of elegant charangas with soulful Cuban rhythms. There’s a cool Latin jazzy mambo track that can be enjoyed by dancers who like their salsa on 2. There’s a nice Bachata for dancing with that special someone, and a salsa-hip hop song that younger audiences will like.

The last track on the CD is perhaps the best in terms of heating up the dance floor with the energy of all types of dancers. “Con Güiro, Clave y Bongó” is distinctively Cuban, the beat and the vocals, it packs a punch and is sure to make dancers, who can, do the big moves, and everyone else smile and feel the groove.

1.  Dime si te vas
2.  Maria Mercedes
3.  Juana
4.  La Jabaita
5.  Permiso
6.  La Juguetona
7.  Se Me va La Vida
8.  Pilon Homenaje
9.  Nina
10. La Herencia