Since the Troubadors roamed the villages with guitars strapped to their backs, music has resonated through the Cuban landscape. Weaving a colorful tapestry of love, life and "las cosas sencillas" (simple things), music is the loom that binds Cuba's people. Echoing from doorways and spilling out of cantinas, traditional Cuban music with its African, French and Spanish influences, remains as much a staple of Cuban culture today as it did a century ago.

Renowned Cuban jazz musician Hilario Durán, supported by an outstanding group of musicians, brings the emotion and energy of Cuba to life with eight traditional songs of the early 20th century, and four original tracks arranged in the time honored style of classic Cuban music. A unique arrangement of the classic cha-cha recreates the mood of a Cuban dancehall in the traditional song "El cañonero", while the lush vocals in the gorgeous Durán original "Amigo" evoke the spirit and passion of Havana's rich musical history at its finest.

Take this journey through Havana's past as Hilario Durán captures with affecting vibrancy, the music that courses through the veins of a nation.