5/1/26:<br>Xiomara and Axel

May Day is a dual-purpose occasion marking both ancient spring festivals and International Workers' Day, a day of labor demonstrations and solidarity. Mayday is the international radiotelephone distress call used for life-threatening emergencies in aviation and shipping, indicating immediate help is needed. Given the time of year and the precarity our national government is imposing upon this world, both meanings are relevant for the May 1 return of Axel Tosca and Xiomara Laugart to @exuberance.

What did they bring here back in February 2018 and October 2019? More exuberance than you could shake a stick at. We were going to have them back in 2020 but covid had other plans. Trump wants to take over Cuba. I expect these Cubans will take us over. If past is prologue, they will. 

Born with rhythm in her veins, Xiomara began singing professionally at 15 years old. She quickly earned international acclaim and won multiple awards across Russia, Poland, and Germany. She became a muse of the Nueva Trova movement, performing alongside legends like Omara Portuondo, Pablo Milanés, and Silvio Rodríguez while effortlessly blending traditional Cuban sounds with jazz, soul, and contemporary styles.

Axel Tosca was born to Xiomara and Cuban folk singer-guitarist Alberto Tosca in 1983. Today he is a New York jazz pianist and composer known for his technical proficiency, soulful playing, and innovative approach to jazz with diverse projects in the works. Working together, Xiomara and Axel make a sublime duo that breathes life and fire into sets of songs that exude soulful feeling. 

The albums are divine and the Siboney Axel arranged for Xiomara, Candido and Mike Rodriguez is an addictive video I return to over and over. No performers have delivered more joy here than Xiomara and Axel and we celebrate their return.

Joining the duo are Jon Smith, bass and Diego J. Ramirez, drums.