Mathias Haufiku And Desie Heita
11 May 2011
Windhoek — The vivacious Cuban salsa band that is touring Namibia was
involved in a fatal vehicle accident on Monday.
The accident claimed the life of one of the seven musicians of the
Almendra Salsa band.
The accident happened on Monday afternoon along the Okahandja-Karibib
road, when the official vehicle of the Cuban Ambassador to Namibia,
Carlos Manuel Roger Lago, left the road. Ambassador Lago escaped with
minor injuries.
The Almendra band concluded its Namibian tour on Sunday with a free
concert at Rehoboth having started in Windhoek during the commemoration
of Cassinga Day on May 4.
Deputy Commissioner of the Namibian Police, Sylvanus Nghishidimbwa,
confirmed the accident. He said it took place 35 kilometres before
Karibib at around 15h50. Nghishidimbwa confirmed that a female passenger
died in the accident.
The Cuban Embassy in Windhoek identified the deceased as Diana Iris
Lopez Gonzales, the flutist and vocalist for the band. According to
information obtained thus far, the other six members are okay.
The Cuban Embassy in Windhoek said "no one is in hospital". The embassy
could not release more information "at this stage".
The band arrived in the country last week with the now deceased Lopez
Gonzales on flute and vocals, Maydel Hernandez Hernandez on vocals,
Yilianny Valdez Tabares vocals, Evqely Valdes Gutierez on bass and
vocals, Yaidelys Ortiz Milian on vocals, Mayelin Vazquez Fuentes on
percussions and vocals, Osmany Palacios Cantero guitarist and manager
and head of delegation Katrina Palacios.
The group has been to Germany three times between 1994 and 2000, and has
also performed in Brazil, Guatemala and Italy.
The tour was sponsored by the Namibian and Cuban governments.
Almendra Band was founded in Pinar Del Rio, Havana, Cuba in late 1993
and is the brainchild of Cantero, a musician, composer and music
arranger. He is a member of the Cuban Association of Writers of Artists,
UNEAC.
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