Yarima Blanco, is a master of the trés, a Cuban guitar that is an essential element of traditional Cuban music. An instrument that is predominantly played by men, Blanco has been breaking boundaries since she first started playing the instrument in her home town of Bayamo when she was just a child. Her approach to the instrument is unique, at times smooth and romantic and other times achieving a percussive-aggressive quality.
Blanco began her musical studies at the Conservatory of Music in Bayamo, where she excelled in a variety of competitions as a classical guitarist. She eventually left the Conservatory, moving instead to the Instituto Superior de Arte in Cuba’s capital of Havana, where she picked up the trés. There, she studied with renowned professor of the trés, Efrain Amador. After university, she became a member of the famous all-female orquesta “Anacaona,” with whom she toured internationally for ten years. In 2016, she founded her own outfit Yarima Blanco and “Son Latino” who are making their own name in her home country of Cuba and beyond.
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