The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, received the Cuban trumpeter and pianist Arturo Sandoval this Friday at the Teatro Magno in the Spanish capital, where the musician gave a masterclass in jazz fusion as part of the Hispanidad 2026 festival program.
Ayuso did not hold back in praising the artist born in Artemisa, Cuba. "Born in Cuba, he moved to the United States to start from scratch and achieve his goals with talent, effort, and freedom. Today, he is one of the greatest jazz trumpeters in history, a winner of 10 Grammy Awards and admired worldwide," wrote the President of Madrid on her Facebook account.
The masterclass, held at the Teatro Magno, brought Sandoval together with the Madrid audience in an intimate format where the musician addressed both the human dimension of his craft—how to sustain inspiration and the challenges of a long career—and purely technical aspects: sound quality, breathing techniques, mouth and facial positioning, endurance, and interpretive intention.
The Community of Madrid introduced Sandoval as the holder of nine Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards, and one Emmy, a career largely built outside of Cuba, a country he left in 1990 when he sought political asylum at the U.S. Embassy in Rome during a European tour.
The Cuban regime then labeled him a "traitor to the homeland" and banned his music on the island. In his own words, during his 28 years in Cuba, he was only able to record one album, while in the United States he produced dozens of records.
Sandoval's visit to Madrid comes at a time of accumulated accolades: in May of this year, King Felipe VI awarded him the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic, presented by the Spanish consul in Los Angeles, and in December 2024, he received the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.
The meeting with Ayuso also has a forward-looking aspect: the masterclass served as a prelude to the first Hispano Jazz Festival in the Community of Madrid, which was announced by the president at the beginning of October during an event related to the filming of the upcoming film by American director Woody Allen in the capital.
Hispanidad 2026, the festival that encompasses all these events, will take place from October 2 to 12 with over 200 cultural activities in Madrid, and the United States will be the guest country, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of its independence. Cuban singer Aymée Nuviola is also part of the lineup, with a performance scheduled at Puerta del Sol on Sunday, October 11.
Sandoval, who does not lose hope of returning to Cuba despite decades of exile, will conclude his stay in Madrid this Saturday with a free concert in the Plaza Mayor at 21:00, which Ayuso invited all Madrilenians to attend.
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