Frank Fernandez evokes Alicia Alonso at Ibero-American festival

'For Alicia Alonso, Ave Maria by Schubert,' the famous Cuban pianist Frank Fernandez offered at the opening of the inaugural gala of the 25th Ibero-American Culture Festival.

The event takes place in the eastern province of Holguin, about 734 kilometers east of the capital, from 24 to 30 October, and the composer was the deluxe guest of a ceremony that ended Thursday with the Teatro Eddy Suñol applauding.

Wearing mourning clothes, Fernandez assured Prensa Latina that Alonso's death left him speechless, because Alicia is a piece of the Homeland, this cannot only be seen as the death of a personality.

Her legacy was transcendental, so I wanted to give something spiritual to her and maybe that is why my most emblematic theme, perhaps the one that has lasted the longest in time, has been the love song of the great rebellion and I arranged that officially all programs say 'dedicated to Alicia Alonso,' he emphasized.

It's a token of my respect, my affection and my sadness, because somehow this song, although full of vitality and love, also has a touch of lyricism and tenderness, he said.