Hanine Y Son Cubano

Hanine Y Son Cubano is a musical group formed in 1999 that merges Cuban music and Arabic music.

It is a project of the Lebanese artist and producer Michel Éléftériadès (director of the label Elef Records), which one day, sitting in a cafeteria of Havana, surrounded by Afro-Cuban sounds, began singing to himself a classic of the Arabic music, "Ya Habibi ta ala" of the Arab diva Asmahan. The idea of a fusion of Cuban and the Arabic musical genres came instantly to his mind.

Michel Éléftériadès spent two years trying to achieve this project. He selected seven of the best Cuban musicians, he chose legendary vocalist Marcelino Linares, who died in 2000, two days before launching the concept. He auditioned hundreds of singers before choosing Hanine Abu Chakra, young singer from Lebanon that was comfortable singing classical music Arabic who had finished its last year at the Conservatoire. The project experienced a dazzling success. The Arab-Cuban music was born.

The Arab Cuban was number one in Lebanon for a year, and has met with a similar success in the Middle East and other Mediterranean countries.

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