Duendes de Aurora
Los Angeles, California, United States | AFTRA
Music
Press
Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites: Epicurean Events
THE PEARL OF HAVANA
A Dream Fantasy Fundraiser
"From the red carpet arrival to the finale at the Bella Vista Ranch on the Nesbitt Estate and Polo Field, the evening dedicated to raising charity dollars ... was a duplication of an elegant 1940s Cuban extravaganza, complete with music by the Sultans of Mambo, a delightful ‘Babalu’ performance by Desi Arnaz, Jr., a sizzling dance duet to ‘Ravel’s Bolero’, the Bandidos de Amor with performances by The Tropidanza Dancers, and a grand finale Conga line
The Pearl of Havana women arrived elegantly dressed in white with pearls, some had gardenias in their hair, and each man attending was given a Panama hat to wear while enjoying tasty bites and Mohito’s during the silent auction of fine art, exquisite jewelry and more. The auction was held in a very sexy ‘Casa Blanca’ style nightclub area that lead to the main dining room and stage. An Exclusive Cigar Lounge hosted by Arturo Fuente and Santa Barbara Cigars and Tobacco was adjacent to the auction area, where gentlemen enjoyed the best in fine cigars and cocktails. Design inspiration for the evening came from three stunning movies: Bolero (1934), Café Metropole, (1942) a period piece of exquisite nightclub glamour, and Andy Garcia’s Lost City of ‘06.
The catering was done by the very talented Helen An, Crustacean of Beverly Hills. Celebrities were everywhere, including talented actor Hector Elizondo, and talented former tennis champion Jimmy Connors. Beau and Jeff Bridges and Mary Hart were honorary co-chairs for Pearl of Havana, and Luis Estevez de Galvez, internationally renowned designer, architect, and Coty award winner from Montecito, did his amazing magic with the sets. . - Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites
Santa Barbara Daily Sound
"...Saturday night, amid gusty winds and smoky skies, the foundation held one of the grandest, most elegant fund-raisers the south coast has ever seen.
“The Pearl of Havana: A Cuban Fantasy” boasted some of Hollywood’s biggest names as well many familiar Santa Barbara faces as the charity raised money for mostly single-parent-families.
Celebrity faces in the crowd included actors Andy Garcia, Rob Lowe, Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges; Entertainment Tonight TV Personality Mary Hart; and up-and-coming actress and host of American Karaoke Champs, Patricia Taylor.
The event, which was held on the polo fields of the Nesbitt Estate in Carpinteria, was a recreation of a glamorous 1940 Havana night club and included a silent auction with well over a million dollars worth of auction items, a live auction, a cigar lounge and an enchanting authentic Cuban stage performance coordinated by JoAnn Jansen.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” UCSB trustee Marilyn Lee said about the $500-a-head event. “This is truly an amazing organization.”
Crustacean restaurant out of Los Angeles catered the six-course Tapas dinner, and Summerland Winery proved the wine.
At the last minute, tennis pro Jimmy Conners donated an hour long private tennis lesson to the live auction and a bidding war erupted. Two lucky biders nabbed the lesson for a whopping $60,000 each.
Desi Arnaz Jr. came out of retirement for the night to lead the band and TV personality Alan Thicke was the master of ceremony.
Guests were magically transported to 1940s Cuba for a night of joy and entertainment..." - Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Discography
California Rumba (BDA Records) - debut release
Asi Es La Vida (BDA Records)
The Colors of Rhythm (Anjoduco Records) - Josh Cruze's Solo CD
Photos
Bio
Origin of The Duendes De Aurora
In 1995, bassist/producer Larry G. Goldman (El Professor) was performing in a group called AFRA led by world beat Middle Eastern recording artist, Faramarz Assef. Larry had arranged and produced several of Faramarz's world music CDs and had appeared in his videos and well as being the musical director for his band(s). One day Faramarz introduced him to an exotic guitarist named Yussi. Yussi (new to Los Angeles from Switzerland) came into the Afra band upon the recommendation of Ardeshir (Eddie) Farah (of the well known instrumental world music group, Strunz & Farah). After playing several concerts and discussing their musical interests Yussi invited Larry G. to join another group he had going with guitarist, Django Porter, simply called Yussi & Django. Shortly thereafter, they all recorded the group's debut release on the XDOT label.
In 1997 they were approached by BMG records executive, Javier Willis, about some possible performances later that year. The group mentioned to him that they were interested in adding a vocalist, but hadn't found that special someone.
At the same time Josh Cruze was acting in the award winning musical "Twist of Fate". One night Javier Willis came to the show and saw Josh sing and play the guitar. He thought Josh would be perfect for the band. After the show Javier Willis met with Josh and a meeting with the other guys was set. The meeting went great and everyone decided to give it a try. Rehearsals and dates to perform were scheduled.
The performances were very promising, but after three months Django left the band for artistic reasons.
Prior to Django's departure, Larry G. was performing with a group he put together for an appearance in a popular Beverly Hills nightclub to play Latin Jazz. The drummer had recommended an excellent and versatile Argentine guitarist, Marcelo Berestovoy to Larry. Marcelo and Larry G. instantly hit it off and kept in touch sharing their common interests in music and life. Coincidentally, Yussi was working on an independent recording project with a friend and met Marcelo while auditioning guitarists. He liked Marcelo's playing and kept his number.
When Django moved on to new adventures, the band went looking for another guitar player. Yussi mentioned Marcelo to Josh and Josh gave him a call. Larry G. and Marcelo were pleasantly surprised to find each other working together one night as the group was trying out new guitarists. Things worked out, as things do and the band felt that they had found the right musician and backup singer in Marcelo.
When Django left, a decision was made to change the name of the band. The name chosen was Bandidos de Amor. Today the Bandidos de Amor are one of the most respected bands in Los Angeles. They have recorded two indie CDs, "California Rumba" and "Asi La Vida". They are presently working on their third CD. Their songs are on film and television sound tracks.
On one point, Marcelo left to assume a teaching career at the famed, Musician�s Institute in Los Angeles.
Marcelo was eventually replaced by a wonderful guitarist who had just moved to LA from San Diego, Daniel Sistos. Prior to joining the Bandidos de Amor, Dan had spent time working in the San Diego area with various groups and eventually moving to LA to join Christina Aguilera's Band and at another time, Toni Braxton's group. Dan helped out on Josh's 'Colors of Rhythm' solo CD and has become an integral part of the Bandidos de Amor band.
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