In 2022, the renowned Cuban brand of educational toys and articles for children Gabi & Sofi will venture into the world of children’s music and audiovisuals. This was announced by its CEO Ariel Balmaseda, at a press conference held in the Salón 1930 of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba.
“Semillita Azul” by singer-songwriter from Matanzas, Lindiana Murphy, and “Somos Niños” by Ariel Balmaseda, are the names of the two albums produced by the children’s label in partnership with and under the Producciones Colibrí record label.
Both albums were designed to instill in children a taste for good music and art in general, love for nature and family, human relationships and healthy living, all seen from the perspective of a child and from the concepts promoted by Gabi & Sofi in terms of the human, civic and spiritual values that today’s children should have.
The albums are also distinguished by the use of various innovative resources, with a contemporary and modern vision, but designed expressly for children, Balmaseda said. Likewise, they are focused more than anything else on showing the little ones and the family in general that there are diverse musical options that can awaken interest in them and that, at the same time, are suitable for children in terms of musicality, sonority and content, he added.
“Semillita Azul” was conceived from an experimental vision of Lindia Murphy intertwined with the vision of the brand and will be presented at the Cubadisco 2022 festival. “The songs were born in the midst of the pandemic, while playing with my baby and creating for him. While recording the songs in a Matanzas studio, we decided to bring in Gabi and Sofi, the children who inspired and gave the iconic Cuban brand its name, in order to sing three songs,” Murphy said.
Regarding the alliance between Producciones Colibrí and Gabi & Sofi, its director Carole Fernández expressed the satisfaction of having products of this quality and being able to bring children’s productions closer to that particular imaginary that our children have and thus contribute to the development of the future.
“Both will draw on our own experiences, Colibrí from musical and audiovisual production, and the brand from the didactic work done with and for children. It is also a way of sharing the knowledge of both institutions and strengthening our work,” added Fernández.
The event also featured the presentation of “El Gallinero”, the first of the audiovisuals produced this year, in which children from the Abrakadabra Children’s Musical Theater Company of Cienfuegos participate, under the musical direction of Dustin Polo.
Since 2016, the children’s brand Gabi & Sofi, belonging to the non-agricultural cooperative Decorarte, has been dedicated to the production of educational toys and articles for children with the aim of raising their spirits and encouraging humanism on the basis of non-violence and the formation of values.
With these same conceps, the brand has entered into musical and audiovisual productions with songs that deal with daily and current issues, from a child’s point of view and inviting adults to reflect on them.
