Bona Fide Duo

Cuban Classical guitarists Carlos Vázquez and Lázara Luisa Díaz formed the Duo Bona Fide in Havana, Cuba in 2011. They have been performing regularly as Duo Bona Fide in distinguished concert halls and guitar festivals in Cuba, the United States and around the world since 2011. Both graduated from University of Arts, Habana, Cuba. As of 2013 the duo has resided in New Jersey and have been married since 1993. Mr. Vázquez and Ms. Diaz have more than thirty cumulative years of experience as professors and instrumentalists.

As part of the teaching faculty of the prestigious Music Conservatory Alejandro Garcia Caturla in Havana, Cuba, they taught classical guitar at all levels for two decades, preparing students as soloists ,for duos, trios, quartets, guitar ensembles and guitar orchestra for competitions, concerts and festivals. Since their arrival in the United States in 2013, Ms. Díaz and Mr. Vázquez have been instructors of guitar at private music schools in the Tri-State area. As solo guitarists, Mr. Vázquez and Ms. Díaz performed in master classes given by luminaries of the classical guitar world: Leo Brouwer, David Russell, Costa Cotsiolis, Wolfgang Lendle, Robert Ausel, Antonio Rodríguez, Ichiro Suzuki, Paolo Paolini, Victor Pelegrini, Eli Kassner, John Williams, Steve Goss, and Luigi Attademo among others. The Duo Bona Fide repertoire consists of compositions by Bach, Marcello, Piazzola, Falla, Hernández, Lecuona, Guerra, Duarte and includes original music composed for the guitar duo. Bona Fide also performs Mr. Vázquez’ original arrangements of compositions for chamber instruments, standards from the Latin American canon and the many other musical genres of the world.

Of Additional Interest:

Duo Bona Fide was selected by the Cuban Ministry of Culture and the National Guitar Commission to perform for the renowned guitarist Yamandú Costa at the International Festival Cubadisco in 2012. The same year the duo was invited to play at the Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba, sharing the stage with the legendary singer of the Social Cuban Club, Omara Portuondo. Invited by the Duo Martín in 2011, Bona Fide performed at the First International Guitar Festival Identidades in Cuba and performed in a tribute to the celebrated Cuban songwriter Pedro Luis Ferrer in 2012. Between 2011-2013 Bona Fide performed with Ars Longa in concerts held in the UNESCO designated district of Havana, Cuba. In 2017, Duo Bona Fides’s first album Doce Cuerdas, was produced by the Grammy award winner, composer, and producer Yalil Guerra. The CD can be heard on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon.

In 2017, Duo Bona Fide was invited to perform at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee by the notable guitarist René Izquierdo. Duo Bona Fide has performed in live concert performances on national radio and television throughout Cuba, and in the United States. Since 2013, Duo Bona Fide has been featured in the community concerts series offered by Mayor Brian Stack & The Board of Commissioners of Union City, New Jersey and also have performed regularly at the William V. Musto Cultural Center in Union City, New Jersey.

In 2022-2023, Duo Bona Fide performed in concerts during Hispanic Heritage Month at New Jersey City University and at the Public Library of Jersey City, Earl Morgan Branch.

In 2022, Carlos Vázquez and Lázara Luisa Díaz founded the Bona Fide Music Studio in Newark, New Jersey. In May 2024 Duo Bona Fide performed at the Classical Guitar Society of New York and at the Andrew York Festival in New Jersey City University. In June 2024, the Duo performed at The Brooklyn Guitar Society in New York, also at the New York Guitar Seminar in the Hunter College of Music and made a full sold-out concert at the Cuban Cultural Center of New York. Bona Fide duo has concluded a series of concerts for the community of Union City, New Jersey in 2024. The duo performed in a private event in the context of The Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, LACO,2024.Carlos Vázquez and Lázara Luisa Díaz are presently preparing their second album as the Duo Bona Fide.

AWARDS

Silver medal in the “Global Music Awards Competition 2024”, Rosenberg Texas, United States.Platinum medal in the “Global International Music Competition 2024”, organized by Concours de Musique et des Beaux Arts, Canadá. Second prize in “Charleston International Music Competition 2024”, South Carolina, United States.