The phonogram Raíz y deriva, the first recording production by the Sancti Spíritus guitar quartet Cuerdas del alma, has been nominated in three categories for the Cubadisco 2026 Awards, the most important event in the Cuban music industry: Chamber Music, First Album, and Musicological Notes, the latter written by its director, the young virtuoso Luis Javier García Rodríguez.

The project is an EP (Extended Play) or mini-album featuring five works that dialogue between Cuban musical tradition, the local memory of Sancti Spíritus, and the exploration of contemporary languages through the guitar, understood not only as a solo instrument but as a space for collective interaction and cultural discourse, as García Rodríguez explains in the aforementioned notes.

According to these annotations, written with rigor and musical commitment, the term "Raíz" (Root) refers to origin—in this case, the heritage of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, Afro-descendants, and the popular as a cultural and sonic substrate. Meanwhile, "Deriva" (Drift)—inspired by the French concept dérive—refers to displacement, to exploration without a pre-established path, to the opening toward new aesthetic and emotional territories.

Within the album, members Abel Pino Chacón, Gleibys Peralta, José Ángel García Rodríguez, and Luis Javier ensure that each instrument assumes melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic functions. This creates textures that oscillate between the chamber-like and the popular, reaffirming the guitar's capacity to undertake complex discourses within contemporary Cuban music.

Raíz y deriva was recorded at the Eusebio Delfín studios in Cienfuegos and Studio 2 of Abdala Productions for the Mexican label Krapes S.A. The result is a product that contributes, according to the principles of its own members, to the development of concert and chamber music in the Greater Antilles in general, and in Sancti Spíritus in particular.

To celebrate the nominations, as well as the 50th anniversary of the University of the Arts (ISA), Cuerdas del Alma will perform a unique concert titled Quedan los artistas on Saturday, May 9, at 5:00 p.m. at the Theater of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Regarding the event, García Rodríguez stated that the performance seeks to highlight the resilience of art in the face of difficulties; a tribute to the creators who, despite crises, continue to be the light in adverse times. Special guests confirmed for the performance include countertenor Eduardo Sarmiento, flutist Gabriel García, and actor Yasser Castillo.