About Us

Yunier Lebren Veranes

Co-founder and artistic director of Cuban Weekend. From Santiago de Cuba, Yunier has performed with the Cuban All-Stars for five years, known for upholding the traditions of Cuban popular dances. He graduated from the Escuela Vocacional de Arte (EVA) de Santiago de Cuba in folkloric dance.

Yunier is currently the teacher and director of the AloCubano academy. He has participated in many festivals and international casino competitions. Yunier has over ten years experience teaching classes, and is a friendly, precise, encouraging teacher who will improve your Cuban dance style from the first class.

Patricia Belatti

Born in Mexico, Patricia graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Arte en Cuba, specializing in dance. She has performed with dance groups in Cuba and Mexico as a dancer and coreographer. She was the director of the Escuela de Danza: Patri Belatti in Cuernavaca for 10 years. She has participated in many dance festivals throughout Mexico.

Patri has organized many cultural events looking at the connection of all aspects of cultural arts, including food. Her book Sabor Cubano celebrates the traditions of Cuban cuisine, which she will be teaching at the cooking class on Sunday.

Laura Fraser

Laura, co-founder and producer of Cuban Weekend, is an author and journalist who has lived part-time in San Miguel de Allende for over a decade. She has organized several Writing Fiestas in town. She is a devoted amateur salsa dancer who has studied with Yunier Lebren Veranes, Ramón Ramos Alayo and others and is grateful to her Cuban teachers who have generously shared their culture with her. She believes that anyone, at any age and in any body, can have fun dancing. One of the reasons she organized this weekend is that there are a lot more followers than leaders in town and she wanted to even out the numbers for once, hiring leaders from surrounding towns to act as “taxi dancers” at events to guarantee everyone has partners. She knows all the best places to dance, eat, and visit in San Miguel de Allende.