THE TEAM
“Great things happen when talent meets purpose,
and people come together to create something bigger than themselves.”
The Manana Project brings together an extraordinary network of artists, cultural leaders and creative professionals, led by Executive Directors Esther Alvero, Antonio de Freitas and Nilda Guerra, alongside our Non-Executive Directors and a growing family of artists and creative collaborators including Odwen Benavides, Etian Antuche, Ale Jansen and Celia Ledon.
Together, our team combines decades of professional experience, lived cultural knowledge and grassroots community connection — spanning performance, choreography, music, education, cultural production and artist development. Rooted in specialist Cuban and Brazilian expertise while embracing world arts, we share a commitment to authenticity, artistic excellence, opportunity and meaningful cultural exchange.
Our goal is to create meaningful access to world arts while protecting living heritage, supporting artist and using culture to straighten connection, wellbeing and community.
A bridge between professional excellence and community access.
ESTHER ALVERO
Co-Founder & Executive Director · Creative Director & Cultural Producer
“We started from zero, so I learned to be resourceful.
Creativity is my superpower, resilience keeps me moving, and heart and good ethics guide everything I do.
Pressure? That’s usually when my best ideas arrive.”
For more than two decades, Esther Alvero has worked at the intersection of culture, entertainment and community — transforming authentic Cuban and Brazilian arts into experiences that connect people, places and generations.
As co-founder of Cubaneando, Oi Brasil and The Manana Project, Esther has helped build one of London’s longest-established Cuban dance communities while developing a career that spans creative direction, cultural production, artist casting, audience engagement, education and large-scale entertainment.
Since establishing Cubaneando with Antonio de Freitas in 2004, their work has introduced approximately 25,000 people to Cuban dance in the UK, creating a community whose influence now extends across generations of dancers, teachers and event organisers.
Beyond the community, Esther has built a reputation for combining cultural authenticity with the high-end professional production standards.
Her experience includes work connected with major Cuban stage productions at Sadler’s Wells, including Havana Rakatan and Vamos Cuba, where her work has extended into project coordination and audience experiences.
Through Oi Brasil, her work has moved from intimate cultural experiences to complex professional productions — bringing together artists, choreography, music, costume, movement and creative direction to translate the spirit of Cuba and Brazil for international, corporate and public audiences.
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ANTONIO DE FREITAS
Co-Founder & Executive Director · Artistic Director & Cultural Educator
Born and raised in a humble community in Rio de Janeiro, Antonio grew up surrounded by the rhythms, traditions and spirit of samba and Carnival — a culture that would ultimately shape his life and take him to stages around the world.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he became a specialist in the extraordinary art of tambourine juggling (malabarismo com pandeiros) — a distinctive tradition of Rio Carnival now practised by fewer artists, and one Antonio is passionate about keeping alive. His career took him from Rio’s leading Samba Schools to more than a decade of international touring.
After arriving in London without speaking English, Antonio created his own opportunities, eventually co-founding Oi Brasil and Cubaneando. His remarkable career has included performing for President Bill Clinton, the then Prince Charles and Princess Anne, appearing at Rock in Rio with Grammy-winning artist H.E.R., recording at Abbey Road Studios, and contributing percussion to music by SAULT.
Check out Antonio in action:
Alongside his performance career, Antonio has become one of London’s most loved and respected Cuban salsa instructors. A passionate believer in strong foundations and attention to detail, his teaching can be demanding — but always with purpose.
For Antonio, authenticity matters. His greatest satisfaction is not simply teaching people steps, but seeing them understand the dance, grow in confidence and ultimately fall in love with it.
But Antonio’s greatest achievement goes beyond any stage or prestigious name. It is the cultural ecosystem he has helped build over decades — passing forward the culture that shaped his own life, connecting professional artists, audiences and communities, and creating opportunities for authentic culture to be experienced, valued and shared.
Today, through The Manana Project CIC, Antonio brings a lifetime of lived cultural knowledge, international experience and community-building to a bigger mission: protecting living heritage, passing traditions to future generations, championing artists and connecting people through world arts.
NILDA GUERRA
Executive Director · Choreographic Director & Cultural Advisor
Nilda Guerra is a renowned Cuban director and choreographer and a highly respected figure within Cuba’s cultural and performing arts sector. For 27 years, she has led Ballet Rakatan, one of Cuba’s most renowned dance companies, building an extraordinary career dedicated to Cuban dance, music and theatrical expression.
She is internationally recognised as the creator, director and choreographer of Havana Rakatan, the acclaimed production that took Cuban dance from Havana to major international stages, including London’s West End and Broadway, sharing the richness, elegance and energy of Cuba’s dance heritage with audiences around the world including stages like the Opera House in Sydney.
With decades of experience in artistic direction, choreography, artist development and cultural production, Nilda is regarded as an eminence in her field in Cuba, combining deep cultural knowledge with uncompromising artistic standards and a lifelong commitment to authenticity.
Through The Manana Project CIC, Nilda brings an exceptional legacy of artistic leadership and cultural knowledge to a new mission: protecting living heritage, nurturing artists and ensuring authentic cultural traditions are valued, evolved and passed on to future generations.