(Prensa Latina - Cumbancha) Havana, Cuba - The "tres" guitar present in the origins of "son," will star in the Plectrohabana 2003 Festival, to take place November 20 through 23, which will welcome acts of the lute and other string instruments. In press conference, Cuban musician Efraín Amador commented on several concerts and lectures to take place by famous Cuban tres player "Pancho" Amat, and the Assai trio from Alcalá de Henares, Spain.

The event is aimed to acknowledge the "tres" guitar as a national heritage, he stated, and recalled that it is the only string instrument created in Cuba. It is said that the oldest "tres" was produced with codfish boxes, probably brought by dock workers, and was played with a pick or plectrum. Later it lost its rustic mandolin shape and developed into a refined object of craftsmanship. Some of the great "tres" musicians in history are Arsenio Rodriguez and Isaac "Papi" Oviedo.