(Prensa Latina) Caracas, Venezuela - Pablo Milanés will return to Venezuela, to close the World Meeting of Intellectuals & Artists in Defense of Humanity in Caracas and other cities of the country December 1 through 7. During the forum, more than 400 intellectuals and artists will debate on issues such as the economic crisis, political alternatives to neoliberalism, Latin American and Caribbean integration, the media and the defense of natural resources and reserves.

Invited by the Venezuelan Culture Minister Francisco Sesto, the singer will play a recital December 5. The troubadour, who last performed in Venezuela in 2001, will sing this time to fight the globalized "bad taste," and defend "the integrity of human values."

Currently working on his new album in Havana, Milanés will interrupt the recordings to perform in Caracas along with his 8-piece band. They will join Chilean singer Isabel Parra and Antar (her grandson), Venezuelan artists Lilia Vera, Francisco Pacheco y Su Pueblo and Cecilia Todd in concert Sunday afternoon.

Born in Bayamo, 1943, self-taught Pablo Milanés started his career evidencing the influence of blues and gospel music. He joined the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC (Cuban Institute of Art and Cinematography) in the late 1960s. Together with Leo Brouwer, Silvio Rodriguez, Noel Nicola, Sara Gonzalez and Eduardo Ramos, inspired by Traditional Trova or Feeling, he founded the Nueva Trova Cubana (New Cuban Song) movement, a new style to bring universal elements together with native forms. Widely covered by many international artists, Milanés has also composed scores for films, documentaries and television series.