According to Cuban diplomatic sources, Valdes was welcomed at the Johannesburg international airport by the director of the Mzansi Productions Company and officials from the Cuban embassy in that country.

Her performance in that event, which has raised high expectations among the public, is part of an uninterrupted program of cultural exchanges between Cuba and South Africa, which began in 2009. 

Last March Valdes took part in an event in the New York City Center, along with Russian dancer Ivan Vasiliev, who joined her in Don Quixote’s pas de deux, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Minkus. 

Valdes interpreted the role of Carmen as guest of honor in the 11th International Ballet Festival of Mariinsky, in the Russian city of San Petersburg, in an emblematic stage where she also performed Don Quixote in 2009.