Santiago de Cuba continues to delight. To my surprise, this morning's visit to a rehearsal of Danza del Caribe, the modern dance company of Santiago, may well be the highlight of the trip. The troupe rehearses in what appears to be the backstage of the auditorium where we attended the Cubadisco event some nights ago. Very young dancers guided by their director Eduardo Rivero. I have never seen dancing like this- achingly beautiful, emotionally wrenching, totally engaging, amazingly athletic, and all within a few feet of us. After the rehearsal/performance, Eduardo sat and talked with us about his life, how he selects and trains the dancers, and whatever else we wanted to know. Several of the pieces were originally created and choreographed by others. He puts his stamp on them. Likewise moves originally from Martha Graham or Alvin Ailey. Adding the Afro Cuban feel. Before the talk Eduardo was a bit like my grandmother Gina prefacing a dessert with an explanation of why it wasn't quite right. In this case, one dancer was out with a toothache, another just back from an Australian vacation that involved too much eating, some of the boys and girls are very new to the troupe, etc, etc.
On to a Santeria ceremony. Santeria is very different from the voodoo we participated in at Palmas. The Santeria spirits are more synchronized with Christianity, and I believe we will understand this better when we visit the la Virgin de la Caridad in El Cobre tomorrow. Lots of drumming, offerings, etc. All in the home of Maruchi, who later served us dinner in her lovely patio. I bailed on dance class and stuck around for the conclusion of the Santeria ceremony. It was all very informal with much wandering in and out.
This may well be my last missive before we fly out Friday morning. Perhaps Mary will expand more on la musica. Hope you haven't received too much communication from us. If we overwhelmed with too much information, feel free to delete unread
Love to all, Toni
On to a Santeria ceremony. Santeria is very different from the voodoo we participated in at Palmas. The Santeria spirits are more synchronized with Christianity, and I believe we will understand this better when we visit the la Virgin de la Caridad in El Cobre tomorrow. Lots of drumming, offerings, etc. All in the home of Maruchi, who later served us dinner in her lovely patio. I bailed on dance class and stuck around for the conclusion of the Santeria ceremony. It was all very informal with much wandering in and out.
This may well be my last missive before we fly out Friday morning. Perhaps Mary will expand more on la musica. Hope you haven't received too much communication from us. If we overwhelmed with too much information, feel free to delete unread
Love to all, Toni
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