The hotel has just two computers, so it can be hard to find one free when I am also free. As Mary and I (and most of the group!) eschewed the 1 a.m. music event, I can make use of a lull in internet use. Since last we spoke, life has been packed. The mysterious afternoon event became a visit to EGREM, the recording studio where Buena Vista Social Club was recorded in 1996. We hung out and waited for
Arghh! A stuck backspace key just ate most of my communique!
the Septeto Habanero (Havana Septet). They were founded in 1926 and have played continuously since then. Of course there have been a few changes to the group's configuration. The rest of the audience in the small patio performance area seemed to know each other, and felt like a mix of musicians and friends. A table near us worked through a bottle or two of rum as they made their own Cuba Libres. Their version used the rum like the gin in a martini, i.e. lots of rum and a splash of coke. Mary worked through the catalog of EGREM recordings (very thick, as it is the state recording studio) and I people-watched. The septeto was fun and even had me thinking I might be able to dance! Later those of us still standing went to a Chinatown restaurant for dinner called Tein Tan, then had a nightcap outside Hotel Inglaterra, where a group called Arena Viva was playing. Fell into bed around midnight.
Wonderful as Tuesday was, Wednesday surpassed it. Int he morning we loaded into taxis and headed out to the Conservatorio de Guillermo Tomas in Guanabacoa. This is a music school, and it was packed with kids from 8 to18. We were there for a "master class" offered by pianist Peruchin (Rodolfo Argudin Justiz). He is a graduate of the conservatorio, and his daughter is a current student. It's a public school, and like all education in Cuba, free. Peruchin's focus was on the need for Cuban youth to learn the independence of rhythm in each hand, so that they could play a beat like the clave with one hand and something else with the other. Mary can explain it better, and for me it was all wonderful- the instruction, the band of pros Peruchin assembled to perform for the kids, a performance by Tom (the New Orleans pianist in our group) and best of all, a performance by a group of kids calling themselves the Bon Bon Orchestra. Lots of photos and video will appear when we return.
The afternoon was a rehearsal by three talented young jazz musicians- Jorge Luis Pacheco, David Faya and Aniel Tamayo. We were in the living room of Pacheco's family's house in Miramar, a neighborhood west of our hotel. These guys loved to play, and loved to play together. Their energy and communication were a joy to experience. At some point a long discussion ensued about the difference between son and timba, a form of Cuban music that developed after 1989, and was "influenced by social and economic conditions," presumably the hard times after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Lots to learn. Those of you musically inclined will really need to hear from Mary. An example- Faya explains the difference between how Cubans and Americans hear and play music. "You hear one two three four. We hear one two three four."
On to a long drive around the city with Lucila, the woman who took us on the walking tour of Havana Vieja. The further west we got, the more we could have been in San Diego or Westwood. Very southern California, including the look and dress of the people we saw out walking and jogging. Big and bigger homes. A world of difference from the poorer neighborhoods we have seen in previous wanderings. A stop at a park remnant of the original forests that surrounded Havana. Turkey vultures settling into trees by the river that first drew the Spanish to found the city of Havana.
Enough for now. I need breakfast before we set out on today's adventure. In case you can't tell, we are having a fabulous time. So much to see and hear and experience, and all of it nothing like I expected. Hoping we encounter someone from whom I can learn more about how the Cuban economy works, recent history, etc. It's a fascinating place.
Love, Toni
Arghh! A stuck backspace key just ate most of my communique!
the Septeto Habanero (Havana Septet). They were founded in 1926 and have played continuously since then. Of course there have been a few changes to the group's configuration. The rest of the audience in the small patio performance area seemed to know each other, and felt like a mix of musicians and friends. A table near us worked through a bottle or two of rum as they made their own Cuba Libres. Their version used the rum like the gin in a martini, i.e. lots of rum and a splash of coke. Mary worked through the catalog of EGREM recordings (very thick, as it is the state recording studio) and I people-watched. The septeto was fun and even had me thinking I might be able to dance! Later those of us still standing went to a Chinatown restaurant for dinner called Tein Tan, then had a nightcap outside Hotel Inglaterra, where a group called Arena Viva was playing. Fell into bed around midnight.
Wonderful as Tuesday was, Wednesday surpassed it. Int he morning we loaded into taxis and headed out to the Conservatorio de Guillermo Tomas in Guanabacoa. This is a music school, and it was packed with kids from 8 to18. We were there for a "master class" offered by pianist Peruchin (Rodolfo Argudin Justiz). He is a graduate of the conservatorio, and his daughter is a current student. It's a public school, and like all education in Cuba, free. Peruchin's focus was on the need for Cuban youth to learn the independence of rhythm in each hand, so that they could play a beat like the clave with one hand and something else with the other. Mary can explain it better, and for me it was all wonderful- the instruction, the band of pros Peruchin assembled to perform for the kids, a performance by Tom (the New Orleans pianist in our group) and best of all, a performance by a group of kids calling themselves the Bon Bon Orchestra. Lots of photos and video will appear when we return.
The afternoon was a rehearsal by three talented young jazz musicians- Jorge Luis Pacheco, David Faya and Aniel Tamayo. We were in the living room of Pacheco's family's house in Miramar, a neighborhood west of our hotel. These guys loved to play, and loved to play together. Their energy and communication were a joy to experience. At some point a long discussion ensued about the difference between son and timba, a form of Cuban music that developed after 1989, and was "influenced by social and economic conditions," presumably the hard times after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Lots to learn. Those of you musically inclined will really need to hear from Mary. An example- Faya explains the difference between how Cubans and Americans hear and play music. "You hear one two three four. We hear one two three four."
On to a long drive around the city with Lucila, the woman who took us on the walking tour of Havana Vieja. The further west we got, the more we could have been in San Diego or Westwood. Very southern California, including the look and dress of the people we saw out walking and jogging. Big and bigger homes. A world of difference from the poorer neighborhoods we have seen in previous wanderings. A stop at a park remnant of the original forests that surrounded Havana. Turkey vultures settling into trees by the river that first drew the Spanish to found the city of Havana.
Enough for now. I need breakfast before we set out on today's adventure. In case you can't tell, we are having a fabulous time. So much to see and hear and experience, and all of it nothing like I expected. Hoping we encounter someone from whom I can learn more about how the Cuban economy works, recent history, etc. It's a fascinating place.
Love, Toni
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