Cha Cha Cha: Cuba Music

Cha Cha Cha Cuban Music                        March 23, 2017

Hearing Cuban music was one of the goals of our trip.  We didn’t hear a lot, since it required staying up past our bedtimes!  But one evening we did hear a quartet at a favorite resto.  A singer, a keyboard player, a drummer, and a guitar player, sounding to me a lot like Buena Vista Social Club, kept us intrigued for an hour or so!  

One of the most interesting experiences that we had in Cuba was connected to Bruce’s two violin lessons.  He had arranged them before we arrived in Cuba.  At the appointed time on our 2nd full day in Havana, a cute young fellow appeared at our BnB to escort us, by taxi, to the music school, which was several miles away.  That was our first taxi experience, chugging along and crossing our fingers with each downshift.  

When we arrived at the school, a small building with a cozy anteroom entrance, we were eagerly greeted by the school manager.  He immediately introduced Bruce to his teacher, Julian, an older fellow who has played violin with the symphony and on the recordings of Cesaria Evora, a Cape Verde singer!  This second bit really got our attention, since Cesaria Evora is a favorite of ours!  

Bruce's Cuban fiddle mentor, Julian

While Bruce began learning Cuban tunes in a back practice room (lined with egg cartons for sound-proofing), I had a great chat with the young manager, who was fluent in English, knowledgeable about American politics, and knew the capital of Maine!  

I also met a young artist (lots of young folks in this story) who was working on a mural that filled a whole wall space in the office area of the school.  From a low perspective, it looked up at a large fiddle player.  I couldn’t help but wonder (later) if it was a painting of Julian and if its size symbolized the great esteem in which he is held at the school.   

During the week between his two lessons, Bruce serenaded our BnB hosts with fiddle tunes as he practiced.  The Afro-Cuban beat was very different, and it was challenging. Nothing like the Quebecois/Cape Breton tunes that are the staple of Fiddlicious, his fiddle group in Maine. Luckily for someone who plays by ear, Bruce had recorded the songs on his phone and could listen to them frequently.

The second lesson took place the day before we left Cuba.  By this time, we had been taking taxis for several days.  It was still a stressful operation, in that the route to the school of music required two different taxis, which meant two instances of hailing an old American taxi and negotiating a price for where we were going.  If that weren’t challenging enough, there was the added pressure of deciphering which currency was being used, the currency for Cuban nationals or that for tourists.  The two got mixed up and caused confusion!  

Having successfully undertaken the taxi ride itself, we found ourselves in the area where the school was located.  However, we didn’t have a street address, just a small paper map with a dot on it and couldn’t remember exactly where the school was or what it looked like. We wandered around the neighborhood, asked 4-5 different people, and finally a worker on a big electrical project on the street said, with authority, “Venga!” (Come!). With us following behind him like baby ducklings, he crossed the street - and there was the school.  His buddies were lined up watching and laughing at the spectacle.  But we got there!  

The pleasant ante-room of the music school

The lesson went along well, despite the fact that there was no power in the building due to the aforementioned electrical work going on in the street.  This meant that the practice room was too dark and too hot, and so the lesson was moved to the office area.  Very typical of Cuba, we found.  Flexibility and patience are essential.  The reward for Bruce was a priceless musical souvenir.

This is my last Cuba post. Bruce and I are in Pensacola, Florida, right now, just about to cross into Alabama to begin the civil rights part of our trip. Stay tuned for a post or two about the American south.

In the meantime, I have a couple of links that may interest the curious reader who wants to learn a bit more about Cuba. One is a fascinating piece from today's NY Times, describing an American-conducted survey of Cubans' dreams for the future:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/world/americas/cuba-survey-economic-growth-and-opportunity.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span

The other piece is a couple of years old, but seems relevant still, about the food situation in Cuba, from the Manchester Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/cubans-food-struggle-rations-consuming-obsession