BAm MUSIC January 16, 1979 NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC Press Contact: John Hewlett/Philip Rinaldi 30 LAFAYE TTE AVE .. BK L YN. N.Y. 11 2 17 PRESS OFFICE PHONE: (212) 636-4123 SILVIO, CUBA'S SINGING STAR, TO MAKE N.Y. DEBUT AT BAM, FEB. 10 Popular Folk Singer Pablo Milanes Will Share Single NY Concert Silvio Rodriguez, the star of popular music in Cuba, will make his New York debut at the Opera House of the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday, February 10, at 8pm. Popular Cuban folk singer Pablo Milanes will appear with Silvio in concert at BAM. Silvio and Pablo are at the forefront of Cuban popular music, and in their country they are accorded the kind of tribute once given here to Sinatra, Presley, and the Beatles. They are generally recognized as the finest interpreters of the new Cuban song ( "la Nueva Trova"). Though they have synthesized many influences (including Che Guevara, Jose Marti, Beethoven, and the Beatles) in their music, the songs remain vibrant reflections of the struggles in society and the world about them. Silvio and Pablo's performance will be the culmination of FESTIVIDAD '79 -- A Celebration of the Hispanic Arts at BAM. For ticket information call (212) 636-4100. ### lr CUBAN MUSICIANS -- PA»LO MILAHES AND SILVlO RODRIGUEZ TOUR U,S, PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Frances Kissling or Sandra Levinson 685-9038 Two of Cuba's moat prominent and popular singer-composers, Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes, will begin a three-week U.S. tour on February 2. They are the most well-known representatives of the "Nueva Trova" (New Song) movement, made up of singers and musicians who weave together classic Spanish forms and African rhythms, modern music and Cuba's revolutionary experiences. This music -- sensitive, poetic, lyrical and committed -- is among the most significant of Cuba's cultural currents. Silvio Rodriguez is a 32-year-old professional musician who has worked praviously as a waiter, soldier, journalist and fisherman. Since he made his first Cuban television appearance in 1967, he has written music for many Cuban films, helped found the Grupo de Experimentacion Sonora del IoC.A.I.C. (the Cuban Film Institute's experimental music group), and recorded over a dozen LP recorda. Rodriguez ~s frequently invited to international music festivals, and has toured Europe extensively, as well as Chile, the U.s.s.R., Uruguay, the Dominican Republic and Panama. This is his second u.s. visit. Pablo Milanes, 36 years old, began his career in 1959 as a member of the Cuarteto del Rey. For several years he per- formed either alone, accompanying himself on a guitar, or with other groups in night clubs around Cuba, until he eventually became involved in the protest song center of Cuba's Casa de las Americas. In 1969, he joined the Grupe de Experimentaci6n Sonora del I.C.A.I.C., and has remained a prime exponent of the Nueva Trova movement ever since. He too has toured inter­ nationally to critical acclaim. This is Milanes' first visit to the u.s. Silvio and Pablo (as they are popularly known) will per­ form in Washington, D.C. at All Soul's Church on February 2; at the Bardovan Opera House in Poughkeepsieu New Yorku with Pete Seeger on February 9; at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City on February 10; at Manhattan's Museo del Barrio on February 14; at Hostos College in the Bronx, New York Cityu on February 15; the University of Connecticut at Storrs on February 17; and at the John Hancock Hall in Boston on February 19. A press party and welcome reception will be held at 7 p.m. at the Cuban Interests Section of the Czechoslovak Embassyv at 2639 16th Street N.W.u Washington, D.C. on February 1. A similar reception will be held in New York City on February 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Center for Cuban Studies, 220 East 23rd Streetu 8th floor. The tour of Silvio and Pablo is being sponsored by the Center for Cuban Studies, a non-profit educational institution, as part of it• cultural exchange program. Silvio and Pablo: Background information on the roots of Cuban music The roots of Cuban music can be found in the unwritten pages of Cuba's history, in the slave songs, the songs of the countr¥side, the songs of the people. Many Spaniards came to Cuba to escape from a poor and miserable existence. A few became white lords 0 but most ton­ tinued their struggle through life without name or money. They had brought with them their songs and their instruments, and these blended with those brought by the African slaves. New instruments were developed from the original instru­ ments and with these the people accompanied themselves to their adaptation of the Spanish decima: the Cuban punta. The poet's ability would be tested in controversias: singing contests in which each participant had to improvise, in verse, an answer to the other's challenge. The themes ranged from love to philosophicaly discussions. This tradi­ tion still lives, with harmonic and rhythmic variations from region to region. Although the Spanish roots of Cuban folk music are obvious, African influence is also strong. In fact, many blacks went to Spain with the Arab invaders in the 8th century, and many black slaves had already been brought to Spain before the discovery of America. These left some of the best poetry of the Golden Century, their undeniable trace. The music brought to Cuba by the Africans followed a different path. The slaves had been forced out of their lando stripped of their possessions, their children, their language and their religion. With white culture imposed on them 0 they had to learn a new life: the slave dwelling behind the mansion, a legal ban on their 11Wild, strange 11 songs and dances that couldn't be understood by Cuba's ruling classes. Newly-arrived slaves would seek each other out and together, in secret, they worked to keep alive the traditions that would inevitably start to fade within the new reality that was slowly absorbing them. Yorubasu Lucumies or santeros; Congas or paleros; nanigos or Abakuas; these African groups found a hiding place in the urban centers that would help them, and their traditionsu survive. The music of the Yorubas has always had a wide range of melodies and rhythms. The fundamental instrument of this music u used primarily in religious ceremonies, is a set of drums 0 bata. The Congas use a set of drums known as yuca (caja 0 mula and cachimbo), as well as other drums such as the kinfutti, which is played by friction. The language of their religious ceremonies is a mixture of Spanish and the native language of their ancestors. Roots of Cuban music 2/ The Abakuas organized themselves into very strict socie­ ties during the 19th century, but whites were gradually per­ mitted to participate. Their instruments include soft ritual drums such as the empeg6, the ekueffon and the enkr1carna. They also have drums of a rich and exquisite sound such as the bonk6~ encherniya, kuchi-yerema, obiapa and bienkom6. Along with their drums, all of these gxoups brought with them a rich collection of songs and dances. Cuban popular music is the product of a long process of transculturation. The Indian element, however~ in contrast to many other Latin countriesg is practically non-existent. The Indians• extinction at the hands of the Spanish conquerors left the Cubans without a musical note from the Indian heritage. The rumba and the ~ are perhaps the two forms of popular Cuban music that best reflect their hybrid origins. They are also the most well-known both within Cuba and abroad. The rumba is an elegant blend of music and danceq singing of the history, daily life, sadness and hope of the Cuban people. Filled with the sounds and smells of the city, the slurngs, the backyard meeting, is the guaguanco. From the countryside, strong and improvised, like the punto, comes la columbia. Soft and quiet, the yamba is the rumba of the old folks. The §£ll began as a brio of guitar, maracas and clave. From that it grew to groups of seven or eight members in the cities. Added to the original sound were the marimbula and bungas, substituted later by the bass. Then carne bongos and the tres. Trumpets were added to play the melody and the singers harmonized in two voices. As one writer from the nueva trova movement has put it, today "workers and peasants, students and professionals sing . together the freedom song that has allowed them to grow within their traditions to the real Cuban feeling. Young and old hands are digging into their roots and building the future from the best of the past. 11 SILVIO RODRIGUEZ AND PABLO MILANES: Biographical data Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes have grown up with the Cuban Revolution: they were 12 and 16 respectively at the time of the revolutionary victory in 1959. Their poetry and their music reflects a youthful perspective on the intervening 20 years, chronicling the hope and energy of the new Cuba. Theirs is the first generation, the generation of rapid change, struggle, nurturing ideas. It is the generation of the early years -- the mass literacy campaign, the first Agrarian Reform, the new schools in the countryside. Theirs is the generation of develop­ ment, and they sing of it with sensitivity and beauty. Their lyrics reflect world events -- Angola, Vietnam, Chile -- as well as specifically Cuban events, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion.