Cubaa Musical Paradise Thriving in a Forbidden Land
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Percussion Roundup 72 1 Snapshot: 2 CubaA Musical Paradise Thriving In A Forbidden Land 4 3 RHYTHM NATION 1. Matanzas, Cuba. 2. Cuban tumbadoras. 3. Trinidad, Cuba. 4. %e Veradero 70 playing on the streets in Trinidad. By Brad Boynton think reverse psychology works. tions, drums, and rhythms that haven’t Hands And Sticks When I was a kid my mom told me yet been exported and filtered through Aside from maybe North Korea, this is a that beets were messy and would our American media machine, which place that has more government control stain the furniture, but it only made only makes this small island even more and secrecy than almost any other place Ime want to try them that much more, of a drummer’s paradise. Add to that on earth. And it’s also more advanced than and I’m still a huge fan. Cuba is the ’56 Chevy’s plying the streets of Havana, we’d expect, with a 99 percent literacy same way. The mere fact that we’re not clubs open till dawn, sandy beaches, and rate, more doctors per capita than almost supposed to go there makes it entic- a bottle of seven-year-old rum for less anywhere in the world, a lower infant mor- ing. It’s the island that has given birth than $10 and you can easily convince tality rate than the United States, and vir- BRAD BOYNTON BRAD to rumba, salsa, and batá drumming yourself that the very place you’re not tually nonexistent crime. With a quick hop and is continually churning out killer supposed to go is the place you want to from Cancún you can seemingly time-trav- drummers. The fact that it holds the keys be. Oh, except for that pesky little travel el back to the ’60s to glimpse the incredible to unlocking clave makes it even more restriction for Americans, which we’ll worlds of music, architecture, classic cars, Photography: compelling. There are many more tradi- talk about in a second. and a bygone era of communism. DRUMmagazine.com October 2012 DRUM! 67 Snapshot: Cuba 1 Think about how Cuban music has tours a lot of events are last minute. shaped our own playing as drummers, On a typical day we’d have breakfast and brought us groups like Buena Vista as a group at Hotel Lincoln and Chuck Social Club and Afro Cuban Allstars as would say something like, “Well, I’ve well as players like Horacio “El Negro” heard that some of you want to study Hernandez, Luis Conte, and Chan- Makuta with Lali today, so we have a guito. Those are a few of the names we’ve class scheduled for 10 A.M. We’ve also become familiar with on this side of the been invited to a Klimax rehearsal at water, but this article will also talk about noon and they said you guys can sit in the types of musical experiences that on instruments if you want. Also, if any you can only get if you enter that time of you are interested in a drum factory machine yourself. tour, we have a mini-bus coming to 2 After working in music retail for more take us to the Sonoc factory so you can than 20 years, I’ve observed that most see how congas are made. I personally drummers have placed themselves into was thinking of going to the Partagas one of two camps: the folkloric — with cigar factory after the drum factory its hand drums and African–influenced tour and then stopping off at the fruit traditions — versus the modern musi- market on the way — the papayas are in cal styles, which incorporate keyboard season. Let’s see … there’s a national– synths, sophisticated arrangements, and league baseball game in Centro Habana mathematical precision. Having stud- tonight, the Industriales vs. Cienfuegos. ied congas for a number of years before Oh, and there’s some crushin’ timba to- going to Cuba, I thought I’d be drawn to night with Manolito at 6 P.M., and Paulo 3 the folkloric side myself. But the world F.G at 11 at Casa de la Musica down the I found was also teeming with drum set street. Let’s see a show of hands for who players sporting Thomas Lang chops, wants to do what.” Every day was an and timbale players with rudimental action-packed drummer’s dream, and vocabularies that would put most drum every day began at the breakfast table line players to shame. So whether you with a menu of opportunity. gravitate toward one camp or the other, Like a ’58 Chevy with a turbo thrust Cuba is an incredible place for both hand V-8 under the hood, Havana has all cyl- and stick drummers alike. inders firing day and night. Every time As players, we all know Latin music I’ve been there, there’s been some sort of can be intimidating because of its struc- street fair or carnaval, and music wafts ture and tradition. If you show up to a from every building whether it’s live or 4 salsa gig and play bongos during a chorus, slamming Charanga Habanera from the forget to come down off your bells for a boom box. People’s lives are pretty ex- piano solo, or flip clave coming out of a posed there owing to the way the homes break, you’ll be fired. Going to the source are built with courtyards, balconies, and can help you straighten it all out. There open doors to let the breeze in. Walking are many styles of music both social and down the street during the day, you’re religious that you’ll hear in every nook just as likely to hear groups rehearsing as and cranny in Cuba. You’ll find rumba on see a batá drum being carved or school the streets, salsa in the clubs, and reli- children in uniform rehearsing for a gious ceremonies behind closed doors. Of parade. Even small cafés and restaurants course you can go to some hotels and find have live music and by showing even the 5 all three conveniently packaged for tour- slightest interest you’ll make friends and ists, but you can do that in Oakland or even be asked to sit in. Miami, too. If you hit the streets and put As soon as you arrive, head over to energy into it you can probe even deeper the National Museum Of Music in old to learn the structure, terminology, and Havana, which has an extensive col- tradition. So, dust off your Kangol cap lection of instruments. You can see the and let’s go. evolution of rum barrels into congas, and cod crates into cajons. You’ll see old cop- La Habana per timpani introduced by the French, My first trip to Cuba was in 2002 when which over the years have shrunk in size Photography: I went on an organized, licensed tour and evolved into timbales, as well as see with educator/clinician Chuck Silver- bongos with the original synthetic skin, CAPITAL CRAFTSMANSHIP man for the Havana Drum Festival. tucked with X-ray film! BOYNTON BRAD 1. Antique abakua drums at the Museum Of Music, Trips like these are a way to quickly get In old Havana you can visit the craft Havana. 2. Typical timbales. 3. & 4. Sonoc Drum factory. 5. Beco makes handmade bells for the connected to artists and events on the market to buy a gourd guiro or pair of top players. ground in a way that you could never claves, or to grab a drink where Ernest plan in advance. Even on organized Hemingway used to hang out. Lot’s of the 68 DRUM! October 2012 DRUMmagazine.com hotels have rooftop terraces with spec- of Havana, there are many private homes tacular views, and getting there is half the called Casa Particulares that are licensed fun. You can hail an old classic taxi that to host foreigners and usually cost just $25 plies set routes for about a buck, although a night. It’s a small enough town that if you I prefer the Cocotaxi, a coconut-shaped let your cab driver or host let you know you version that hops on curbs and zooms want to see drums, they’re probably just a down back allies. If you get bored, you can few calls away from finding you jaw-drop- venture to Chinatown for the best food in ping music and dance. town, buy $2 CDs on the streets, or get a On my first trip to Matanzas, within day pass at one of the hotels to use their hours of arriving we’d been invited by pool or Internet connection. Francisco “Menini” Zamora (leader of Grupo Afro Cuba de Matanzas) to Salsa Cubana/Timba a tambor or Santería ceremony where A salsa ensemble will typically have separate we watched as batá drummers wove a players on drum set, timbales, and congas, tapestry of rhythms that induced trance as well as on bongos and guiro. And unlike and brought out multiple personalities in rumba where three individuals play the some participants. The following day we three separate congas, in salsa a conguero met with the late Afro Cuban percussion- will play three, four, or even five congas at ist Daniel Alfonso Herrera, who as luck once. Groups that play in Havana regularly would have it was just putting the finishing and typify the timba sound include Cha- touches on his book/DVD on batá drum- ranga Habanera, Pupy y los Que Son Son, ming, El Lenguaje del Tambor.