Music Fund for Cuba Update

Music Fund For Cuba Music Fund for Cuba Registered Charity No. 1096283 Update

Supporting Cuban music and arts Winter 2004/5

Message to all our supporters:

Cuban National Ballet School We would like to thank all Says “Gracias”! our supporters who have donated money or musical instruments and equipment, who have given their valuable time and energies to the benefit of the Music Fund for Cuba. To date we have been able to send over £30,000 worth of valuable equipment to our partner organisation CNEArt for use in Cuban schools. The next shipment of £10,000 worth of goods is currently being assem- bled and will be sent to Cuba in spring 2005.

Thank you for helping us to safeguard the bright future of Cuban music and arts. Yours, Rob Miller Director, Music Fund for Cuba

In 2004 the Music Fund re- unique internationally recog- ceived a donation of hundreds nised Cuban ballet teaching How can your of pairs of children’s ballet method. When the National donation help? shoes from the Royal Ballet, School of Arts was estab- Covent Garden in London. lished in 1962 to give free This was the second consign- access to arts education, the £10 could help to buy sets of ment of ballet shoes donated. National Ballet School be- replacement strings for guitars, The shoes were delivered to came an important arm of it. cellos, and violins and give the Cuban National Ballet It now has over 300 fulltime young musicians the ability to School in Havana in Decem- students (from age 13) and continue their studies. ber 2004. Dra. Ramona de over 4000 children aged 7-14 Sáa Bello, (seen far right) (42% male) taught in after- £20 could buy 4 pairs of bal- director of the school, school classes. Carlos Acosta, let shoes for students expressed her warmest principal guest dancer at the in dance schools who would thanks for the donation. Royal Ballet in London, otherwise have to go without. The National Ballet School trained there from a young £50 could help to provide a has existed in some form age in the 1980s. set of instruments for a pri- since 1931. Illuminaries such Violins and strings donated by mary school music class, giving as Alicia Alonso studied ballet musicians of the Royal Opera there and later became cen- House were also delivered to every child an opportunity to tral to the forging of the the Havana Music School. participate.

PDF Creator - PDF4Free v2.0 http://www.pdf4free.com Page 2 Music Fund for Cuba Update

Amicus Foundation donate £5000 to the Music Fund for Cuba In June, Tania Dominguez difficulties of obtaining much “We are pleased to sup- Rosas, Cultural and Scientific needed equipment and instru- port the Music Fund for Counsellor for the Cuban ments due to the illegal US Cuba which is working hard Embassy in Britain was invited blockade. to help the Cuban people to attend the trade union At a packed evening concert, overcome the effects of the AMICUS conference in Scar- delegates were entertained by blockade”. borough where she received a local dancers, musicians and wonderful donation of £5000 the Cuban trio, Cubania. for the Music Fund for Cuba. The Amicus Foundation, the Tania thanked AMICUS Gen- charitable fund set up by the eral Secretary, Derek Simp- trade union, produced hun- son, and all AMICUS mem- dreds of information leaflets bers who had helped make about the work of the Music the donation possible. She Fund to distribute to dele- spoke of the work of CNEart gates. From left: Robert Gomez, Amicus who oversee the develop- Foundation;Tania Dominguez ment of music and culture Robert Gomez, Chief Execu- Gonzalez, Cuban Embassy; Derek within Cuba’s education ser- tive of the Amicus Foundation Simpson, Amicus Gen. Secretary vice. She explained about the explained:

Students in Leeds perform in Latin music night “Some of the In May, students at the Leeds the venue for free, Havana sic Fund. For many of the stu- students said they College of Music, studying Club rum donated rum for dents it was the first such under Cuban maestro, Omar cocktails, TUMI records do- event they had been involved feel they owe a debt Puente, were inspired to put nated CDs for raffle prizes in and organised, down to to music education in together their own latin music and another local venue Viva distributing the flyers, and said Cuba as without it night to raise money for the Cuba gave a voucher for a they enjoyed it so much they Music Fund for Cuba. They night out as the top prize. have plans for more such pro- they would not have had already formed two big The local Love Music Hate jects. Some of the students learnt all they have bands playing latin music un- Racism campaign gave encour- said they feel they owe a debt from their teacher der the direction of Omar, so agement as the event came to music education in Cuba as decided to give a special per- just prior to local elections without it they would not Omar, a product of formance. When seeking troubled by racism. The night have learnt all they have from Cuban music support they found enthusi- was great fun for all and their teacher Omar, a prod- education.” asm – the local HiFi Club gave raised over £600 for the Mu- uct of Cuban music education.

Carlos Acosta at the House of Commons At a packed reception at the ing the run of the fabulous remind us all why we see cul- House of Commons hosted show ‘Tocororo, A Cuban ture as so important. It re- by the All Party Parliamentary Tale’, at Sadlers Wells thea- minds us of our roots and our Group on Cuba in conjunc- tre in London. Acosta, star of determination to help further tion with Cuba Solidarity the Royal Ballet, developed develop young cultural tal- Campaign, in July, Carlos the show based on his own ent”. Acosta committed himself to story, fusing contemporary Ian Gibson MP, Chair of the do all he could to support the and Afro-Cuban dance and APPG said: ”The fact that work of the Music Fund for music styles with classical bal- Cuba is awash with musicians Cuba and gave his sincere let, and rehearsed a company and dancers of the highest Ken Gill, Music Fund trustee, with appreciation to the charity’s of dancers in Cuba to bring quality is a testament to the Carlos Acosta at the House of efforts to date. the show to Britain. Carlos importance placed on educa- Commons reception. The reception was held dur- said “events such as these tion in the country”.

PDF Creator - PDF4Free v2.0 http://www.pdf4free.com Winter 2004/5 Page 3

Dr Aleida Guevara at charity screening of ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ In October, 200 people filled young revolutionary. As Dr tionary?” Not during the pe- the Everyman Cinema in Guevara began editing she riod of the diaries, but later, Hampstead, London for a found herself growing more in Mexico. charity screening of ‘The Mo- attached to the young man, Dr Guevara signed copies of torcycle Diaries’, followed by a embarrassed by some parts of the book and the evening Q&A session with Dr Aleida the diaries, but after a while continued with mojitos, Guevara visiting from Cuba. almost falling in love with the words from MFFC trustees, Since Dr Guevara had edited voice and thoughts of the Jean MacColl and Ken Gill, the diaries for publication writer. Only later did she find and ‘Nueva Trova’ songs from everyone was keen to find out the young man was her Cuban legend Gerardo Al- out more from the ultimate father. “Was the film accu- fonso, joined by Aleida for his Above: Dr Aleida Guevara authority. rate?” Mostly. Her father, of anthems Sabanas Blancas Below: Gerardo Alfonso With the opening question course, was much more hand- (about Havana) and Son Los “How did the diaries come to some than the actor Gael Suenos Todavia, hymn to the you?” Dr Guevara smiled and Garcia, and there was indeed memory of Che Guevara. The warmed to her task: her a swim across the Amazon, evening raised over £1000 for mother had given her the dia- but it was not at night rather the Music Fund with special ries and notes, telling her that in the afternoon. “At what thanks to sponsors Simons they were the work of a point did Che become a revolu- Muirhead & Burton .

Teenage group ’Polysonics’ make charity CD The ‘Polysonics’ are a barber- £1200 profit so far from it. in a joint concert with The If you are a student shop group set up in 2002 as Some money is being kept in Din & Tonics of Harvard Uni- or young person, a a group to sing in the inter- reserve with the intention of versity, USA, a world- house music competition at making another CD for char- renowned group. budding musician Lancing College, West Sussex. ity. The rest, 70%, is being So far over £75 has been do- or performing artist It is student-run and is cur- divided up between five chari- nated to the Music Fund For or just passionate rently made up of 10 boys ties as chosen by the mem- Cuba. about Cuban music from the school, aged 14-18, bers of the group. One mem- For more information about all from the same house ber chose Music Fund for the group or the CD please & arts, and you (Teme House). The group Cuba. contact the group at e-mail: have an interesting made a CD just before The group has participated in timmy_robson2002@lancing. idea for supporting Christmas in 2003 in order to many other events, including org.uk the Music Fund for raise money for various chari- singing in Prep schools in the Cuba we want to ties and have made over area and, last summer, singing hear from you!

Remembering Kirsty MacColl CNEArt Agreement This summer the biography of In July 2004 Music Fund for singer Kirsty Maccoll, who Cuba signed a Memorandum of was killed tragically in Decem- Understanding with CNEArt ber 2000 at the age of 41, was (Centro Nacional de Escuelas published. The Music Fund de Arte), which set out the was set up in her memory terms for a three year working shortly afterwards. The au- relationship to provide much thor of ‘The One and Only needed instruments and mate- Kirsty MacColl’, Karen rials for Music and performing arts schools in Cuba and fund- O’Brien, is donating part of ing specific projects. Patricia Meehan (left) for MFFC her proceeds from the book and Maylé Benítez Ortega to the Music Fund for Cuba. (right), director of International Relations at CNEArt in Havana.

PDF Creator - PDF4Free v2.0 http://www.pdf4free.com Music Fund For Cuba Registered Charity No. 1096283

Music Fund for Cuba C/o Cuba Solidarity Campaign, The Red Rose Club, The Music Fund for Cuba was first established in memory of 129 Seven Sisters Road singer Kirsty MacColl in January 2001. Kirsty, who was killed in an accident in December 2000, had been hugely inspired by London N7 7QG, UK Cuban music and culture and campaigned against the injustice Phone: 020 7263 6452 of the blockade. Her mother Jean MacColl and friends ap- Fax: 020 7561 0191 proached Cuba Solidarity Campaign to set up the Fund. The Fund became a fully registered charity in February 2003. Email: [email protected] Cuba is well known for its rich cultural traditions. Its music and Website: www.musicfundforcuba.org.uk performing arts are enjoyed by people around the world, but Trustees: J.Fitzsimmons, K.Gill, this heritage and the future artistic development are threat- N.Gold.J.MacColl, M.Seifert, ened by a lack of basic tools and materials. Violin strings, paper Charity Director: R.Miller for music scores, ballet shoes, paints and other small but essen- tial items are all in short supply. The main reason for these Supporting Cuban music and arts shortages is the continuing economic blockade of the island by the United States. The aims of the Music Fund for Cuba are: To advance the education of the public, in particular Organization children and young people, by the supply of musical equipment and materials to students, music schools and performing artists within Cuba.

If you are interested in helping the Music Fund or have ideas for fundraising projects in your local We’re on the Web! community please do not hesitate to contact di- example. rector, Rob Miller, on telephone 020 7263 6452 or microsoft.com by e-mail to: [email protected] Your support today could make a world of difference to young Cuban musicians and artists.

Yes, I’d like to make a donation to the Music Fund for Cuba Name: Standing Order form Address: (Please return to Music Fund for Cuba - not your Bank) Postcode: Name of Account Holder(s): Email: Here’s my gift of: £10 £20 £50 Other amount £ Address: Please tick here if you would like the Music Fund for Cuba to reclaim the tax that you have paid on this and any future donations you may make.* Account Number: Signed: Date: Sort Code: Name & address of bank: Cheque enclosed (payable to Music Fund for Cuba) Please debit my credit/debit card Pay Music Fund for Cuba, Co-operative Bank, 1 Islington Card number: High Street, London N1 9TR, Start date: Expiry date: Sort code 08-92-50 Account Number 50015566

Switch cards only: Issue No. Valid from £______every month / year starting on (date) *In order for The Music Fund for Cuba to reclaim the tax you have ______until further notice. paid on your donation(s) you must have paid income or capital gains tax (in the UK) equal to the tax that will be claimed (currently Signature 28p for every £1 you give).

Please complete the appropriate section and return this form to: Music Fund for Cuba, c/o CSC, The Red Rose Club, 129 Seven Sisters Road, London, N7 7QG Alternatively, you can donate online at our website www.musicfundforcuba.org.uk

PDF Creator - PDF4Free v2.0 http://www.pdf4free.com