LONG LIFE TO HAVANERES
WRITTEN BY PETE HECK
1 Written by Pete Heck Pete is one-half and co-founder of HeckticTravels. com. He is a professional photographer, avid home-chef, and frequent traveler having visited over 50+ countries. Having traveled to Costa Brava and the Pyrenees region numerous times and being drawn to the landscape, the people and the food, he’s convinced it will be his home at some point.
© 2018 Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona
2 There wasn’t an empty seat to be found. We had just fi nished a meal with some friends in the La Bella Lola tavern, and we were just about to indulge in more wine. Located in the small Costa Brava town of Mont Ras, I found myself fi xated on the tavern’s walls, which were covered in posters and photographs of singers and entertainers -- undoubtedly local artists and celebrities from the region.
Apart from enjoying another amazing Catalan meal, our main reason for dining at La Bella Lola that evening was for a concert, or more specifi cally, a havaneres concert . I’d been told that havaneres were an important aspect of Catalan culture, tradition, and identity. And as I scanned the photographs on the walls, I wondered what made this style of concert so special.
All of a sudden, the people in the crowd grabbed their dinner napkins, and the tavern became a sea of fl ailing white kerchiefs. As the band belted out the Catalan lyrics we grabbed our own and joined in, not exactly knowing why we were waving them around.
“Ay, qué placer sentía yo cuando en la playa, sacó el pañuelo y me saludó.”
“Oh, what a pleasure I felt, when on the seashore, she took out the handkerchief and waved at me.”
The story of a fi sherman bidding his love farewell as he returned from the sea to the Catalan lands, it was evident the song had deep roots and sentimental value amongst everyone in the room as they sang along in unison.
Thousands of such stories have been transformed into songs sung in taverns along the Costa Brava coast. Historically, they were performed by Catalan fi shermen stuck on land due to weather or returning from journeys to the Americas. With lyrics providing emotional refuge for both singers and listeners, havaneres were tales of love, lust and adventures. Traditionally the songs were composed in Spanish and sung only by men, as women did not frequent the taverns.
3 Originating in Cuba with, as the name suggests, roots in the capital city of Havana, the slow tempo and melancholic havaneres eventually made their way across the Atlantic. The songs were in originally in Spanish but have been translated or written solely in Catalan since the last Colonial war in Spain.
A traditional havanera band typically consists of three singers: a tenor, a baritone, and a bass. The band members usually outnumber the number of instruments on stage; it’s more of a vocal telling of a story. THE EVOLUTION
Two books intended to preserve the Labeled the “Cantada de Calella,” this nostalgia of these songs and safeguard concert was henceforth annually televised the artists, melodies, and poster images and broadcasted on radio across the nation, for generations were published in the enshrining it in Catalan culture. mid-1900s. In 1948 a book “Album de Havaneres” and in 1966 another “Calella de On the fi rst Saturday of every July, the town’s Palafrugell i les Havaneres” were published. population jumps from under 1,000 people The second book, Calella de Palafrugell i les to over 40,000. Those unlucky people who Havaneres, was the catalyst that prompted do not get a seat on the beach will try and the concerts to move from the tavern to the befriend those with boats to catch a glimpse of the stage and the artists performing. stage. It described a havaneres concert held in the small town of Calella de Palafrugell, which attracted over 10,000 people. What was once only popular amongst fi shermen and their taverns has grown across generations. And it’s not only in taverns and big stages where the havaneres are being performed -- trios are performing in town squares, concert halls, and other venues throughout Catalonia. It would not be surprising to catch an impromptu havanera throughout the summer on a Costa Brava beach with locals around singing the classics songs.
“Quan el «Català» sortia a la mar els nois de Calella feien un cremat. Mans a la guitarra solien cantar: Visca Catalunya! Visca el Català!”
“When the Catalan set sail,La the bella young Lola men from Calella were drinking fruit punch with rum. With their hands on the guitar, they would often sing: Long life to Catalonia! LongHavanera life to the Catalan!” La bella Lola
Re Des- pués de un a - ño de no ver tie-rra por -que la Cuan-do en la pla-ya la be --lla Lo la su lar - ga La cu -ba -ni -ta llo --ra ba tris -te al ver - se
5 La 7 gue - rra me lo im --pi dió me fui al puer --to don de se ha - co -la lu --cien do va los ma --ri ne -ros se vuel - ven so - la y en al - ta mar. El ma --ri ne -ro la con --so
9 Re La 7 Re La 7 lla - ba la que a -do --ra ba mi co --ra zón. ¡Ay, que pla - cer lo -cos y has -ta el pi --lo to pier -de el com - pás. la - ba, no llo --res Lo la no te has de aho - gar.
14 Re La 7 Re sen-- tí a yo! cuan- do en la pla- ya sa - co el pa -ñue - lo y me sa -- lu dó.
The audience in La Bella Lola embraced and belted out the Catalan lyrics. Even without understanding all of the words, I sensed the strong pride of a nation. 20 La7 Re La7 The havaneres go deeper than entertainment. For many they represent a defi ning moment for the Catalan people. During the Franco dictatorship (1939 - 1975), havaneres in the Catalan Lue-- go des pués se a- cer- có a mí, me dió un a - bra- zo y de a- quel language were strictly forbidden. At a time when the Catalan language and culture was strongly discriminated against by Franco, this verse became especially important for the Catalans: “Visca Catalunya! Visca el Català!” (“Long life to Catalonia! Long life to the Catalan!”) Unsurprisingly, I found out later that these lyrics of “El meu avi,” or “My Grandfather,” are often 26 Re referred to as the second national anthem of Catalonia. la-- zo cre í mo -rir.
6 CREMAT
About halfway through the evening, something caught my eye from just outside the tavern. A man stood above a large terracotta pot; he stirred as fl ames leapt up the ladle. He was making a traditional cremat, which I was told goes hand-in-hand with the havanera.
A dark rum-based drink,no surprise coming from Cuba, it’s mixed with sugar, cinnamon, lemon and/or orange peels, and co ee beans. Most of the alcohol ends up being burned o , leaving a very impactful fl avor. I was handed a cup and took a sip, experiencing a rush of fl avour from the co ee, cinnamon, citrus, and of course the rum. That night it kept me warm, much like it must once have done for cold fi shermen after a storm. KEEPING TRADITIONS ALIVE
The band that we enjoyed that evening did not follow the traditional havanera structure. Crema Catalana has fi ve members, and the lead singer, Queralt Albinyana Armengol, sat down with us after the show.
“All of my life I have heard havaneres. It speaks all about the Catalan. It’s our history and the way we tell our stories,” she explained. “It’s not an e ort for me becaus