Day 9

            I woke up at about 6:30AM, called the front desk and told them that I would be checking out in about an hour. They needed to be informed ahead of time because they were required to check the Mini-Bar to make sure I didn’t drink anything from it. This is usually not required pre-checkout in most other countries because the hotel can always bill your credit card if they find that you took something. Since American Credit Cards are not useable due to the embargo, this was a necessary task by the hotel. After this short conversation, I showered, finishing packing everything, and took my bags down to the front desk for the bellhop to take to the bus for me. Then, I ate breakfast in the hotel with a few other members of my group. Then, I made my way down to the front of the hotel to get on the bus. When I arrived at the bus, Julio was there (our bus driver) to help us with our baggage and he introduced his wife to us. She did not speak English either, but was really sweet and it was nice to meet her! Our American tour guide, Annie, did not come with us to the airport, and wished us farewell before we left on the bus. It was a emotional time for me; my entire trip flashed before me and I really began to understand what Cuba was all about and how much of an incredible experience my trip was. As we drove by the old architecture and buildings that we had passed a thousand times over the course of the week, I knew that this would be only the beginning; meaning that I would find myself in Cuba many more times in the future.

            When we arrived at the airport, we bid farewell to Julio, got our bags, and went inside the airport. Meylin came with us and guided us through the process of checking in and paying our $25CUC departure tax. We arrived at the airport at around 8:30AM, planning on departing on our scheduled 11AM flight. When we checked-in, we found out that our flight was delayed until 1:30PM. This was very unfortunate, and meant that we had to spend hours inside the terminal. I had a feeling that this would not in fact be our departure time because the computer monitor said “Estimated.” The terminal itself was intriguing; there was only one departure and arrival gate (the same gate!). One plane would land and then that same plane would take off again to a new destination. To make a long story short, we all got to spend a great deal more of quality time together; our flight didn’t leave till 3PM (more or less). The flight was uneventful, and we landed in Miami a little before 4PM. Customs was a piece of cake; they didn’t check my carry-on (not that they would have found anything illegal, but I’m just saying!), they asked me a simple question “Why were you in Cuba?” where I responded as: “People to people musical tour.” The customs agent said “fine” and I was through to baggage claim. Incredible! It was too easy! After locating my baggage, I bid farewell to some of the members of my group and I went on my way. I had plans to stay over in Miami (at the airport) and fly home on a 9:30AM flight the next morning. Since our flight was so delayed, I didn’t have all of the free time in Miami that I thought I would have had (I expected to have the majority of the day!). So, I opted to try my best to get on an earlier flight home. My flight home the next morning was on an American Airlines flight, so I went to their desk to see if I could get on an earlier flight. They told me the only flight I could get on would be a 10PM flight that would get me to Philadelphia around 1AM. That wasn’t appealing, so I went to the US Airways counter and was able to get on a 7PM flight that arrived in Philadelphia around 10PM (thanks to my parent’s suggestion!). I had to pay a little more for the ticket, but it was well worth it to finally get home after the long day of travel. Ironically, I ran into one of the members of our tour, Margaret, at the US Airways counter, and she was flying home on the exact same flight. We walked around the airport a bit, got some dinner (where we ran into another member from our group), and waited at the terminal together for a bit before boarding the flight. The flight was very empty, and I had an entire row to myself. Right before boarding the plane, I was asked by a random person if I spoke Spanish, and I said “Yes, a little.” There was a Columbian woman waiting to board the plane to Philadelphia who didn’t speak any English and was wondering what “Zone 5” meant on her ticket. I explained to her (as best I could) that it was the order of boarding. She then asked me if I had checked baggage and if I could help her find the baggage claim area in Philadelphia. I told her that I would help her as best that I could. I talked with her a bit on the plane (we happened to be sitting right next to each other). She told me that she was a university professor back in Columbia and we chatted for a bit about education, Cuba, etc. It was a nice time! Landing in Philadelphia was uneventful, but complex emotionally.

            I was extremely happy to finally be home, see my parents (and Alfie…their dog!), but I was already missing Cuba. One could say that I was bitten by the “Cuba bug.” Before I even set foot on the island, I was extremely interested in the music, the culture, the people, and the intrigue of the forbidden island, but after actually visiting the place, I fell in love all over again. Amongst all of the poverty, run-down buildings, and strife, I felt at home. Cuba has three main social problems: 1) a Housing Shortage, 2) Unemployment, and 3) Shortage of Food. Obviously, Cuba has a lot of problems, but it also has a lot of good. I felt quite comfortable with the music, the culture, and the friendliness of the people. I was constantly learning and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip.

            There is so much more out in the world than the confines of America’s borders, and it was a pleasure to be able to see it firsthand. It is important to mention that just because the media says Cuba is a questionable place, it doesn’t mean it actually is. The first question many people ask me when I say I was in Cuba is: “Isn’t it dangerous?” I respond by simply saying, “No, it is one of the safest places in the world, even safer than the United States.” Cuba’s education system is one of the best in the world (better than our Public School System), their emphasis on preserving the national music and culture is enviable and something that we could learn a thing or two from, but most of all, the heartfelt friendliness and warmth of the Cuban people, is something that no one can teach. It is something that the Cubans are born with, in a place where they have so much, but at the same time have so little. I will be the first to admit that Cuba is not perfect, but no place is perfect, and the sooner that we start to recognize that, the better. To condemn an entire island for the actions of their leaders is incredibly ridiculous. There is not one reason in the entire world why American citizens should be forbidden from travelling to Cuba; it’s not dangerous, the Cuban people are wonderful, and there is so much that we can learn! It is a shame that the political views of the few, influence and condemn the inalienable rights of the many. What ever happened to the old saying: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?” I can’t even begin to understand the entire political framework that makes the Cuban Embargo tick; I’m just starting to understand it. What I can say is that Cuba is a wonderful island full of a culturally rich people who celebrate their culture and the positive aspects of life at every opportunity. I truly recognize that the United States regulations that got me to Cuba are a step in the right direction, but more has to be done to further allow Cuba to be open to more people, to share its beauty AND its strife with more people.

Day 8

            Today was an incredible last day in Havana, Cuba! I woke up early, had breakfast, and was ready to leave the hotel by 9AM. I had to be at the La Ena conservatory by 9:30AM, and had to find a taxi that could take me and return for me around noon. I was able to get a taxi right in front of the hotel, and told him where I was going. The drive itself took about 25 minutes and took me to the other side of Havana. We finally arrived, and the taxi dropped me off at the front gate. He waited while I went up to speak to the woman at the entry point, and after a short conversation in Spanish, I discovered that this was La ISA (Institute Superior of Art) and not La ENA (National School of Art). So, I got back in the taxi and we drove a few hundred feet further up the street to the next gate, which was in fact the gate for La ENA. I explained to the guard (more on him later) that I was visiting the school with an American group of students from California. He pointed to a big tour bus parked in the parking lot and let me pass right through. That seemed too easy! I walked towards the bus, which was parked very close to the building. As I looked to my left, I saw beautiful grounds that were once a golf course. I had read that this entire campus used to be a country club prior to the revolution. Fidel Castro and Ché Guevara decided to turn this former country club into the conservatories for the arts in the early 1960’s.

            When I walked towards the front of the building, I saw all of the High School students standing around with their instrument cases, looking like they just got off the bus. No more than two minutes after I arrived, the director of the school greeted everyone and introduced some Cuban students to give a short performance of traditional Cuban music. These Cuban students couldn’t have been more than 16 years old, and were wonderful! The American high school students were in awe of these musicians and were fascinated by the virtuosity and cohesiveness of the ensemble as well as the Cuban rhythms and vocal melodies. This group performed three or four selections.

            Next, the entire group was ushered further into the music school, into a small lecture hall. The director of the school explained (in brief) what goes on at the school and how the Cuban music education system works. I was able to corroborate many of the facts that I have learned over the years about the Cuban system. I was amazed at how I more or less knew all of the information that was presented.

            After this short presentation, we were ushered into a third room, where I would remain for the rest of my time at the conservatory. This was a rehearsal space with chairs for the audience to sit in. There was a Charanga Orchestra (string instruments, Cuban percussion, piano, bass, etc.) made up of students from La ENA. Their director had to be in his 70’s, and was wonderful to watch. His conducting style was unorthodox, but extremely effective. Once we were all settled, the Charanga Orchestra performed a few selections for us, including a medley of all of the famous Cha-Cha-Cha’s from Cuba. On the last selection, the director invited the Berkeley High School students to join the Cuban students. Only a few brave high school musicians got up on the bandstand to join the Cubans (a piano player and a drumset player). The drummer knew what was going on, and played the correct rhythms with the particular style that was being played). The piano player struggled with the montuno pattern, but I gave him a lot of credit for getting up there and trying to learn. After all, that is what cultural exchange is all about!

            After the Charanga Orchestra’s performance, the Berkeley High School Jazz Band set-up and performed for the Cuban students and faculty. This group performed well and performed a few straight ahead jazz selections (“Sepia Panorama” by Duke Ellington) as well as a tune called “Nuyurican Salsa” (or something similar to that title). For those of you who are not familiar the word Nuyurican, it refers to people of Puerto Rican descent who live in New York City. This song portrayed many of the Cuba rhythms and presented a great piece for the Cuban and American students to collaborate on. The American jazz band director invited Cuban students to join her students on this last selection. A trumpet player, trombonist, bass player, drummer, and saxophonist all joined the group, and boy could they play! They sight-read the parts and improvised with wonderful vocabulary and precision. Just observing this cultural exchange was incredible. This is truly the definition of “people-to-people exchange,” and I was very humbled by the fact that music can break all language barriers. Many of the students did not understand each other because they didn’t speak more than their own native language, but they communicated through music and were successful with this. The goal of any cultural exchange in music is to share your own music and be open to learning about the music of the other person’s culture. I believe that this was already occurring with these students and they had only been together for three hours. Incredible!

            I began my departure around 11:45AM. I thanked the man who made it possible for me to visit the conservatory and told him I would be in touch in the future about bringing my own High School students to Cuba to perform and study. My last stop before walking to the front gate was to donate some musical supplies (reeds for saxophone and clarinet, guitar strings, etc.). I found my way to the main office and ended up meeting the principal without even asking to do so. She was very friendly and very grateful for the donations. I asked if I could use her phone to call my taxi driver to come and pick me up; she agreed. When I spoke to the taxi driver, he told me that he was at the airport and wouldn’t be able to come and pick me up for at least 45 minutes. This wasn’t going to work because I had to meet my tour group for lunch in 30 minutes. I explained this situation to the principal of the school, and she called the main taxi number and requested a taxi for me. I waited out by the street (right by the guard post). While waiting, I started chatting with the security guard who I had met earlier. I asked him if he spoke English, and he said: “No. Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese.” I told him I would try to speak in Spanish as best I could. We had a fruitful conversation, where at one point he gave me some Portuguese lessons. I told him where I was from and what I was doing in Cuba and at the conservatory. He then shared with me that he always wanted to play the piano, but his parents couldn’t afford lessons when he was younger. We spoke some more, and he told me that before working at the conservatory, he was a fighter pilot for twenty years. He told me that he was stationed in Angola for a while, which is where he learned Portuguese. He told me that after being a fighter pilot, he was a commercial airline pilot for the state-run airline, Cubana, for twenty-seven years. After telling me all of this, I looked at him and said in a shocked voice: “¿Cuantos años tiene? (How old are you?). I was shocked when he told me that he was seventy years old. He didn’t look that old! He then proceeded to tell me that he never smoked in his entire life and only drank on occasion. (By now you are probably thinking that I was talking to him for a while; you would be right!). The taxi did not show up, so I had to resort to standing even closer to the road and seeing if a taxi drove by. It took a while, but I finally flagged down a taxi (a 1957 Chevrolet). I said farewell to the guard and gave the taxi driver instructions on where I was going, a restaurant called La Ferminia. I arrived only a few minutes late, but the group was already close to finishing their main course (all of our meals in Cuba involved multiple courses, even lunch). This was not a big deal though because the group had actually arrived to the restaurant early, and they were prepared to wait for me to eat. Luckily, the food was served on skewers and served family style. Thus, there was cooked food already on the table, and I just had to serve myself. After I ate, there was a live band performing for us (a trio), and I was able to play a few selections with them. They did not have a piano, so I played maracas on a Bolero and sang and played claves on a Son tune (“Bilongo”). This was a lot of fun!

            After lunch, we returned to the hotel for a private concert held in the cigar lounge. It featured the great (and young) Cuban pianist Rolando Luna and his group (bass, drums, and a vocalist). This group was world class and very fun to listen to. 

Rolando also performs with the current incarnation of the Buena Vista Social Club now called: Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club. I spoke to Rolando and his ensemble after the performance and they were such friendly people. I took some audio/video recordings during the concert, and they asked if I could make them a copy of it for their own use. I was happy to give them a copy of the recordings, and plugged my memory card into their laptop and transferred the files. It was a shame because Rolando told me that the Buena Vista group was performing in Havana the following night. Rolando invited me to the event, but I unfortunately had to tell him that I would be back in the United States by that point. O well…Next time!

            At the conclusion of this concert, we had a few hours of free time. I had a mission of locating baseball hats of Havana’s premier baseball team, the Industriales. I offered to pick up hats for two of the members of our group as well. I also had aspirations to find sheet music of Cuban songs as well as books about Cuban music. I explained my plans to Meylin (our tour guide), and she offered to come with me to help locate these items. We got in a cab and ventured to Old Havana in order to search for the music books and sheet music. There was a huge square of many different book vendors and we searched and searched. Each vendor had something that they thought I would be interested in, but it was never exactly what I wanted. After the fifth or sixth vendor we found someone who said that he had exactly what I wanted. He took a folder out of a box and handed it to me. This was it…A treasure trove of exactly what I was looking for. There must have been thirty musical selections in this folder, all with so much oxidation that they must have been at least fifty years old; all of the sheet music was published prior to the revolution. Some of it was piano/vocal music and others were the complete score (with parts) for a large Cuban ensemble. The gentleman wanted $5 CUC’s per piece of music. I asked him how much he wanted for the ENTIRE collection, and he paused for a moment. He counted all of the pieces of music, did some math in his head, and told me he would sell it to me for $100 CUC’s. I probably would agreed to this deal if I had more money in my wallet, but if I spent all of that money on the music, I wouldn’t have had enough for the baseball hats and the taxi ride back to the hotel. I decided to purchase eight pieces of music or so, but made sure that I selected the larger pieces of music (books with more than one song). The price was per item, not per song, so I got a good deal by selecting items with multiple songs and parts in it.

            After this purchase, Meylin and I hailed another taxi and asked him to take us to the baseball stadium. We were afraid that since it was after 5PM, the stadium shop would be closed. When we finally pulled up to the stadium and saw that the shop was still open, we cheered! I purchased three hats (one fore me and two for members of my group), counted my money and luckily JUST had enough for the taxi ride back to the hotel. And…like that, all of my goals for the afternoon were fulfilled! When we arrived back at the hotel, I went up to my room for a bit to drop off all of the items that I had bought, and then went back downstairs. I met up with Meylin again and also Jerry, another member of our tour group (he was one of the people I had bought a hat for). We spent some time together talking and then met up with the rest of the group for our farewell dinner at Tocorro, the restaurant where Fidel Castro’s chef used to work. The name of the restaurant signifies a type of bird found only in Cuba.

            Our dinner was very good, full of great food and wonderful company. We shared memories of our time together in Cuba and enjoyed the live band that was performing (that Tom and I got to play with…we played In a Mellow Tone). We also took time to recognize Meylin, Annie, and Julio. Meylin was our fabulous and extremely knowledgeable Cuban tour guide, Annie was our fabulous tour guide from Insight Cuba who teaches at Tulane University, and Julio was our extremely friendly and personable bus driver. All three of these individuals contributed to a simply incredible trip and we were all very grateful for their support, knowledge, and help throughout the week. After dinner, we returned to the hotel, and the majority of the group called it a night (it was 10PM at this point). I decided to go up to my room to relax for a few minutes and pack most of my things into my suitcase. I had plans to meet a few people in the lobby for a drink after packing.

            When I got to my room, I looked on my bed, and saw a few little creatures crawling around on the pillow and the comforter. I immediately called the front desk and asked for a room change. They told me that they would have to send housekeeping up to the room to verify the problem. While waiting for housekeeping, I packed up all of my belongings and got ready for the impending change in rooms. When housekeeping arrived, she took a look at the critters, and told me that they would change my room. She didn’t seem shocked or anything; it almost seemed like she had seen this before in the hotel. About 30 minutes later, a bellhop knocked on my door with the key to my new room on the 16^th floor (I was currently on the 15^th floor). I took all of my luggage and belongings up to the new room, and got settled. I checked the bed and did not find any bugs. I was satisfied with everything and was happy to get away from the creatures. Once I got settled in my new room, I went downstairs to the lobby and looked for the members of my group. Unfortunately, the room change took way too long and they were nowhere to be found. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I was in America; I could have pulled out my cell phone and called to find out where they were. Unfortunately, this was in Cuba, where nobody’s cell phone worked while we were in the country. While I was bummed that I couldn’t hang out, it was probably for the best. I went back up to my room, got ready for bed and went to sleep. I had to wake up early to finishing packing, eat breakfast and meet the group for our departure for the airport at 7:45AM. Our flight was at 11AM and we had to get to the airport in time to check our luggage, obtain our plain tickets, and go through security and customs. ¡Hasta Mañana! (Until tomorrow!)

Day 7

            Today was very busy. In the morning, we visited a Farmer’s Market in a small neighborhood near our hotel. The different vendors were selling fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and rice.

            Everything looked very fresh, however the meat did not look appealing; it was sold from a table at the front of the vendor’s hut. There was no refrigeration that I could see:

            Unlike most other places that we have traveled, this market only took the Cuban peso (not the Cuban Convertible Pesos or CUC that we have been using on the entire trip). This might be a good time to explain these currencies more in depth:

Cuba’s economy operates utilizing two monetary systems, the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) and the Cuban Peso. The exchange rate varies, but is something along the lines of 1 CUC is equal to 25 Pesos. The Cuban Peso is the currency that Cuban workers are paid in by the government, yet Cuban hospitality and tourism workers receive tips in CUC’s (from tourists). Most retail businesses operate using CUC’s, but Farmer’s Markets and utility bills are all paid for in the Cuban Peso.

            After our trip to the Farmer’s Market, we visited the Museum of Fine Arts that showcased Cuban artists. This museum was directly across the street from the Museum of the Revolution, which is housed in the former Presidential Palace. 

            This was the home of all Cuban presidents from about 1920 until 1959. In front of the Museum of the Revolution, there is a glass enclosure that houses a boat that took Fidel Castro from Mexico to Cuba during the revolution, as well as some other military vehicles that were utilized during the revolution. There was an armed guard posted in the front of this glass enclosure. I would have taken a picture of him in front of the structure, but I was instructed not too (it is illegal for anyone to take photos in government buildings or of military personnel in Cuba).

            When we entered the Museum of Fine Arts, I was blown away. The museum itself was breathtaking, with huge ceilings, and open-air sections that created a wonderful atmosphere. It was very hot in parts of this building, and I was very thankful that the galleries themselves were air-conditioned. We were very lucky that our tour guide, Meylin, had an extensive knowledge of the artwork in the museum. She explained a great deal about each one of the painters and their work. The artwork was extremely expressive and some of it was very political in nature (there was a fair amount of work from post-1959 artists). I was shocked to see artwork portraying messages that were anti-government, protesting and poking fun at the revolution, and expressing disdain for the complex and strained relationship with the United States. Meylin (our tour guide) told us that artists are given freedom of expression in Cuba and that the government feels very strongly about this artistic freedom. Just a side note: Unfortunately, I have no photos from inside the museum because cameras were prohibited.

            After our visit to the museum, we went to lunch at Floridita, which is a bar and restaurant in Old Havana. This is one of the establishments that Ernest Hemingway used to frequent every day when he lived in Cuba to have a daiquiri. Lunch was tasty and the daiquiris were good as well (we all had one to experience what Hemingway experienced while at Floridita. There was a wonderful musical group performing traditional Cuban music towards the front of the restaurant; I spent a good deal of time listening to their music.

            After lunch, we went to the jazz club La Zorra y el Cuervo to listen to a private concert that was arranged by Insight Cuba (the company who operated our tour). The concert featured a saxophone player, Michel Herrera Alvarez, and his group. Their performance was incredible. The musicians’ virtuosity and technical prowess was world-class. We were given a brief description of Cuban Jazz and how it has emerged on the island over the past 100 years or so. The band performed a Blues in the style of American straight-ahead jazz and then in the style of Afro-Cuban rhythms; it was a great scholarly comparison. Towards the end of the performance, I was able to sit-in (along with Tom, a bass player on the Insight Cuba tour as well) with the group and perform Have You Met Miss Jones (an American Jazz Standard). What fun! We all had a great time. The drummer and I got along well and interacted with each other’s playing immensely. The saxophone player played with virtuosic prowess comparable to those of Charlie Parker. Incredible!

            After our private performance, we traveled to a neighborhood Community project for senior citizens. This center was a place where senior citizens can come together to dance to jazz music. The neighborhood where this building is located is where the great Cuban pianist, Chucho Valdés grew up. 

            The dancers at this community project where extremely talented and very spry for their age (70-85 years old). The room where they danced was very small, but that didn’t seem to bother them. They danced from their hearts and looked as if they were having more fun that can be described with words. Naturally, they wouldn’t just let us stand there and watch, so we all danced with them. I’m not a great dancer, but this experience definitely inspired me to take dance lessons when I get home. We bid these folks a fond farewell, and boarded our bus again to return to the hotel. As soon as we returned to the hotel, I took a shower to refresh myself after the morning that we had! I relaxed for a few minutes and then joined a few members of our group for a drink in the hotel lobby. As a side note-> What incredible espresso in Cuba! The Cuban coffee is very strong, but has a great flavor. Coffee just isn’t that good in the USA (or rather its much harder to find!).

            Next on our agenda for the day: dinner and a 1950’s style cabaret show in the hotel. Dinner was pretty tasty, but the cabaret show was just ok. The music was well played, but it was mostly American popular music from the 1940’s and 1950’s, with the occasional Cuban song (El Manisero, etc.).

Considering I was in Cuba, I didn’t necessarily want to hear this sort of American music. I stayed for a about 30 minutes and then decided to leave. I remembered that Roberto Fonseca (who we saw perform the other night) was across the street at Jazz Café and thought it would be a good idea to check it out. I went over there with two other members of our group (Lee & Elaine) and we had an incredible time. The music was wonderful and full of energy and virtuosity. Whew!

            A very strange thing happened while at Jazz Café. When we sat down at our table, I started to look around and notice the other people sitting at the tables around us. The majority of the people looked like high school students. Upon closer examination, based on the clothing that they were wearing, they looked like American high school students. Our table was next to a table of adults, and I asked them if they could shed some light on this. The woman was very friendly and she told me that the teenagers sitting in the section near us were in fact American high school students. They were from Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California. They were the school’s jazz ensemble and were in Cuba for a week-long cultural exchange trip where they were performing and studying at La ENA (National School of Music), which is the main Music Conservatory for High School Students in Cuba. I couldn’t believe it! I’ve been trying to find a way to visit the conservatories for a week, and had no luck because of the examinations at the schools.

            I continued to speak to the woman next to me (who turned out to be the jazz band director from Berkeley) and told her a bit about myself and why I was in Cuba. I shared with her how I was attempting to visit one of the conservatories, but had no luck because of exams. I figured I had nothing to lose if I asked to join her and her students the next morning on their tour and introduction to the school (they had arrived in Havana the day before and hadn’t set foot in the conservatory as of yet). She went over to another table and asked their tour operator if it would be possible for me to tag a long, and he said it wouldn’t be a problem. I had him write down all of the information I needed for the next day, and thanked him very much for his friendliness and willingness to help me out. He told me to meet him and the group at the conservatory at 9:30AM the next morning and he went back to this table. Wow….Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Just think if I didn’t decide to go to this concert? Just think if I had liked the Cabaret show? I might not have had this opportunity dropped in front of me. I can’t say I always believe in fate, but in this particular instance, I have to say that I do!

            Well, tomorrow I’ll be off to visit the conservatory in the morning and then meet up with my tour group for lunch. This is really exciting! Nothing like finally getting to a music conservatory on my last full day in Havana….I can’t wait for tomorrow!

Day 6

            Today begins another incredible day in Cuba. Our first stop of the day was to an Artist’s studio located in Habana Vieja (Old Havana). It was located in a two-story house from the colonial period that had been completely restored. It was given to the artist to provide a place to complete his work, which was magnificent. He is one of Cuba’s most well known artists and has traveled to the United States in order to present his work. As we were going through his studio, he introduced his wife, who is a professor at La ISA (Superior Institute of Art). This is one of the highly acclaimed music conservatories and a place that I have wanted to visit for years. As I wrote about in one of my earlier posts, our tour group was unable to visit the music conservatories because they were in examinations. I thought that this could be an inside opportunity to circumvent this rule and get a tour of a conservatory. I explained my situation to this professor, and she gave me her contact information and explained to me how I could go about requesting a visit on Monday morning. I figured I would give it a try and see what I could come up with. After this visit to the artist’s house and studio (one in the same), we went for lunch at Casona de 17 Restaurante. This was a state-run establishment that had a live Cuban band and decent food including rice, beans, and chicken. The live band was phenomenal (percussion, flute, and tres). I asked them if they could perform some of my favorite Cuban standards, and they obliged! They performed Veinte Años and Son De La Loma to name a few. Wonderful selections and arrangements!

            After lunch, we proceeded to a craft market in the old ship dock near Habana Vieja. It was a vast open room with many small stands selling percussion instruments, souvenirs, jewelry, and other small trinkets. It was very reminiscent of a Florida flea market, except with the sellers trying a bit harder to sell you their merchandise. They were very adamant you buying their goods, but knew how to accept a “no gracias.” I proceeded to make a deal with a few of the vendors and was able to purchase 4 pairs of claves, souvenir maracas, a shekere, and a guiro for a very reasonable price. I was also able purchase some small gifts as well and think I made out very well. You can never have enough quality claves made in Cuba! I’ll use some for my Cuban Ensemble, Conjunto Philadelphia, as well as in my classroom in the fall.

            After our visit to the craft market, we returned to the hotel. I had a scheduled meeting with Barbarito Torres (from Buena Vista Social Club) at 5PM, and I needed a few minutes to prepare. I had a few minutes to check my e-mail, and then I waited for Barbarito and his wife in the lobby. They arrived a few minutes after I sat down in the lobby, and we spent a little over an hour talking in the hotel lounge over café Cubano (strong espresso). Barbarito only spoke Spanish and Sonia (his wife), spoke just enough English for the three of us to communicate well. I tried my very best to converse in Spanish, but on the occasion that I didn’t know how to say something, Sonia and I worked through it in English and Spanish and eventually communicated it to Barbarito. I was very impressed at how well this worked and we ended up having a productive conversation.

            During our conversation, I shared my love for Cuban music and explained how my students loved the Buena Vista Social Club documentary. I told him that my 6^th grade students especially loved the scene where he played the laud (stringed instrument) behind his back. We spoke about music education, Barbarito’s recent musical projects, his touring schedule, about my musical background and career, and about Cuban music. I asked him if it was possible to find Cuban traditional music in written form and he told me: “No” and pointed to his ears. He was implying that you had to listen to the recordings and learn from those. Of course, I knew that this was the best way to learn the music, but I was still curious if there was some music written down. Sonia did tell me that she had a book from the 1950’s that had some Cuban melodies and harmonies in it. She said she would scan some of it into her computer and e-mail it to me when she had time. This is very exciting, because this is something that is not easy to locate in the United States!

            Our conversation continued for a bit longer and it was wonderful. We continued to speak about Cuban music and spent some time on the topic of music education. Barbarito and Sonia told me that the next time I come to Cuba, I should give them plenty of notice and they will set-up meetings for me at the music conservatories, other music schools, and create opportunities for my students to perform for the Cuban people. (One of my goals is to bring my high school jazz ensembles to Cuba to perform and participate in a cultural exchange with the music students there. I am very excited for these future opportunities and truly appreciated Barbarito and Sonia’s willingness to assist me. When our meeting ended, I offered to pay for our coffee, but they wouldn’t have it and they paid. I appreciated their generosity both with their time and their money, and bid them farewell. Before we parted ways, I took a picture with Barbarito.

            After our meeting, I had a little down time, and then I met the group for dinner. We went to a restaurant called 1830, which was located on the Malecón and was simply magnificent. Prior to the revolution, it used to be a private home belonging to an important government figure in Cuba (it escapes me as to exactly who it belonged to). The food was tasty, but the restaurant itself was exquisite!

This was a special night for our group because it was somebody’s birthday and our tour guides surprised her with a birthday cake and candles.

            After dinner, nine of us ventured to Habana Vieja to a bar/restaurant called Café Taberna. I organized this outing because there was a live band performing the music of the Buena Vista Social Club. When we arrived, the band had already started. 

The group was huge: 3-4 horn players, 4-5 singers, a full percussion section, piano and bass. They played music directly from the BVSC albums as well as other music in that style (El Cuarto de Tula, Guantanamera, etc.). The singers kept rotating songs, and would walk around in the audience and sing to individual members of the audience. Like most of the performances that we have seen thus far in Cuba, the performers were very interested in audience participation. There were a few instances where members of the audience got up and danced next to the band, and one instance at the very end where the majority of the audience participated in a conga line around the club. Included with the admission charge was two mojitos each; some of the best that I had in Cuba (although nothing compares to the ones at the hotel).

            This concert concluded at 11PM and considering it was a Saturday night, we all decided to go somewhere else afterwards. Our tour group had reserved tables for us at the Jazz Café across the street from our hotel, and the majority of us went there afterwards (some people went to bed because they were tired). The music began shortly before we arrived, and stopped after only an hour. It was quite a disappointment because it was a Saturday night and the music stopped at 12:30AM! We all left and went back to the hotel. We hung out for a bit in the lounge and then called it a night. Only two more days left in Havana...It has been a magical experience so far…I hope that our last two days here prove to be just as magical!

Day 5

            Today, we spent the day in Matanzas, which is a province very close to Havana. The ride took about an hour and twenty minutes (give or take) and was simply magnificent. I have never seen so much green and undeveloped land before in my life. In order to cross into Matanzas, you have to go over a bridge. Right before the bridge, there is a small lookout post and concession/souvenir stand. The view was incredible.

There was a live band performing on the lookout deck as well. The music, the view, the wind, it all created a unique atmosphere.

            We only spent about 20 minutes at this rest stop and then proceeded onward with our trip towards Matanzas. When we approached Matanzas, we found ourselves on another town on the ocean (much like Havana), with run down streets and buildings. The streets were extremely narrow and I was very impressed with our bus driver, Julio, and his maneuvering through the corridors.

Our first stop in Matanzas, was at the Centro Cultural Abraham Lincoln. This is a community project where dancers come together to learn Rumba dancing and other folkloric dancing, such as Danzón. Students participate from the local elementary schools as well as older individuals from the greater community.

            When we arrived at this community project, we were ushered into the main performance hall, and treated to a multitude of performances. First, two young kids (maybe age 7 or 8), danced to a Danzón, the national dance of Cuba. Then, we had older dance students (18 years old?) dance Rumba and other dance traditions. They gave us a demonstration as to how their dance classes are structured and then began to invite us up to dance with them (or rather, grab people’s hands and pull them on the stage). After a few minutes of dancing, they got a limbo stick out and we all participated in this dance/activity for a while. 

            Our time at the Centro Cultural Abraham Lincoln was very enjoyable and we were all sad to leave. We said our goodbyes and boarded the bus again to venture to our next event on our itinerary, a visit to another cultural center that performs and studies Afro-Cuban music and dance (Rumba). 

            After this visit, we proceeded to the city center (a square with a statue of José Martí in the center). We had lunch at the Hotel Velasco, which was a beautiful hotel and restaurant. 

We were the only people in there for lunch and had an enjoyable time. There was a piano player performing. He played a great deal of American music, and after a few songs, a member of our group went up to him and asked him to play Cuban music. After all, we had come from the United States to hear Cuban music, not the music that we can hear on the radio every day. He was very happy to be able play the music of his cultural heritage!

            After lunch, we visited a book manufacturer that creates everything without machinery. These handmade books were absolutely exquisite! I asked the woman if they had any books on Cuban music, and I was in luck; they had one book entitled Postal de Peces, and had song lyrics and musical notation from a current Nueva Trova musician in Cuba. This was a great find and will be very fun to read through in the coming months. Next door to the book store was an art gallery associated with the nearby art school and had wonderful paintings, sculptures, and other exhibits that were of very high quality.

            This visit lasted about thirty minutes. When this concluded, we got back on the bus and made the return trip to Havana (to our hotel). We were all exhausted and I believe I even fell asleep for a few minutes (I’m not usually one to doze off on a bus!). The weather held up for most of the trip, but started to rain heavily towards the final leg of our journey back to our hotel.

            I was very excited to return to our hotel because I had a meeting scheduled with Barbarito Torres and his wife Sonia. If you are unfamiliar with this man, he was one of the younger members of the Buena Vista Social Club Documentary and CD. He was the laud player (a stringed instrument) and is portrayed several times throughout the film. He is still very much an active performer, musician, and clinician in Cuba and the rest of the world. I was lucky enough to contact him (through a mutual friend) and set-up a meeting. In order to set-up the meeting, I had to call him when I arrived in Cuba. I spoke to his wife Sonia because she spoke some English (Barbarito speaks no English).

            When I arrived back to my hotel room, I found a message under my door that was written entirely in Spanish. It said that Barbarito had to cancel our meeting, but that I should call him and his wife in the morning to reschedule. What a bummer! At least they were willing to talk to me in the morning to reschedule. After reading this message, I decided that it would be a good time to write in my journal of the day’s events. This took a considerable amount of time and before I knew it, it was time for dinner! Our scheduled dinner for the evening was at the hotel; a Mediterranean restaurant with seafood (I was able to order chicken instead!). This was a nice meal, and a great time for the group to bond with each other and with our tour guides.         

            After dinner, we proceeded down the hotel hallway to the Cigar Bar, where there was a live jazz band performing (Drums, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Bass, Clarinet, and Singer). The band was quite good; they performed American jazz standards and some Cuban music. It was great to hear Cuban musicians perform American jazz standards in the same vein as American musicians; I actually felt like I was in a jazz club in Philadelphia or New York City. After six songs or so, a few of us decided to explore the rest of the hotel and see if there were any other musical groups performing.

            We ventured to the lobby, and found a group of musicians playing in the lobby bar. This band consisted of acoustic piano, electric bass, tenor sax, a vocalist, and drums). They performed jazz standards as well and did a fine job. At the set break, I told one of the band members that I was a jazz piano player from Philadelphia. I asked if I could sit in with the group and play a song, and I received a resounding “Yes!” After the start of the second set, they invited me up to the stage and we agreed to play Satin Doll and Billie’s Bounce. This was a lot of fun to be able to play jazz standards with Cuban musicians who put their own spin on the music. After the second song was over, the drummer asked me if I knew any Cuban music. I was very pleased to hear this question, and told him that I would love to play Bilongo. They agreed with the selection and we had a blast! This was so much fun for me to be able to play Cuban music with actual Cubans in Cuba! I know that that seems normal to have Cuban music being played in Cuba, but I don’t have that luxury very often. I have my own Cuban ensemble in Philadelphia, Conjunto Philadelphia, but there are no Cubans in the band and we do our very best to perform Cuban music that pays homage to the traditional music of Cuba. I feel we do a nice job and have a wonderful time in the process, but there is nothing like being in the heartland of the music and performing it with actual Cuban musicians who grew up with it. What a thrill!

Day 4

Today started with a visit to a Community Project with art, murals, and music. The community project is called Murleando. The artwork was incredible and the people were extremely friendly. The music that was performed was traditional Cuban music with the exception of a few selections from a gentleman who rapped in English. He told us a bit about his music, and told us that he made some poor decisions growing up that landed him in jail for 4 years. He told us that during this time, he learned to embrace his situation and work towards the future. He started exploring music in prison and worked with both the English and Spanish languages. He wrote raps in these languages that were about positive topics and that did not involve negative connotations, innuendos, or foul language. The rest of the group consisted of: Bongo, a Female Lead Vocalist, a Percussionist with his own rig made out of spare parts from cars and elsewhere, as well as an acoustic electric guitar. See the picture to the right for an example of the percussionist's rig.

            The lead vocalist is a music educator in Cuba and teaches choral music. We had a nice conversation (all in Spanish) and we shared information about the students and subjects that we teach. During the performance, I was sitting in the front row and she pulled me up to dance with her. I obliged, and had a great time! I am not a great dancer, but I did my best and had a blast!!! This experience at the Murleando community project was fantastic and a wonderful way to start our morning.

            After we parted ways with our good friends at this community project, we drove to a cigar factory that was close by and were able to get a tour. The building that the factor was housed in was built in 1902 and was originally home to an American Cigar company. It was only 3 floors, and each floor had a different step in the process. There were no machines; just rooms with many different workstations and an individual person at each station. What an incredible process!

            The smell of the factory was intense (tobacco), and the conditions were just okay. Only one of the rooms had air conditioning, and that was for the cigars themselves, not for the workers. There were fans blowing and some decent ventilation, but I surely wouldn’t want to work in those conditions for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. With that said, this is a source of employment for some Cubans and they make around the same amount of money as doctors, lawyers, etc. I won’t get into the economic system quite yet, but I’ll talk about that later!

            After our visit to the cigar factory, we went to Habana Vieja to have lunch on the water (right on the Malecón at a seafood restaurant. The food was all right, and actually rather salty. All in all though, it was a nice restaurant, good company, and all right food. After lunch, we went to the ICAIC Animation studio, which is a state-run animation studio in Cuba. They produce all of the cartoons for the island as well as some longer animation presentations. We had the privilege of touring the facilities, meeting animators, seeing the technology that they utilize, see a preview of an upcoming project being worked on, as well as see a thirty minute video presentation of a variety of things that the studio has produced. They make three main types of animations: 1) cartoons for state television; educational for children as well as entertaining material for all ages, 2) one minute clips that have no dialogue; often utilizing American characters that are trademarked (Batman, Terminator, etc.), 3) longer animation type presentations such as Veinte Años (http://dai.ly/ayUWCB). Veinte Años incorporates a traditional Cuban song by the same name sung by Omara Portuondo (from Buena Vista Social Club). The animation itself portrays a marriage that has not sustained itself after 20 years time. The scenes depicted relate to the music being heard. What incredible talent in all of these presentations!

            After our tour, we were able to go to the roof of the building (one of the taller ones in Havana), and look out onto the city. A block away from the animation studio was the Cristobal Colón Cemetery, which is the main cemetery in Havana. It is a magnificent cemetery in terms of architecture and it is home to the graves of Rubén Gonzalez and Ibrahim Ferrer, two of the legendary musicians from the Buena Vista Social Club.

            I thought I would take advantage of being this close to the cemetery. I opted to not go with the rest of the group on the bus, but to stay where we were and head over to the cemetery to walk around a bit. I would gladly have walked around the cemetery myself, but I was glad that one of the other members of the group, Margaret, was interested as well. We walked over, paid our entry fee of $5CUC’s each, and went in search of Ibrahim Ferrer and Rubén Gonzalez’s graves. We asked the person at the front of the cemetery, and he directed us to Ibrahim Ferrer’s grave. He told us that Rubén’s was very far away and not practical to get to in the time we had before the cemetery closed. This was a bummer for me because Rubén has been my idol for many years, but I was glad to at least be able to see Ibrahim’s final resting place.

            It was about 5PM when Margaret and I left the cemetery. We searched for a taxi, but had no success. So, we started to walk further down the street we were on in order to find one. We still had not success. We kept walking and walking and finally we were able to hail a taxi. It was nice to be able to walk through a part of the city without the rest of the group, without a bus, and without anyone else except us. For the first time since arriving in Havana, I felt like I was seeing what the daily life of a Cuban was like. Not a single person bothered us, and we just walked down the street until we found a taxi. It was nice to blend in (or appear to blend in) and just observe. The one thing I noticed was that the smog was very intense just by hanging out on the street and walking. I can only imagine what it is like to inhale and experience this every day for your entire life.

            When Margaret and I returned to the Meliá (our hotel), I decided to walk over to the Hotel Riviera, which was right next door to our hotel. This is a hotel that was built by Meyer Lansky in the 1950’s and was a huge source of income for the mob prior to the revolution. When I walked inside this structure, I was blown away at the architecture and the ambience. I truly felt I was stepping into the 1950’s.

            After this visit to the Melia, I spent some time relaxing in my hotel room and then decided to go downstairs to meet the group. Our dinner this particular evening was at the historic Hotel Nacional. This was very exciting for me because this is one of the most historic hotels in Havana, built in the 1920’s up on a hill overlooking the city and the Malecón. This was one of the most important hotels during the 1940’s and 1950’s People like Winston Churcill, Frank Sinatra, etc. stayed here and Frank Sinatra performed here numerous times. The amount of history, culture, and architecture present in this location is simply incredible. The grounds of the hotel property are vast. We ate at an open-air restaurant that was underneath a straw type roof and very close to the magnificent view of the city. There was live music from a traditional Cuban son group, and classic Cuban cuisine. We had chicken, pork, plantains, and arroz congrí (rice and black beans mixed together).

            We enjoyed the food and the music for a while, and then we started to hear a loud noise coming from the distance; it was a rainstorm moving our way from out in the ocean! It was wild, we heard the storm before we felt or saw any rain. I was sitting towards the end of the rooftop, and had to move towards the inner portion of the restaurant in order to avoid getting wet. After we finished eating, we walked out in the rainstorm in order to get back into the hotel. We had about 15 minutes or so before we left for our next event for the evening. I took this time to walk around the hotel and take a few photos.

            Next, we got on the bus and left for the jazz club La Zorra y El Cuervo. This is one of the prominent jazz clubs in Havana. It is very small and resembles a small jazz club in NYC where you have to walk down a flight of stairs into a basement to get to the club. The vibe, sound quality, and overall atmosphere of the club was wonderful. We were able to sit right in front of the stage.

            The show was incredible. Roberto Fonseca (a wonderful piano player) performed with his group. They played “Cuban Jazz”, which is a mixture between regular jazz music and Afro-Cuban rhythms. The level of musical talent and technical facility was simply incredible. I have very rarely seen such high technical facility. It felt like and looked like they could do anything! The piano player was on a complete other level. He is in his 40’s, and when he was much younger, had the pleasure of performing with the Buena Vista Social Club ensemble and also recorded a few albums with Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo. Our entire tour group stayed until Midnight, but about 7 of us decided to stay for the next set, which ended at about 1AM.

            When we left the club, I hailed a taxi with a few other members from my group (we took two cabs in total because there were so many of us). The driver was young (probably younger than I am…20?). He told us he knew where our hotel was, but after we started driving he didn’t seem like he knew exactly where he was going. I tried to give him directions in Spanish, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to get there myself based on where we were at the given moment. I told him to take the Malecón because that leads right to the hotel. This worked fine until a section of the Malecón was closed and he had to take alternate streets. After driving for a few minutes, the cab driver stopped the car on the side of the road, got out of the car, and went up to a random person on the street and asked directions to the Meliá Cohíba hotel. The person he asked knew how to get to the hotel, and were on our way again. Only in Cuba could this happen! I was amazed at how our driver just stopped and asked the first person he saw on the street. The Cuban people are so friendly and helpful and this example proves this point. We finally arrived at our hotel, paid for our trip, and went to bed. What an experience! I got to practice my Spanish and go on a little adventure in the process. I was sitting in the front seat so I was able to direct him. When we got close to the hotel, I directed him how to turn into the road that leads him directly to the front door of the hotel. I couldn’t remember how to say “to turn” in Spanish and struggled a bit. The driver understood what I was talking about and everything was all right. Now I know that dolar is the very “to turn” in Spanish. Also, I want to just quickly mention that the car itself had 400,000 km on it an the gas tank was completely at Empty.

            Tomorrow we are off to Matanzas, which is the province directly next to Havana. It should be a good day!

            What a surreal experience….Cuba is a beautiful and run-down, culturally rich and economically poor, full of smiles but full of despair, and full of wonderful history but lacking in resources to preserve it. As a musician told me earlier today: “we have a lot of problems.” I appreciated his honesty and he is exactly right. With that said, Cuba is still memorable place and there is nowhere else on the planet quite like it. I feel like I’ve fulfilled a lifelong dream and I’m so grateful and happy to be here. Cuban music/culture/history has become very important and close to me…I am hungry for knowledge about everything that Cuba has to offer, not just the music, but everything! There is so much to learn, and I love every minute of it. Cuba is an island rich with strife, but even richer with love and friendship. ¡Buena Noche!