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!