BOOK REVIEW

Cultural Policy and Music Making in Revolutionary Cuba

Sue Miller

Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba, by Robin D. Moore, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 2006, 367pages, £38.95p/£15.95,

HB ISBN 0 – 520-24710-8, PB ISBN 0 – 520-24711-6

In Music and Revolution Robin Moore,  professor of music history at the University of Texas, presents a comprehensive survey of cultural policy making in Cuba from the early years of the revolution, the ‘quinquenio gris’ (from 1969 to 1973), the more optimistic 1980s, and the special period in the 1990s through to the present day. He looks at the ideologies behind the policies, exploring how issues of race and religion, alongside cultural theories of socialism, Marxism and nationalism, have impacted on cultural policy. After a chronological overview of cultural changes from the 1950s onwards, Moore turns his attention to various case studies. Here, I shall focus on his discussion of dance and  Afro-Cuban ‘folkloric’ musics, although Moore also explores  Nueva Trova, Salsa and Timba to illustrate the effects of various policies on Cuban musicians themselves. As he states in his introduction, critiques of cultural policies in Cuba are rare due to the tendency of writers on Cuban matters to come down on one side or other of the political divide (pro or anti-Castro). His stated aim is to fairly evaluate the impact of cultural policies in Cuba post 1959 with a view to opening up an informed debate on the subject. The sense of victimhood and isolation felt by Cuba (due to the US embargo and the  collapse of the Soviet Union) has often led to a defensive stance as regards evaluating its own cultural policies and in this book Moore sets out  to discover the truths surrounding cultural life in socialist Cuba. He states at the outset that as a North American academic, this has not been an easy task as many obstacles have been put in his way. For example, he has had difficulties getting funding to study in Cuba from the US side and the Cuban Ministry of Culture has refused him access to statistical data.

Moore highlights the fact that the Afro-Cuban community was the first to benefit from the revolution in terms of better living standards, housing, health and education. Many Afro-Cuban artists also received state support, particularly in the early years of the revolution. However, such support does not always mean that musicians are free to do what they want given various attempts by the government to interfere with the development of Cuban musicianship. Moore recounts one amusing tale of Pedro Izquierdo (Pello el Afrokán) being asked by Fidel Castro in 1965 to write a song about the sugar harvest to spur on the workers. The resulting song pleased both Fidel and the musicians through the well tested Cuban art of double-entendre, with lyrics such as “Ay, how tasty the sugar cane is honey…bring your cart over here!” Other examples of state intervention had more serious consequences however, such as Nueva Trova artists in the early part of their careers being sent to ‘voluntary’ labour camps for ‘re-education’.

Moore’s exploration of dance music shows how the socialist government has struggled to reconcile the pleasure principle with its concept of music as having to ‘edify’ and ‘educate’. However, Cuban son music, emanating from the black working class, with its lyrics about daily life and its emphasis on dance and sensual pleasures, is  not an ideal medium for political messages. Charanga and Son Conjunto bands were, of course, immensely popular in the 1950s but were viewed as escapist and frivolous by the new leadership. Consequently,  many of these dance bands received little state support. Yet as Moore explains, to acknowledge the rich artistic life of the 1950s does not in any way negate the existence of prostitution, poverty, racism and other hardships suffered by ordinary Cubans. As he remarks, many musics such as Jazz and Tango have originated amidst appalling social conditions. The rise in popularity of Salsa worldwide and of Timba in Cuba in the 1980s and 1990s, however, have led to a volte-face by the state, which now  supports dance music as a means of securing much needed revenue.

The facile criticism (by Cuban commentators such as Ariana Hernández-Reguant) of the Buena Vista phenomenon, (the 1997 international hit ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ documentary film and recording by UK-based ‘World Circuit’ Records that showcased pre-Revolutionary artists such as Rubén Gonzalez and Ibrahim Ferrer), as ‘imperialist nostalgia’ is challenged by Moore (p132) as he points out that performers from the 1940s and 50s have been consistently underpromoted in post-revolutionary Cuba and that these musicians have been unfairly stigmatised by association with the Batista era. Moore points out that the state record company, EGREM, could have effected a similar success to that of World Circuit’s Buena Vista productions had it chosen to promote its high quality back catalogue of 1950s performers.

Regarding ‘Afro-Cuban’ forms of music (Rumba, religious ‘folkloric’ music such as Santería, Palo Monte and Abacuá), state support has been uneven and contradictory. This is  because the issue of racism is rarely discussed in the context of socialist Cuba, as the leadership promotes an image of a unified Cuban nation in the face of US aggression. Nevertheless, racism did not disappear in 1959 and Moore points out that Marxist  intolerance of religion has also been used as a cover for racial prejudice, with Afro-Cuban folkloric drumming often viewed as ‘atrasada’ (backward) by party officials and musicians too (composer Gonzalo Roig described the music as barbaric). All forms of religion were banned by the revolutionary government and Afro-Cuban religions in particular have been viewed as a throwback to primitive, colonial times. State support for the music and dance of Santería and other Afro-Cuban religious  forms have set out to valorise the music and dance but separate them from their religious content, turning performances of ‘Afro-Folkloric’ music and dance into ‘heritage folk-art’ for the concert stage. The first state-supported Afro-folkloric group, the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional was founded in 1962 and is perhaps the most well known both in Cuba and abroad. Criticisms of these staged performances of Afro-Cuban artforms by Cuban musicologists such as Helio Orovio and Carlos Moore include the lack of spontaneity, the diminished role of improvisation and the increased formality of these events. On the plus side these groups have played an important educative role, particularly as conservatoires up until very recently have not allowed Cuban popular music or ‘Afro-folkloric’ drumming into their curriculum.

Moore’s book gives a fascinating insight into how state intervention in the arts affects artists on the ground in Cuba. Some policies have been immensely successful (for example a ‘Casa de Cultura’ in every town, top level free music education, guaranteed salaries for performing musicians), whilst other measures have been more detrimental (such as the banning of Afro-Cuban religious ceremonies  in the late 1960s and the instigation of  education programmes in schools and youth summer camps aimed at eradicating Afro-Cuban religions).

Although the book is well researched, Moore’s inability to gain access to the Ministry of Culture’s statistics means that his work is necessarily incomplete. Let us hope that the Ministry of Culture will soften its policy of non-cooperation with US researchers sooner rather than later. As a musician who has interviewed Cuban musicians,  I appreciate the in-depth background that  Moore’s book affords researchers such as me.  The thirteen musical transcriptions included serve to illustrate some styles and rhythms, and show evidence of the use of Afro-Cuban religious music in popular dance genres, yet  knowledge of musical notation is not a prerequisite for understanding the book. In sum, Music and Revolution will be of great interest to Cubaphiles, ethnomusicologists, cultural, and political theorists in addition to anyone concerned with how the state’s involvement in cultural policy can affect the artistic life of nations.

Estrellas Cubanas performed the Danzon Amalia Batista by Rodrigo Prats at the Danzon Festival in Havana in 2007 – do contact me if you’re interested in promoting an exchange project between Estrellas Cubanas and Charanga del Norte. I have worked with members of Estrellas Cubanas and am particularly interested in getting the singers and percussionists to perform with Charanga del Norte in Havana and also on tour. As these veteran Charanga players are over sixty it would be nice to do a collaborative project sooner rather than later!

In 2006 I guested with Orquesta Barbarito Diez in Bejucal near Havana which was a lovely gig with a sweet rhythm section which included the grandson of Orestes Varona, the timbale player from Orquesta Aragón. On piano a very classy lady called Obdulia , Francisco ‘Panchito’ on bass and Jeronomito Barbón on congas  and a wonderful guiro player I’ve yet to find out the name of – how can you not play well when you have  this elegant grooving rhythm section behind you!

Orquesta Barbarito Diez in rehearsal at Obdulia's house

At the International Danzón Festival I performed with Charanga Orquestas ‘Estrellas Cubanas’, ‘Orquesta Sublime’ and ‘Charanga de Oro’ and gave a lecture in Spanish at the conference on my research and my band Charanga del Norte (the UK’s only Charanga Orquesta). I was featured on Cuban television and radio as something of a novelty – an English girl improvising flute Charanga típica style.

Polo y Lazaga

Polo Tamayo plays the famous Mambru quote and tongue twister rr con rr cigarro, rr con rr barril, rapido corren los carros, cargando de azucar del ferrocarril on El Bodeguero as played by Charanga de Oro led by Jose Loyola. Enrique Lazaga is on güiro, Pancho Terry on violin and Jorge Machado on bass. This gig took place in Santa Cruz del Norte in April 2007.

Recent CD Reviews of Cuban and Salsa music by Sue Miller are available on www.gondwanasound.co.uk

Amadito Valdes

Bajando Gervasio

[Review] Resistencia

You can  click the links below to see a further selection of these:

Review of The Rough Guide to Cuban Music

Review of Amadito Valdes Bajando Gervasio

Review of Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall

Review of Madera Limpia La Corona

Review of Omara Potuondo Gracias

Review of an Eliades Ochoa Concert

Review of Putumayo  presents Salsa

Review of Buena Vista Social Club live in Harrogate

Review of Putumayo Presents – Cafe Cubano

Review of La-33 Gozalo

Review of Marco Toro Oido al Tambor

I gave a lecture at the international Danzón conference in Havana in April 2009 where I demonstrated how I learnt the Cuban flute style of improvisation from renowned Cuban flute players such as Richard Egües, Polo Tamayo and Melquiades Fundora.

Couples dancing Danzón in the Union Fraternal, Havana Vieja

Bombon Cha transcribed by Sue Miller

SM: Where were you born and how did you begin your musical career?
RE: I was born in a small village called Cruces, when it was part of the former province of Las Villas. I lived there only for eight months before moving to Ranchuelo, another village. I spent my childhood there and then we went to Santa Clara. We also lived in Manicaragua where I played the piano in my father’s orchestra. Ever since I was young I have always loved music and as a boy I used to have my own little group where I sang and played the bongos. When I was ten years old I began studying music.

SM: Do you come from a musical family?
RE: Well, my father was a musician. He played the classical guitar and was the director of an orchestra. He played the clarinet in a very good band.

SM: And was he your teacher?
RE: In the beginning, of course.

SM: What other instruments do you play other than the flute?
RE: I began on the clarinet but my first instrument was the cymbals. Whilst studying the clarinet I played the saxophone and was also studying the piano. I intended to become a pianist —I spent a lot of time playing the piano in orchestras but in 1948 I began to study the flute. I studied hard and became the flute player in the municipal band of Santa Clara — a good band playing good music — and I also played the piano in the Charanga orchestras.

SM: Were there many Charanga groups in Cuba at this time (in the 40s and 50s)?
RE: Oh yes, very many — this is the country of Charanga — they are indigenous to Cuba! There were so many — Antonio Maria Romeu, Arcaño y sus Maravillas, Joseito Valdes’s Orquesta Ideal, but there were many, many more.

SM: Who were the most famous flute players before you?
RE: Adrian Barrio, Antonio Arcaño.

SM: How did you meet the famous violinist from Orquesta Aragón, Rafael Lay?
RE: Aragón’s flute player, Rolando Lozano left the group for Mexico with Orquesta America and Lay came to look for me in Santa Clara to ask me to join Aragon and ultimately to move to Havana where the band had work.

SM: When did you start with Orquesta Aragon?
RE: In 1954.

SM: Can you tell me about the history of this Orquesta?
RE: The Orchestra was founded in 1939 in Cienfuegos. The founder became terminally ill and Lay became the group’s leader and the group subsequently moved to Havana. People loved the group and from there we left to tour the world. The group toured many countries — except England. We played once at the Moscow Conservatoire and they loved us there. We toured all over North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Japan, Lebanon, Egypt and many countrics in Africa. They loved us in Africa, proof of which only last week I was visited by an African Head of State in my own home.

SM: How was your life when you played with Orquesta Aragón?
RE: My life? Well, normal really…

SM: No fast cars?!
RE: Lots of women and we drank a bit but we never stopped — we were always on the move, travelling and playing all over.

SM: How many recordings did you make with Orquesta Aragón? Can you give some titles of your records?
RE: I can’t remember — there were so many, a lot of Long play and singles too. We recorded a great deal.

SM: Which were the most famous ones?
RE: The most famous number was Bodeguero (The Grocer).

SM: Can you tell us a little about Charanga and the musical styles associated with it?
RE: The Charanga has distinct styles but these days there are a lot of groups calling themselves Charanga when they are not Charangas.

SM: Yes, like Charanga Habanera (which is more of a timba group).
RE: They don’t have the correct instruments of Charanga. The Charanga group has a flute and violins, sometimes amplified with microphones.

SM: Amplified acoustic violins but not electric violins.
RE: No the Charanga doesn’t sound right with those instruments, no.

SM: Can you tell us how the instruments function within a charanga arrangement?
RE: Every instrument has their part to play at certain times and in definite styles but everyone must work together to give the right sound to the Charanga.

SM: You have played many styles of music ranging from Classical, Jazz and Cuban styles, but primarily you are known as the King of Charanga and the Cuban flute style. Why did you dedicate your life to Charanga?
RE: It’s not that I like Charanga more than other styles, more that it suited me most musically. Out of the three ‘cultivators’ of the chachacha only I remain as Rafael Lay and Enrique Jorrin are now dead. We all influenced the chachacha and the danzón.

SM: As a composer which, in your opinion, is your best work?
RE: Bodeguero is my best composition as it is the most popular and is part of the Charanga canon.

SM: How is your life now in Cuba?
RE: Very peaceful as I am old. Before my life was less calm. Now I am old and my health is not the same.

SM: But at the present time you are working as a piano tuner/repairer and flute teacher as well as recording at the EGREM studios. Aren’t you retired?!
RE: No because the state won’t allow me to retire. I an 76 years old but the state keeps me on as a cultural ambassador, an ‘Emblem’ of Cuban Music if you like.

SM: What type of flutes have you played?
RE: I started studying the flute on the Boehm system flute and then I took up the five key wooden flute to play in the Charanga.

SM: What projects have you for the future?
RE: My main project is to make music and stay alive a little longer!

SM: Do you think you might come to England one day?
RE: Well, I don’t know. Perhaps I will as it’s about the only country I haven’t visited.

SM: What advice have you for Charanga del Norte?
RE: Well for Charanga del Norte they must study the Charanga a lot and always play united, work together as a team – that is the most important thing.
© Sue Miller, April 2000