Our Canadian correspondent ventured to Cuba on a “musical vacation”.
He returned a few weeks ago, flush with sun, sea, and music that rang
out everywhere he ventured. What took him aback was the extraordinarily
high level of musicianship. Whether in a club in Havana or on a tourist
resort stage, he saw musicians in their teens sparring with peers in
their seventies. On one bandstand, a twenty-some drummer and percussionist
displayed the chops and vocabulary of ancient African rhythms, then
stopped on a dime and launched into edgy funk that followed a line
from Irakere through Tower of Power.
One late afternoon in Old Havana, a band was holding out at the restaurant
Baturro. Playing mostly son form, they sang and performed
joyously. Their instruments were not always pristine, which is the
case all over Cuba. Conga heads are epoxied together with a hope and
prayer. Even more common are drumsticks patched together with
duct tape, then lacquered to restore a smooth surface. Serviceable
plastic heads, skins, congas, bongos, hardware, and even guitar strings
(for electric bass, upright, guitar, violin, and tr?s) are rare and
much sought after.
Our correspondent sat with percussionist/singer Luis
E. Oliveros Fonseca (shown in photo) who reflected life and his artistic
mission. Music, he said, was his life blood. Like many young Cubans,
he was well trained—if not well equipped. Talk turned to gear
and our correspondent mentioned bringing along a box of American-made
drumsticks. Luis is primarily a hand drummer, however, and talk turned
to LP. Instantly Luis broke into a smile, excused himself from the
table, and returned with his bongos. “These
are LP bongos,” Luis
exclaimed with pride. “I purchased them in August, 1999. They
are nearing their tenth birthday. They are excellent bongos, LP bongos.
I have never had a problem with them in ten years and I play them
every day. When you go home, please say thank you to the
people at LP for making these bongos.”
All things equal, President Obama's lauded initiatives will open up
Cuba and you'll get a chance to behold Cuban music first hand. Cuban
musicians, in spite of a shortage of the amenities we take for granted,
play stunningly well. Hopefully there will come a day when Luis, and
his many peers, will be surrounded by a set of LP
Giovanni Palladium Congas, Tito
Puente Timbales, and full line of LP
shakers and accessories. What
is heaven?
It's ironic that Cuba, owing to politics, is one of the last countries
to fully enjoy LP. Cuba figures highly in our history. Martin
Cohen, LP founder, got the company going when he crafted a pair of bongos
to replace the fragile, jalopy instruments Cubans carried to America
in the late fifties. While rickety drums are still plentiful in Cuba
due to trade restrictions, elsewhere on the planet, from Memphis to
Mumbai, LP is
the undisputed king of percussion.
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