MUSIC-CUBA: Stars’ Solidarity Recording to Benefit Schools

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jun 27 2000 (IPS) - Cuba’s music schools, hard hit by the island’s decade-long economic crisis, are soon to get a boost from Spain’s Joan Manuel Serrat, Argentine Fito Pßez and Cuba’s own Pablo Milanis, who have joined forces with other Spanish-language musicians in a solidarity recording project.

These internationally celebrated Ibero-American musical artists have put together a collection of songs they hope will bring in some much-needed funding for Cuban music students.

“I hope it works because the instruments at my school getting older and increasingly scarce,” commented a student of the bass at one of Havana’s music schools.

The project, known as ‘Mzsica Solidaria,’ also includes the support of – and recordings by – Ismael Serrano from Argentina, Vmctor Manuel, Carlos Valera and the group Ketama, all from Spain, and Cuba’s own Santiago Feliu, Polito Ibaqez, and the groups Habana Ensemble and Habana Abierta.

Profits from the sales of the collection, slated for release in November, will go towards the purchase of musical materials and instruments for the island’s conservatories and schools, say project promoters.

Mzsica Solidaria has the backing of Barcelona’s Mollet de Vallis Municipal School of Music and the Cuban National Concert Music Centre and the National Theatre of Cuba, among other institutions.

The project is also supported by the ‘Fundacisn Autor’ of Spain’s General Society of Authors and Editors, and the recording will be distributed by the transnational Universal Music company.

As his contribution to the musical collection, Argentine rocker Fito Pßez has chosen to perform the bolero “Juramento,” by Cuban Miguel Matamoros.

“Though the song is Cuban, I perform it in my own way, with a touch of Buenos Aires, New York and Uruguay. It is a mix of pop, jazz and rock,” said Pßez during his visit to Havana in mid-June.

Originally from Rosario, Argentina, Pßez pointed out that one should not be too serious when it comes to making music, because “music is a game, a playful world.”

“We play with the chords and the words, they are elements that allow us to express ourselves,” he explained.

Most of the songs in the collection are the musicians’ own works but have been newly arranged by Cuban musician Miguel Nuqez, pianist and musical arranger on many of the recordings by Cuba’s Milanes and contributor to recording projects of Spanish singers Joaqumn Sabina and Vmctor Manuel.

The driving force behind Mzsica Solidaria is Xavier Esteve, director of the Mollet del Vallis School of Music in Barcelona. In 1995, he visited the Cuban capital, touring the city’s music schools and conservatories, learning first-hand of their most pressing needs.

That trip marked the first step in a close relationship of cultural exchanges. Cuban students have gone to Barcelona to lead seminars and concerts, raising funds to pay for musical instruments and teaching materials for schools on the island.

Art schools of all stripes, free of charge like all educational institutions in Cuba, were especially hard hit by the economic crisis of the 1990s – triggered by the fall of the Soviet Union -, though not one has had to shut its doors.

A study cited by the island’s state-run press indicates that at the end of last year, the music schools together lacked 200 pianos, 48 studio guitars, 32 violins, 25 flutes, 27 trumpets, 19 saxophones, 14 cellos, 11 violas, 16 basses, 12 oboes, 14 trombones, 12 tubas, five concert guitars and a wide range of percussion instruments.

Cuba’s musical arts education system is divided into basic instruction – where one can begin studies in music, dance (ballet, modern, folk) -, mid-level and professional training.

The second level includes 24 musical specialisations, including all instruments, directing and choir, as well as training for teachers of musical theory.

Once a musician reaches the professional level of training, which is also free, they continue with a specialty, but may also pursue further education in composition, musicology and voice.

More than half of the students admitted to the island’s art schools choose the musical route.