INFLUENCES ON CUBAN MUSIC

                              LOVE MUCH OF IT
Music was everywhere, all the time, when I visited Cuba in late 2003. Cultural differences have provided a wide range to their music. Some of it I liked a lot, some of it I thought was noisy with a sameness in tone and a very repetitious rhythm. We had a fantastic lecture on Cuban music and I’d like to share some of the things I learned.

The biggest influences on music, by far, are Spanish and African. When the Africans were kidnapped and taken to Cuba they arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Arriving as individuals, the slaves left behind all family, community and culture. The many cultures and languages were only carried in their memories, and for these people the first culture that surfaced occurred on the plantations.

On holidays the slaves were allowed to celebrate. Doque means to perform or to play. And slowly songs, style, and instruments emerged. Nothing was written . Each person sang the songs and rhythms they remembered from back home.

Because plantations were located away from urban areas, the new culture and songs emerged with no outside influences. Slaves taken from the same area were split among different plantations, which prohibited any congregating or uprising.

Female slaves were taken to urban areas for use as domestic help. Living in the mansions they were free to wander about the city. These areas were located near the seaports and those blacks were exposed to the Spanish influence.

After abolition, blacks from the plantations moved to the cities and formed their own neighborhoods and the Spanish and African cultures started to mix and blend.

During the big band era (1940-1960s), such American bands were brought to Cuba to play in the hotels/casinos. But American visitors didn’t want to hear big band sounds in Cuba; they could hear that at home. So local musicians were hired who put their own ‘big band’ spin on the local music. I found this music most pleasing to listen to.

All these influences have produced a wide range of sounds in Cuban music, but they are all Cuban.

The Buena Vista Social Club puts on one performance a month at  the Hotel Nacional and we happened to be in Havana for the November show. How lucky can you get!

AN EARLY ZIPLINE

                                                             THE FLYING FOX
In New Zealand we drove to a  experimental forestry station, located in a redwood forest. Walking through the lovely cool redwood forest,  we were told, “Redwoods grow so fast here that the wood is too soft and porous for any useful purpose. These trees are only a few years old but are the normal size of a century old tree.” Who would guess!

After a delightful easy walk through the forest we came upon a fairly large meadow. In the clearing was a zip-line called the flying fox. We stopped so anyone who wanted to could ride it. We were lectured, “This zip-line is perfectly safe, but do understand that you ride it at your own risk. There are no frivolous law suits in this country and such a lawsuit would be laughed at and never make it to court. The ride is a bit strenuous, but also  is a lot of fun”

Several men and a couple of us women walked down to a rather tall tower and climbed up it to wait our turn to ride. One at a time, we stepped into a sling and adjusted it before stepping off the platform. The ride on the 300-400 meter cable zipped by quickly before coming to a sudden jolting halt. The hardest part was climbing out of the sling while hanging suspended in the air at the end of the cable. I suspect a young person could release himself quite easily.

The fellows who chose not to ride volunteered to run the sling back up to the platform for the next brave soul. It actually was my first zip-line ride and it was a lot of fun, albeit too short.

The station had a small museum and a small but nice gift shop.