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Cuba is known for its musicians, writers, poets, and musical rhythms. The publication of the book ‘Cuba, a history of the island through its music and literature’, by the French publisher Albin Michel, marks a before and after for lovers of the island and its history. Marcel Quillévéré, author of the multifaceted and erudite work, stopped at Escala in Paris.
The first trip to the island of the radio producer, opera director and Latin American music specialist was in 1975. Aware that at the age of 16 he already spoke Spanish perfectly, Marcel chose to work as a Spanish teacher to earn a living. . He had a vision of the Cuban revolution “that it was humanist, free, happy”, and he went to Cuba with a backpack. “At that time we didn’t need a visa,” he recalls.
It was on that first trip that the creator of the ‘Carrefour des Amériques’ program, produced by French-speaking public radio stations, met Rosa Torres, with whom he lived.
His book begins with a brief tour of Santiago de Cuba, where rhythms, instruments and beliefs from Africa were mixed with those of the natives. “After all, it all began there, classical music also began there, with Esteban Salas, that’s where the son began, in the mountains,” says the specialist.
In the mid-19th century, the island was able to fall asleep musically thanks to “mulatto Paganini”, the violinist José White, “the first great Cuban violinist, from a French father. The life of José White is a bit like the life of Cuba, he ended up in Paris, he was a professor at the Paris Conservatory ”stresses the author.
Before and after the independence of Cuba, its history is marked by the presence of many of the greatest musicians. Isaac Albeniz made his first trip in 1875 and will return later. The greatest tenor in history, Enrico Caruso, appeared in the Cuban capital in 1920 to perform the opera ‘Aída’.
The Son, the Guajira, the Trova, the Danzón, the Cha cha cha, are part of the invaluable contributions of Cuba. La Trova was born in Santiago, around 1920. Sindo Garay, composer of the Bayamesa, is considered the father of the Trova. In the case of the Danzón, the first recordings date back to 1904. “A Las Alturas del Simpson” stands out.
In the field of literature, the Spanish Federico García Lorca, who traveled to Cuba several times, marked the island forever. Marcel Quillévéré points out that the writer was “very happy” because he could express himself freely. “Much more than in Spain”.
A separate place deserves the women to whom Marcel Quillévéré dedicates ample space. It was thanks to an association whose origin was the Cuban soprano María Montes de Giberga, that “Pro Arte Musical” saw the light of day, a major institution in Cuba.
Miguel Valdés, the Matamoros Trio, Bola de Nieve, Rita Montaner, are some of the hundreds of Cuban musicians whose voices or performances have gone around the world. Many of them went into exile after the 1959 revolution, such as the composer Ernesto Lecuona, Celia Cruz, Dámaso Pérez Prado, Mongo Santamaría and many more.
Others decided to stay, like the members of the Buena Vista Social Club, or like Leonardo Padura, Elena Burke.
In July 2021, the most important social protest since 1959 took place. Today the situation on the island is very bad, some 300,000 young people have left the island, “all the young musicians I met left. The situation is serious, very serious , is unknown”, says Marcel Quillévéré by way of farewell.
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