Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba
We talk about Afro-Cuban music so we thought for a change of pace we’d play some music from the continent of Africa itself.
The artist is Mamady Keïta (b. 1950) who is from the West African nation of Guinea which is southeast of Senegal and Gambia and southwest of Mali, a real cultural sweet spot on the earth. He’s a direct descendant of the king Sundiata Keita who united the Mali Empire.
Keïta is from the Mandinka people (aka Malinke, Manding, Mandingo) which numbers 32 million people who are descendants of the Mali Empire.
Keïta started his musical training on the djembe at the age of seven under Karinkadjan Kondé. His current home, interestingly enough, is Monterrey, Mexico.
I’d be shocked in there’s an Afro-Cuban percussionist who could not go to school on this video for a long, long time.
In Cuba, the term “mandinga” refers to people kidnapped and transported to Cuba from the Senegambia region of West Africa.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Latin Jazz, Puerto Rico
In case you ever wondered, Tito Puente can dance!
Tito at the at Latin NY Music Awards at the Beacon Theater in the 1970s.
The video is a little rough in places and the audio gets very low half way through, but the dancing just gets better!
And the music is smoking hot.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Travel to Cuba
Does the street scene look familiar?
It should. Santiago de Cuba (and Havana) were the architectural models for New Orleans.
New Orleans is far more Cuban in look than French. (Havana administered New Orleans when the Spanish controlled it during the important formative years between 1763 until 1803.)
In 1793, 30,000 French growers, refugees from the slave rebellion in Haiti, arrived in Cuba, mostly in Santiago de Cuba.
After a period of over 15 years in which they absorbed Cuban culture, these same people were expelled from Cuba between 1809 and 1810 by the Spanish after a political dispute between Spain and France. Most went to New Orleans where they had a huge impact on that city’s culture and music.
(Interestingly enough one of Cuba’s most beautiful and music cities, Cienfuegos, was founded by settlers from Bordeaux and Louisiana in 1819, so the influence flowed both ways.)
About La Familia Valera Miranda
La Familia Valera Miranda has been playing traditional Cuban son – the style popularized by Buena Vista Social Club – for generations. Music is a family affair for these famous musicians. Félix Valera Miranda, founder of the group, sings & plays guitar while his wife Carmen plays maracas. Their sons – Enrique, Raúl & Ernesto – play cuatro (an 8-string guitar tuned in pairs), bass & bongo respectively.
Since the 19th century, La Familia Valera Miranda has played a significant role in Cuban culture by collecting & preserving the deep-rooted traditions of the legendary Sierra Maestra mountain region. Original members of the family were subsistence farmers in the rural areas of the Oriente (eastern Cuba), primarily the Cauto River valley near the villages of Bayamo & Las Tunas. Later, they migrated to the areas around Santiago de Cuba & Guantánamo where they reside today.
The Valera & Miranda ancestors brought with them religious elements of Bantu origin alongside secular customs from the Canary Islands & Andalucía. These influences are found in their songs & the musical instruments they play.
More info: La Familia Valera Miranda
Great news!
You can now watch this video – and all Spanish language videos – with English subtitles. It’s free!
Click here for instructions on how to turn on English subtitles.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Cuban Jazz, Video and audio
Made in 1964 and loosely translates to “We Are the Music”
Written and directed by Rogelio Paris (1936-2016)
This film was his first major project and he made it when only 28.
Paris worked as a documentary maker at the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC) and was also a permanent professor of Filmmaking at the Faculty of Cinema, Radio and Television of the Institute of Higher Art
This single film could be the basis of an entire University course in Cuban music.
A rare panorama of Cuban music and dance from the 1960s. Featuring legendary Cuban musicians as well as vibrant spontaneous performances, We Are the Music captures the mood and vitality of Havana during a golden period.
Note: If you’re a jazz hound and nothing else will do for you, fast forward to 22:00.
Great news!
You can now watch this video – and all Spanish language videos – with English subtitles. It’s free!
Click here for instructions on how to turn on English subtitles.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Cuba, The Cuba-US connection
Few thing are more fun than listening to records with a knowledgeable person who loves the music.
Jim Eigo, veteran record man, and proprietor of Original Vinyl Records in Warwick, NY, host listening sessions with experts which he videotapes.
So even if you can’t make it to Warwick, you can sit in here via the magic of the Internet.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Artist-Educators, Cuba, Jazz on the Tube Interview, Latin Jazz, Podcasts, Producer-Presenters, Puerto Rico, Video, Video and audio
Download the mp3 here
Produced by Coco Records in 1974
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Thelonious Monk