Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Video
La Tumba Francesca is an art form unique to eastern Cuba.
Tumba is “drum” and “Francesa” is French, so it means literally “French drums.”
Why “French?”
Because the art was created by the French-speaking Haitians who came to eastern Cuba during and after the Haitian Revolution
This documentary by Jimenez Leal y Nestor Almedros is from 1961. The visual quality is not great, but what it captures is, so we went with it. You can find additional videos of this music on YouTube.
Tumba Francesca was in its heyday in the late 19th century when a profusion of sociedades de tumba francesa (tumba francesa societies) flourished. Three remain in operation today.
Historical background
The Haitian Revolution was one of the most important events in Cuban history, music history, and world history for that matter.
Haiti (then called Saint-Domingue) was a monstrously corrupt place with perhaps the most brutal slave regime the world has ever seen – but it was rich and it invested no small amount of its wealth in music.
In fact, the French musical culture in Saint-Domingue far surpassed anything else in the hemisphere at the time including New York and Boston.
As a result of the Revolution, Haiti became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw slavery.
During and after the fighting, thousands of Haitians left the island for the United States (including New Orleans), and eastern Cuba where they settled in and around Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo.
This cultural influx had a huge impact on Cuban culture and American culture too
During a war between France and Spain a large number of French in Cuba were expelled. Many went to New Orleans where they literally doubled the population overnight and transformed what was then a backwater into one of the most important centers of musical innovation of the 19th and 20th centuries.
You can’t fully understand our music – jazz, blues, rock and roll, funk etc. – without appreciating its Haitian roots.
Here’s some of the history of the French Haitians in Cuba:
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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Blog, Cuba, The Cuba-US connection, Video, Video and audio
Pianist Cuban-Canadian Beatriz Boizan performs selections from “Danzas Cubanas” (Cuban Dances) by Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905)
Born in Cuba and raised in the eastern city of Baracoa, Boizan emigrated to Canada at 20.
If Cervantes’ music sounds reminiscent of Scott Joplin (1867/68-1917), the influence flowed in the opposite direction. Joplin was born 21 years after Cervantes into a world where Cuban pianists and composers were king.
The sound of the piano in the late 19th century
Among other sources, Cervantes received training from New Orleans born composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) when Gottschalk visited and lived in Cuba.
It’s almost certain Joplin would have known Gottschalk’s work through sheet music if not direct exposure. Gottschalk’s music was popular in the US and around the world and he traveled and performed widely in the US.
Cervantes himself spent extended time away Cuba in 1875 touring the US and Mexico to raise money for rebels against the Spanish.
Here’s a Joplin piece “Solace” (also known as “Mexican Serenade”) with a bit of the Habanera rhythm.
– 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.
Afro-Cuban culture, Artist-Educators, Blog, Cuba, Latin Jazz, Puerto Rico, The Cuba-US connection, Video and audio
We discovered this gem in the middle of a documentary about Puerto Rican culture in New York.
The late great Charlie Palmieri (1927 – 1988) does what so many great musicians have done – and continue to do – over the years: teaching the next generation.
That’s why we have the great music we do.
Interviews about Latin music education on Jazz on the Tube:
Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz Camp
Latin Jazz and Our Beloved Bronx
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Artist-Educators, Blog, Cuba, Cuban Jazz, Video and audio
I was thinking of calling this one “What happens when money is invested in music education.” I was also thinking of calling it “The Universality of Afro-Cuban Music.”
You’re looking at the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra.
New Brunswick is a province in the country of Canada. It has less than a million people total and a good number of them are in rural areas.
There may be some Latinos in the province, but my guess is it’s less than 1%.
So how do you explain the existence of this orchestra and this performance?
First, Canada, like every other developed country in the world (except the U.S.) makes a serious investment in music education for youth.
Second, the orchestra’s director Antonio Delgado. His training is rooted in his experience as conductor of the world renowned “Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela” (National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela), a group every music educator should study carefully.
He took this orchestra to a first place win at the prestigious Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Competition in Vienna, Austria.
For the youth orchestra of a small Canadian province to top the European youth orchestras of places like Germany, France and Italy is like the Estonian basketball team winning the NBA finals. It’s an amazing accomplishment – and you’re watching the group that did it – and they did it with Cuban music!
And then there is this…
Japanese people are crazy – but in a very good way!
Honestly, who else would have thought of combining Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with Pérez Prado’s Mambo Number 5?
Still with us?
I hope so.
Here’s the original with some great photos from the Golden Age of the Palladium Ballroom.
– 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, Latin Jazz, The Cuba-US connection
A mambo version of from the Gym Scene of West Side Story performed by the students of the 2017 Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz Camp directed by Bobby Sanabria.
Composed by Leonard Bernstein, arranged by Danny Rivera with additional arranging by Bobby.
The dancers are from the Cleveland Ballet.
Thanks to all the sponsors who made the camp and this performance happen.
Here’s our in depth interview with Bobby about the annual Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz Camp, a great cultural institution that deserves all our support.
– 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.
Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Video and audio
Playlist
1. “Bruca Manigua.” – Orquestra Casino de la Playa.
2. “Que Pena Me Da.” – Machito and his Afro Cubans.
3. “Africanerías” – Machito and his Afro Cubans.
4. “Babalú” with his Orquestra
5. “Celina” with his Orquestra
Miguelito Valdés born Miguel Ángel Eugenio Lázaro Zacarías Izquierdo Valdés Hernández on September 6, 1912 in Havana.
For those who are new to Cuban music, you may think he is imitating Desi Arnez. The opposite is true. Miguelito and his version of Babalú were famous long before Desi came along.
Like his friend Chano, Miguelito was an authentic tough guy and won twenty-three bouts as an amateur boxer.
He was a star singer in Cuba and all over Latin America and was one of the movers and shakers behind Cuba’s legendary Orquesta Casino de la Playa.
In 1940, frustrated by the racial prejudice of Cuba’s music industry where black performers were not allowed opportunities to perform in public venues, he moved to New York City. A light skinned person – his father was Spanish and his mother was Mexican – he was outraged by the prejudice that kept friends like Chano Pozo and Arsenio Rodriguez out of the limelight.
In New York City, he worked with and helped advance the career of Machito and invited Chano Pozo to New York City and in turned helped him with his career.
One highlights of the highlights of that time were two recorded sessions in February of 1947 that featured the Machito Orchestra, Valdés, Chano Pozo, Arsenio Rodríguez, Tito Rodríguez, Garbiel Oller, and Olga Guillot.
Because of Valdés celebrity and show business acumen (not to mention his talent), there’s quite a bit of film of him.
– 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
