Chachá with a bembe he made
Chachá's photo galleryTour
Plan
Discography
Other appearances by members
Previous tours:
Afrocuba's Dos Alas Tour: Fall 1998
1996 Afrocuba US Tour
Chachá initiates musicians into Aña
|
Matanzas All Stars
~ AfroCuban Traditions ~
Esteban "Chachá" Vega Bacallao - Los
Tambores de Chachá - Omo Ochun, Omo Aña.
Daniel Elias Alfonso Herrera, percussion - Los Tambores de
Chachá
Ramon "Sandy" Garcia Perez, percussion - Afrocuba de
Matanzas
Pedro "Pello" Tapanez, percussion - Afrocuba de
Matanzas - Omo Oggun, Tata Nganga, Oriate
Lilian Oviedo, dancer, choreographer, formerly of Afrocuba - Omo
Yemaya
Danilito Pérez, dancer, choreographer, formerly of Afrocuba -
Omo Elegba, Tata Nganga
Teresita Dome Pérez, dancer, formerly of Afrocuba
Luis Cancino Morales, dancer, singer, percussionist -
Afrocuba de Matanzas and Los Tambores de Chachá - Omo Yemaya
Dolores Pérez, singer - Afrocuba de Matanzas - Omo Yemaya
- Listen to: Caridad
(BataRumba)
Juan Garcia - Asesor de Folklore, Conjunto
Folklorico Nacional, and ethnologist
Michael Spiro, noted percussionist and educator on faculty at
UC Berkeley, accompanies US tours as Director.
This group is unusual not only for the musical and dance talent, but also
for the cultural knowledge that members carry with them and the drive they have to
preserve and teach the African traditions of Cuba. All have wide ranging religious and
cultural roles in addition to their musical ones. The Yoruba term Omo followed by an
orisha name means a son or daughter of that orisha, one who serves as godfather or
godmother to others in the Yoruba culture. Tata Nganga is a Bantu term meaning
community and religious leader, the Nganga being the sacred vessel.
Performances feature traditional material from the Yoruba, Congo, Abakwa, and Arara
(Dahomey) traditions as they are practiced today in Cuba. Lecture/demonstrations and
workshops focus on the percussion, dance, and songs of these traditions. Juan Garcia's
ethnographic lectures cover a number of topics noted below.
Chachá is a legendary figure in Cuban
percussion. He is a founding member of los Muñequitos
( he joined just 6 months after they were formed in 1954 and had a major impact on their
music). He was already playing in the late 30's and the 40's when he was responsible for a
tremendous development of the rhythmic range of the quinto, the lead conga in the rumba
rhythm. The quinto was just then being established as an instrument while the rumba moved
from the cajones, the boxes it was first played on, to the congas. Today Chachá continues
to play actively with los Tambores de Chachá at many major Yoruba ceremonial events in
Matanzas. And he strives to impart his rare knowledge of the Tradition to others, as in
the case of the Olokun drums.
Juan Garcia has been with the Conjunto Foklorico since its
founding and has in-depth knowledge of the history of this culture and music. He is Obá,
or head of a Yoruba social unit, to many in Matanzas, where, as master choreographer, he
has given a dramatic flair to the dances of both Afrocuba de
Matanzas and los Muñequitos, based on his deep knowledge of the culture. He has
been for many years with the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional, where he is Asesor Folklorico,
and advises on what is authentically traditional. His presentations on the cultural
context and history of the music and dance as well as Chachá's legendary reputation make
this tour something really special for those who have a deep interest, either scholarly or
practical.
But it doesn't stop there: the others are all master percussionists. Pello founded and directed Afrocaribeño and Lukumi Oba, two
fokloric groups in Matanzas. He is a founding member of Afrocuba de Matanzas, where
he was responsible for the invention of the batarumba rhythms, rumba played on batá. Daniel Alfonso is a master teacher who is currently training the
coming generation, including leading US percussionists such as Michael Spiro and Marc
Lamson. Sandy has been compared in knowledge and inventiveness to
the young Chachá and has his own group, Yumurinos de Matanzas, which has a CD out under
the Magic Music label. He has toured with Steve Coleman and given numerous
workshops. He is a featured artist in the current issue of Rhythm Music Monthly.
Two dancers are of a caliber to match: Danilito Perez, an Omo
Elegba and Tata Nganga, formerly of Afrocuba de Matanzas, has directed groups
(Afrocaribeño, Obabi Laye) and choreographed numerous shows. Lilian
Oviedo, an Omo Yemaya, and Teresita Perez, are also
both formerly of Afrocuba de Matanzas, and have both given many workshops in the US where
they proved to be popular teachers. Pello, as Omo Oggun, Oriate (Head of a House),
and Tata Nganga, and Danilito, as Omo Elegba and Tata Nganga, are especially dedicated to
the development of African traditions in Cuba. Pello is the author of an
instructional booklet with percussion sheet music, which
we recommend as material for the workshops the group will give.
Michael Spiro is an internationally recognized percussionist, recording
artist, and educator, known specifically for his work in the Latin music field. He
has performed on hundreds of records, co-produced several instructional videos for Warner
Bros. Publications (featuring such renowned artists as David Garibaldi, Changuito,
Giovanni Hidalgo, and Ignacio Berroa), and produced seminal recordings in the Latin music
genre, including Orquesta Batachanga, Grupo Bata-Ketu, and
Grupo Ilu-Aña. Michael Spiro's web site is at http://members.aol.com/mspirobata.
All members of this group have repeatedly toured internationally and are experience in
giving workshops as well as doing performances. Since many have track records with
Afrocuba, see their tours for details on the venues where they have had this experience: 1996 US Tour info and Dos Alas Tour: Fall
1998. Afrocuba has had many tours prior to these, from Finland to Mexico.
| Possible themes for Juan Garcia's presentations: - Choreographic
treatment of folkloric and traditional dances conserved and created in Cuba
- Relationship of dance, song, and percussion in Cuba's folklore
- Religious themes and their participation in spectacle
- "Descomposicion religiosa" (the disintegration of religion) and it
relationship to spectacle
Although Cuba today is experiencing a tremendous revival of traditional African
religions, there has been serious difficulties in the transmission of knowledge from
the elders to the new generation.
- Values in Cuban traditions and their influence on artistic creation
- Influence of African rhythms in popular music and dance |
Interested parties should contact paul@afrocubaweb.com |
