Two musicians opine about the UNEAC Congress
From
Havana Read Spanish Version
Two
musicians opine about the UNEAC Congress
‘We
do not shirk our role in politics,’ says Alberto Falla
‘Bureaucracy
is the enemy to beat,’ asserts Tony Pinelli
By
Manuel Alberto Ramy
maprogre@gmail.com
First
came sound, which existed in nature and in man’s anatomy. Words came
next, riding on the sound. Thus were born music, the song, the oral
narration and, later, the written literature.
The
Cuban nation’s independence from the Spanish kingdom began with the
sound of music played inside a temple (today a cathedral) in the city
of Bayamo. It was so eloquent a tune that the chief of the military
garrison described it as a war anthem. He was right. Some months
later, on Oct. 20, 1868, after the takeover of Bayamo by the
independence-seeking forces, came the words, the lyrics to our
national anthem, written while riding a war horse.
Music is
important in the life of our nation, and its creators, members of the
Musicians Association of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba
(UNEAC), gathered to talk about their seventh Congress — a topic
that I continue to follow with attention.
What do
the musical creators think about this Congress? What is the function
of culture in this exceptional moment? Those are some of the
questions I pose.
Alberto
Faya, former singer in the famous group Moncada, a musician with
degrees in philosophy and literature, opines "that the first
topic we must deal with is the responsibility and function of the
Cuban artist and intellectual in the growth and development of our
Revolution, which is not a solely political issue but something more
far-reaching. I would say it is an issue about our culture, which
implies a broader vision."
Jovial,
courteous, with a clear voice, Faya believes that "the very
sense of artistic labor, which is so closely linked to creation,
brings with it renovative attitudes and transforming thoughts that
are vital to the very existence of our nation. It is not that only
artists and intellectuals can point to the road we Cubans must follow
in the future, but we do have a great responsibility in that sense."
Tony
Pinelli, composer, former director of the vocal quartet Las Cañas,
musical producer and radio commentator, says the debates over the
Seventh Congress began when acting President Raúl Castro "has
strongly encouraged people to opine, criticize and propose."
Pinelli,
who also founded the Nueva Trova Movement, believes the great battle
"is against bureaucracy. We have been able to handle
imperialism, that’s why we’re here, but we have to battle against a
bureaucracy that is not qualified to direct the cultural sector."
He adds, decisively: "He who is not cultured cannot make
culture."
From a
professional perspective, Pinelli stresses two issues that, in his
opinion, are hurting the musicians: the role of artists’ agencies,
"which instead of defending the interests of their clients have
become allies of the state," and "the payment policy, which
has to be reviewed, because it is not fair. When musicians charge in
convertible pesos [CUCs], they receive only 50 percent, and on top of
that they have to pay a 7-percent tax."
Pinelli,
the author of "You Are
the Music I Must Sing," adds
that the musicians often have to pay "the cost of transporting
their equipment and that of the crew. And if the concert hall does
not have the proper sound equipment, they have to go out and rent
it."
Both
interviewees agree that both Fidel Castro, in his Havana University
speech in November 2005, and Raúl Castro, in his July 26
speech, are urging Cubans to reflect critically on reality, to opine,
"to change everything that needs to be changed."
"I
believe that a participative process has been unleashed that can be
described, without a question, as democratic. This is of tremendous
value in every sense of the word," Falla says, pointing out that
it’s the first consequence of the call by the top leaders of the
Cuban process.
"Raúl
Castro has given a strong push to [the process of] participation in
the cultural sector, which to a great degree has been kidnapped by an
inept bureaucracy," Pinelli stresses.
Falla,
who does not expand on labor issues — although he does not deny
their importance — believes that "the fate of Cuba cannot be
molded on a base of static thought or tied to conventions and
conservatism."
And he
adds: "The future of our country lies in what we Cubans live,
day after day, and in the solution to the problems generated by life
itself. This implies a central idea: our country’s necessary
transformations emanate from the solutions to the problems we face,
day after day."
I halt
the interview. My mind goes back centuries in an effort to find — in
the roots of our palm trees, the cool of our guayabera,
in the unknown poet who altered the rhyme of the Spanish espinela
and created the Cuban
décima,
in the unknown painter — the incomparable light that bathes our
land.
And I
think of the priest Félix Varela, who, according to our José
Martí, "was the first one to teach us how to think
Cuban." Actually, our genuine culture thinks Cuban and lies in
the roots and the fronds of each of our palm trees. That is why our
national creators are so committed.
Perhaps
that’s why Alberto Falla states: "Artists and intellectuals are
a human group who, among its duties, must not only reflect, describe,
and give evidence of the existence of culture but also outline the
path to follow.
"In
that sense, we do not shirk the roles — not just esthetic or ethical
— of our daily work, and do not shirk our role in politics. Our
action is decisive at this point. That is why the Congress is so
important, as its events conciliate and stir our thoughts. That’s one
of its principal functions.
"The
role of culture has to do directly with the methods of participation
that we develop and, therefore, with the appearance and development
of a consensus that will lead to the positive transformation of our
reality."
Manuel
Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa and
editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso
Weekly.
