Day 23-Amazing Interview & Amazing Concert

Today I had a long-awaited interview with Balmor Martinez, who I met at a concert in Little Havana 3 weeks ago. After the concert, I was able to talk to him for a moment and explain my project to him. He didn't speak much english, so it was difficult to communicate, but he understood the gist of what my project was and he offered his help in any way possible. So, I found a translator, had her call him, and we set up an interview. I knew that this would be a phenomenal interview because before Balmor came to the US, he was a professor of music in Cuba for many years (he is 58 years old). The interview started off slow, while I asked questions that gave me a better understanding of his background and experiences. Then, we started talking about different styles of music (Bolero and Son in particular), and I had some questions about the different styles. He found it easier to demonstrate, than to explain. First, he started singing some of the tunes, but then he felt that he could be clearer if he played guitar as well. So, he started giving me different musical examples of Boleros and the different song forms, how melodies and harmony are constructed, etc. What an incredible "master class" or "teaching session." I did not know how much time our interview would take, and it ended up being 2 hours and some change. Luckily, Balmor let me audio AND video record this experience so that I will be able to refer back to it many times in the future. Balmor kept telling me that if I needed more information to contact him again and we could set-up another interview. He also gave me his cell phone number to call him in the future with further questions. I left this interview very happy, and then decided to return to my hotel for some lunch before heading out again. After lunch, I headed out to Little Havana to a different section I had not been to before, and bought some souvenirs (maracas, a poster with a map of Cuba, etc.) to take back home with me.

Later on this evening, I decided to go see Orquesta Aragon, which is a popular and older Cuban group dating back to the 1940's. To my knowledge, this is their first concert in Miami. When I arrived at the concert hall, there were protesters across the street with signs that talked about Cuban blood on the hands of the orchestra and other accusatory remarks. I realized that this band must not be very popular to a lot of Cubans living in Miami, because these Miami Cubans associate the band with being close with Castro and the Communist regime within Cuba. While there were protesters, there were not many, and the police had them corralled in a barricaded section so that they could not cause any real trouble or danger to anyone at the concert. While the tickets were quite pricey (anywhere between $58 & $108), I decided to see this band that was causing so much hype and that was so famous and well-known among Cubans. I opted for the cheaper seats ($68), which were still on the second level Mezzanine, but very close the edge. I was amazed at how great the seats were and how small the venue really was. I felt more like I was in a Broadway theater than a large concert hall (thats how intimate the theater was). Of course, the band did not start on time (they started a half an hour late at 9PM instead of the start time of 8:30PM). I was impressed because the band performed for two hours and some change (with a twenty minute intermission). Considering the venue, the popularity of the band, and the ticket prices, I was expecting a long concert, so I was happily surprised. I did not recognize all of the songs, but I did recognize a few that I have become familiar with. It didn't matter if I recognized the songs or not though, because everything the band played was incredible. The musicians were incredibly talented and kept the crowd dancing, moving, and involved for the entire show. The instrumentation is not something you immediately think of when you think of Cuban music: Piano, Bass, 3 Percussionists (Congas, Timbales, Guiro), Flute, 3 Vocals (some doubling on other instruments), and 5 Violins. The arrangements were well written, the solos and improvisations were incredible, and the level of playing was at time virtuosic. There were also a few special guests who joined the band for a few numbers (male vocalist and flute player). I didn't catch either of their names, but the flute player I have seen playing around town. Overall, I really enjoyed this concert. It is important to mention that while this concert was in a venue resembling a small version of the Kimmel Center, this didn't stop the audience from getting up and salsa dancing or from moving in their chairs, or standing up and dancing by themselves. This music is so rhythmic and so stimulating, that its very difficult to sit still while listening to it. This got annoying at times, when the people in front of my would stand up and I felt like sitting and tapping my foot and actively listening, but overall it was quite the sight. One other thing to mention is that the crowd looked almost entirely of the Affluent Cuban population living in Miami. I found it very interesting that this band was not accessible to the general Cuban public because of the price (which was pricey). This class divide is definitely something that could use further study.

Day 22-Day Off, Night On

Today, I decided to take the day off from work and interviews (plus I had nothing scheduled so it seemed appropriate). I made plans to have lunch with my cousin David and his wife Anne. What a fantastic time! I have never met this part of my family (David is my grandfather's brother's son). It was sooo great to finally meet David and Anne and to share stories about the family and to hear their perspectives on Miami and other topics. After lunch, I came back to my hotel and relaxed for a bit, did some reading, watched a movie, and then made dinner. After dinner, I decided to go to the Ritz Carlton on Key Biscayne, where I had gone the second night I was in Miami. There is a band that performs Cuban music that plays in the lobby from 8-11 Thursday-Saturday. When I showed up this particular evening, I found a seat very close to the band, and started enjoying the music. The lead singer recognized me from coming a few weeks earlier, and asked if I would like to sit in with the group and play. I said I would love to play and they invited me up (the piano player stepped aside for a few tunes). I suggested a few Cuban numbers, but they wanted me to suggest jazz standards that we could turn into Cuban tunes. So....we ended up playing Autumn Leaves (Son) and Take The A Train (Bolero). After this, I retired back to my seat in the audience and continued to listen to them play for the rest of the set. On the set break, I ended up talking to all of the musicians, one of which who is actually Cuban (the rest are Columbian). We talked about some musical topics specific to Cuban music, he gave me a piece of sheet music to keep (a Cuban tune that illustrated a concept he was trying to explain to me). Before I left, the lead singer told me to come back any time I want to sit in with the group and hang. I told them I would try to come back again on Saturday night.

Day 21-Interviews with Two Older Cuban Musicians

José Curbelo, a 93-year old Cuban musician who made a career of performing, arranging, and managing big bands and other groups in NYC during the 1950's and 1960's. This is the man that I interviewed this morning. He is an incredible man, still able to do most things at his age. He invited me to his home at 12:30PM for an interview. When I arrived, he told me that he only had 30-40 minutes to talk. I left his house 3 hours later....Such a friendly man, had an incredible story, and was very generous with his time and advice. He began our talk by showing me the different pictures on the walls of his study/office. He had pictures of him an Ella Fitzgerald, him and Mario Bauzá, him and Tito Puente, him and Machito, him and Cab Calloway, etc. He knew everyone in NYC during the 40's, 50's and 60's when Jazz and Latin music was the popular art form in NYC. He explained to me how he was the first piano player to play for Tony Bennett during a live show, how he could hear Art Tatum, Tito Puente, and Dizzy Gillespie all in the SAME NIGHT! So many stories about NY. He also made comments about today's music scene and about live music venues. He was quite disgusted with the present state of affairs and how very few good clubs with live music there are. Once we had this discussion about his past experiences, I started to ask him some interview questions regarding his education, his experience with Cuban Popular song forms, and things that could potentially relate to my research study more specifically. He did not have many concrete details of his early education, but was able to tell me a few things that I found interesting. He told me that in Cuba, he originally wanted to be a Doctor and was in school for that, but eventually decided to follow his love for music, which brought him to NY. Before he left Cuba, he did not have any "real" musical training. He learned the piano by studying with teachers, but mostly performed and played informally with his father's band and other musicians and friends in the area in which he lived. It was hard to get this information from him, because he either kept talking about his career in NY or about the present situation with music. While it was hard to focus him on what I wanted to talk to him about, I also think it was difficult for him to remember so long ago, I mean after all he's 93 (and a half) years old. He did tell me that he took arranging and jazz piano lessons from a man in NYC while he lived and worked there. This man's name escapes me now, but I have it on the audio-recording that I made, and will look it up at a later date. After we talked for a few hours, he put on some albums of music that he thought I should hear. It was incredible music. We listened to both Latin Jazz (Cuban) as well as Jazz. Everything was incredible, and most of it was stuff that I had never heard of before (but that I will surely purchase or get a hold of now that I have heard it). One other thing that José discussed was the different styles of Cuban music. This helped give me a better understanding of the music, specifically "Son" music. He explained to me that the different sections of the "Son" pieces have different names. Generally speaking, the beginning section is called the "guaracha" with the improvisatory section called the "son-montuno." I will be listening back to the recording to map this out more fully and concretely. After our talk, he asked me to play a few songs on the piano. I played a few pieces and he told me that he really enjoyed them. I played: There is No Greater Love, I Can't Get Started, and Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps). When I was finished, he instructed me to practice 1-2 hours a day (every day), dedicating the first half of the practice section to Hanon and Czerny exercises, which would allow me to play more complex and intricate improvisatory lines. He told me that if I do that, I could sound like Oscar Peterson. I really appreciated his advice and encouragement.  I thanked him for his time and left his house to go to my next appointment, which was with Paquito Hechavarría.

To make a long story short, Paquito and I ended up at the University of Miami music building in a practice room with a baby grand yamaha piano. I set-up my audio recorder and we went to work. We started with an interview that lasted about 20-25 minutes and then went on to some piano playing. He also gave me a biography sheet that listed his accomplishments and the different bands that he has played with. We worked on some basic son montuno and tumbao patterns, played through a few pieces and talked some more. He played for me the classic and very popular tumbao that he played on Gloria Estefan's Conga song in the 1980's, and told me the story about how he did that recording as a studio session (meaning he got a one time payment for it). Now, he only gets small royalty checks, but nothing like he should be getting if he had made a different arrangement with the record company at the time of the recording. I played Quizas for him, and then asked if he could play me his version. He has great facility at the keyboard and has a very tasteful way of playing. He doesn't play too many nots, picks some great harmony, and has a unique sound (in my opinion). It's a shame that he is 73 years old and is not working that much in terms of performing or teaching. I was glad that I was able to meet with him, study with him, and help him along in terms of monetary and other factors. He's not the first musician I've met who is older and doesn't have it easy. I felt that he wanted to conclude the lesson, because he kept saying things like "Ok...so is that good? Is that it?". I took this for what it sounded like and thought he had had enough, so I concluded our lesson/interview at an hour. Originally (over the phone), I said that I would like to do at the most two hours. He thought we were going to do two hours and was surprised when we stopped at one. I told him that I would be happy to schedule another hour before I left to come back to Philly. I will hopefully be able to keep that promise.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with José Curbelo and Paquito Hechavarría. While I don't think I have as much tangible information for my research study as with the other people I have interviewed, I have definitely gained invaluable life lessons and information about the life and careers of two very underrated musicians of our time. What an honor to be able to interview and talk with these musicians who have made such a contribution to the music we listen to today. These are experiences that I am glad that I am able to experience when I am younger, because these musicians will not be around forever. Things never go the way you expect them to, I've definitely learned this lesson by now, but I am lucky for the fact that I was able to meet and spend some time with these musicians. Each one told me how honored they were that I wanted to interview them (and study with them) and that I was so interested in the older Cuban music. To know that I made two older gentleman feel honored that I wanted to talk with them, makes me know that I was successful, everything else is secondary.

Tomorrow, I do not have anything project-related scheduled. I have lunch plans with my cousin David and his wife Anne. I will probably confirm an interview I have scheduled for Friday. Also, since it is Thursday night, I will be hearing some sort of live music somewhere in Little Havana or elsewhere in Miami. Until tomorrow...

Day 20-The Emergency Room & The Supposed Interview

By the title, I'm sure you are probably wondering what happened at the Emergency Room. Don't worry...Nothing happened to me. I took my friend Joel to the ER to have his ankle checked out because he sprained it on Tuesday playing basketball. Luckily, nothing was broken, and it was nothing more than a sprain and he just has to stay off it for a few days. I was rather impressed with the ER that we went to; we arrived at 1:30PM and were out of there in about 3 hours (give or take). Considering past experiences at the ER, this was incredible and more or less efficient. Before I took Joel to the ER, I had an interview scheduled with Trompetica, a very famous Cuban trumpet player living in Miami. We had the interview scheduled for 12PM (Noon) in Little Havana (at my translator's apartment). I arrived promptly at Noon, and ended up waiting until 1PM, making small talk with the translator, with no sign of Trompetica. We tried to call him every fifteen minutes and he never picked up or called us back. To date, we have not heard from him. It was very peculiar, but unfortunately things like this happen. Luckily I have plenty of other people to interview, but it would have been nice to at least have a phone call from Trompetica saying that he could not make it or something like that. Unfortunately, thats the way things go sometimes and as they say, you just have to "roll with the punches." I was able to finally set-up an interview and lesson with Paquito Hechavarría for Wednesday, which made my Wednesday very busy because I also had an interview with the 93-year old José Curbelo in the early afternoon. Take a look at Day 21's Blog to read about these two interviews!

Day 19-Powerpoint Presentation & Phone-calls

Today was pretty hot down here. I spent a good chunk of the day inside my hotel room working on a Powerpoint Presentation that needed to be submitted by tomorrow morning for the Diamond Research Scholars administrators. They requested that all of the scholars report on their research progress to date. I wrote an abstract for my project, wrote up some of the information that I have found and learned since I have been Miami, as well as some areas for further study while in Miami. I started this around 11:30AM and finished around 2:30PM or so, with a few short breaks in between. After finishing this, I decided to venture out to Little Havana and try and purchase some cigars and souvenirs. It was VERY hot walking around, and I only lasted about an hour, but was able to pick some DVD's of Cuban music and some postcards. I went into three Cigar shops and really didn't know what I was looking at. The shopkeepers explained the differences between the cigars, their origins, and what the best deal was. Who knew that cigars were so expensive? Single cigars range from $5-$20 and boxes look pretty expensive $80-$150 and beyond. I even saw "mini-cigars" that were infused with Rum. Quite honestly, every cigar shop I went into looked the same, carrying the same or very similar products. I will make a purchase before I leave to come back to Philly, but as of now I am just seeing what is out there. I will try and ask around and see if anyone down here can guide me and advise me on what Cigars to purchase.

After Little Havana, I got stuck in some lovely rush-hour traffic, and then came back to my hotel and made Dinner. Then, the rest of the evening consisted of phone-calls. I called a musician in Philadelphia to discuss an upcoming gig, and then received a phone call from my cousin David, who lives in Miami. It was nice to finally talk with him and his wife Anne, and we will be setting up a time to get together one day later this week. Also, I got a phone-call from Paquito Hechavarría, whom I have been trying to reach to interview and take a lesson with for several weeks now. He told me that he would have time tomorrow if it was convenient for me. Luckily, it is and we will be meeting at UM for a lesson/interview at some point in the later afternoon (3PM or so). I have an interview at Noon, and then I told Paquito that I would call him when that appointment concluded.

Overall, things are moving right along. Two interviews tomorrow, One on Wednesday, and possibly one or two more. I will definitely hit the beach at some point this week and finish up my research. 9 Days until Philly....I'm anxious to come back to Philly, but will surely enjoy the rest of my time in Miami as best as I can!

Day 18-Day Off

Today involved sleeping, swimming, and relaxing. It was a much needed day of rest from my busy "antics" in Miami. This upcoming week I have two interviews schedule, a Powerpoint Presentation to submit, and some phone calls to make (in order to set-up more interviews). I'll also be spending some more time at the Cuban Heritage Collection and venturing to Florida International University to check out their Cuban Music Collection. Also, I'll be getting music together for a Cuban gig I will be doing when I come to Philadelphia. The gig will be on August 11th @ Chris' Jazz Café from 8PM-11PM.

Much more blogging to come this upcoming week!

Day 17-Cancelled Interview & South Beach

Today, I was supposed to interview a 100-year-old Cuban musician who lives in Miami. Unfortunately, I got a phone call early this morning that he has been in the Hospital for several days. I am hoping that he is alright and that we can reschedule for a time before I leave Miami. After this interview was cancelled, I decided to take the rest of the day off and relax. Well, I wouldn't say that I relaxed all day, but got some things done in the afternoon and then went out in the evening. This afternoon, I went to La Casa De Las Guyaberas in a remote part of Little Havana, and purchased a guyabera, which is a type of button-down shirt that Cubans wear in Cuba as well as in Miami. It is designed to keep Cubans cool during extremely hot temperatures. I wanted to purchase one as a souvenir, as wel as to possibly wear in the future when I play with my Cuban band. After this, I met my friend Joel for Cuban food at a restaurant right next to my hotel. We both attempted to speak spanish to the waiters, and they were patient, but still spoke in english when necessary. I could see that they respected that we were trying.

Afte dinner, we ventured into South Beach to Van Dyke's Café to hear the Cuban group Conjunto Progreso, whom I heard last Friday night at another venue. The band was quite good, and I ran into Jorge Gómez, who I had interviewed in Miami Beach yesterday. He introduced me to the older musician in the group, Rolando Perez, and I told Rolando about my project. He told me to come to their gig next Saturday night at another venue in Miami, and we could do an interview during one of the set breaks. At the moment, I plan on going to this gig, but on the off-chance that I am not able to make it, I have his number as well to call him to set-up a time other than during the gig. I will be interested to interview him if possible. Also, I finally was able to set-up an interview with Trompetica (trumpet player from the Afro-Cuban All Stars). We will be getting together on Monday morning with a translator that I found from the University of Miami. I am definitely looking forward to this interview.

Overall, today was fun and eventful, but not extremely busy. Honestly, I am beginning to get a little burned out and tired after being here for a few weeks. I am by no means "sick of" my research project or of Cuban music, I'm just a little exhausted from all of the leg work I have done to make contacts, go to concerts and schmoozing with musicians to ask them to participate in my study, and making so many phone calls to set-up interviews and get information. I have 3 interviews recorded right now, and I will be happy if I can leave Miami with 6 interviews (3 more). I don't think that this will be difficult, and I will more than likely have a few more than this, but I think that is a reachable goal given the timetable for the rest of my trip. I will be taking tomorrow (Sunday) off to relax, possibly go to Joel's and hang out at the pool, get some reading done, maybe even go to the beach. I will make one phone call on Sunday to set-up an interview with an older Cuban musician for this upcoming week, but that is the only piece of "work" I will be doing. I will begin again on Monday, hopefully feeling refreshed and ready to conquer this last full week in Miami. I plan on concluding my research (interviews, researching in libraries, etc.) at the end of next weekend, and take my last few days in Miami to relax and act like a mini-vacation (I definitely feel it is well-deserved after all of the work that I am doing down here). 

I just realized that I should be working on a powerpoint project that is due on Tuesday (A "Work in Progress" research abstract, title, and information). I will work on this a little bit on Sunday, and finish it up on Monday. Goodnight....

Day 16-Tropical Depression, Interview & "I Love Calle Ocho"

Today was definitely an interesting day. It started out by waking up to hearing about a Tropical Storm on the morning news. Of course, I had slept through the worst of the rain and wind, but the meteorologists still advised that people not go out unless they absolutely had to due to the high winds (40 mph) and possibility of severe rain and flooding. I had an appointment in Miami Beach at 1PM to interview Jorge Gómez from Tiempo Libre and I did not want to have to cancel because of bad weather. Right before I was about to leave, the skies opened up and the sun came out. Regardless of the weather report, I ventured out to the interview. Of course, it was VERY windy when I got to Miami Beach (being literally 500 feet from the beach), but there was little to no rain during the entire afternoon, and even if it did rain, it was all sun-showers. I arrived at Jorge's Condo, which was on one of the penthouse floors, and we spent two hours together. We started with the interview for the first hour and progressed to a Cuban a piano lesson for the second hour. His experiences and thoughts were very interesting, and one thing I will mention is that he suggested that I might talk to younger Cuban musicians who just came over to the US after having just gone through the Music Education system. He gave me the name and number of one of his bandmates (who is 21 years old and just came to the US). I won't go into any more detail about the interview, but will of course share the details when I am able to transcribe the interview off of the video and audio. One thing I will mention, is that he taught me the basic piano rhythms and parts for the Cha Cha, which was something I did not know how to play before. This was very exciting and I hope to adapt this to practical use in future performances when I return to Philly.

After leaving Jorge's, I went food shopping and then returned to my hotel to have something to eat and take care of a few things. In the evening, I decided to go to Little Havana to hear a Cuban band at Cuba Ocho, a Cuban bar and venue in the heart of Little Havana (I went to this same place last Saturday night and heard two fantastic and authentic bands). I arrived at 930PM, for a 10PM show, and they instructed me that the band probably wouldn't begin until 1030PM, so I decided to walk around a bit and see what other bands were performing closeby. After all, it was a Friday night. I walked by this venue/café by the name of I Love Calle Ocho and started talking with the host in front of the club (the person who's job it was to recruit people to come inside). He did not speak english, so we conversed in spanish for a few minutes. He was very patient with my spanish speaking skills, which started to become easier as our conversation went forward and I started to get "in the zone" (as the saying goes). He explained to me about the musicians that night, mainly Malena Burke, and older and well-known Cuban Bolero singer. The cover charge was a little expensive, $25, and I was not sure if I wanted to take the chance and pay the money not knowing too much about the band. While I was talking out front, the front door opened, and out comes Yoel Del Sol, a fantastic Cuban Percussionist whom I had the pleasure of meeting on Monday night at the Loews hotel and who I interviewed Thursday night. We were surprised to run into each other, talked for a moment, and he was the deciding factor for whether or not I was going to stay and here the band. I told the host that I would come for the show, and he took my name, reservation, and told me I had to go home and change (I had shorts an flip flops on, which hasn't been a problem so far in Miami for the night-life). He instructed me to change into pants and shoes. I had a little less than an hour till show time, so I got in my car, and went back to my hotel to change. I made it back with a few minutes to spare, went inside, ordered a Mango Juice (which was incredible), and waited for the show to begin. Cuban Time once again.....the show started at 1130PM (an hour after it was supposed to start). Once the show began, the trio (vocalist, percussionist, pianist) performed for three hours non-stop. At one point the vocalist pointed at me and asked (in spanish) if I was having a good time and if I understood spanish. It was difficult for me to understand what she was saying because of the sound system, but I was able to yell something back to her across the room saying that I was having a good time. She then told me (in english), that she would sing something to me that I would surely know. She began to sing Somewhere, Over the Rainbow in English to me in a rubato style with only piano accompaniment. I was beside myself, being serenaded by an older Cuban vocalist HAHA. She performed the song beautifully!!! Shortly after this song, someone in the room sent over a mojito to my table :) The performance ended at 2:30PM, and I spoke to a few of the audience members and musicians and then came back to the hotel. It was a long night, but I had A LOT of fun and had an incredible experience. One thing I have learned while being down here is that you NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN!!!

Day 15-Translator(s), Construction, and Interviews

Today was busy. I got up at a decent hour (9AM!), I had breakfast and then decided to go to the University of Miami, in search of a translator for some interviews I need to conduct. I went to the CHC and asked their advice, they suggested I go to the ARC (Academic Resource Center), the ARC suggested I go to the Spanish Language Department. The Spanish Department told me to send them an e-mail with what I need and they would forward it out to their ListServe to see if anyone was interested/in town. After this, I went to the music building and practice for a little while, recorded some of my piano playing, practiced some Cuban Montunos, played some standards (both Cuban and Jazz) and then I decided to go and get some lunch. Before I went to get lunch, I called my friend Joel who just arrived in Miami to go to UM Law, and wanted to see what he was up to. He and his mom were putting together a desk and I ended up going over to his apartment to help and hang out for a little while. I didn't expect to help put together a desk while I was in Miami, but it was a nice change of pace for a little while from my activities here in South Florida. I spent maybe an hour or two there spending time with Joel and his mom, and then decided to come back to my hotel and try to get some work done (phonecalls, etc.).

As soon as I got back to the hotel, I wrote the Spanish Department an e-mail detailing what I needed. I was very anxious to find a translator that immediately after I e-mailed the Spanish Department, I called Eloy Cepero (who was one of the first people that I met when I arrived here). He is the one who gave me the phone numbers of Fausto and José Curbelo (two older Cuban musicians living in Miami who performed with big bands in the 1940's and 1950's in NYC and Cuba before that). Fausto is 100 years old and José is 93 years old, so it is amazing that they are still living and willing to talk with me. Fausto suggested I find a translator because he does not speak English real well, so I thought I could call Eloy and see if he would assist me, considering he is the one who told me about Fausto. Eloy agreed to translate for me with my upcoming interview with Fausto, as well as for another Cuban musician, Trompetica, whom does not speak English. Eloy told me he would call both musicians and get back to me about setting up times to go and interview them. I will look forward to hearing back from Eloy, and hopefully those interviews will occur in the coming days. From experience down here, I know that I will need to follow up with everything I do. I have faith that Eloy will call me back, but if I don't here from him tomorrow, I will probably call him to check in and see what is going on (I only have a limited amount of time here so I must use my time as effectively as possible and make sure I accomplish everything I want to accomplish).

Since talking to Eloy and e-mailing the Spanish Department (both events occurring at about 3PM), I have received two e-mails from Grad students at UM, who would be interested in translating during my interviews (one grad student is even interested and studies some Cuban music). I will see what happens with Eloy, and use these grad students if necessary (or for other interviews is they arise). I will definitely be contacting the one grad student about her interest and studies into Cuban music, as it will be very interesting to hear someone else's opinions and findings.

Tomorrow, I have one interview/lesson with Jorge Gomez, who as I mentioned earlier, is the piano player and leader of Tiempo Libre, a fantastic group from Cuba. I am very much looking forward to meeting him and talking/studying with him. I was supposed to have another interview tomorrow with another Cuban piano player, but had to postpone/cancel it for a few reasons that I won't go into at the moment. Suffice it to say, I will be following my other leads first, and interview him if necessary towards the end of my time in Miami.

This evening, I met with Yoel Del Sol, who is a very friendly and knowledgable musician and person. He is a percussionist and studied in Cuba through the first two Conservatory levels and taught in Cuba at the National School of Art for 6 years. His insights into the Cuban music education system, and the balance of Cuban percussion versus classical percussion within the Conservatory system was very fascinating. He gave me a synopsis of his "life story," which narratively explained many questions I had about the Cuban Music Education system and Cuban Popular Music's role within the educational system and within Cuban culture. It was very interesting to me that he picked up a lot of his Cuban Popular rhythmic knowledge through other teachers outside of Cuba and outside of the confines of the conservatory system. Ironically, he went to school with a Cuban drummer who lives in Philadelphia, Francois Zayas (my apologies if I am not spelling this correctly). While I do not know Francois personally, many people have mentioned his name to me around the Philly music scene, and I am told that he is a fantastic drummer and musician. I will definitely be looking him up and hopefully talking to him when I return to Philly. Yoel also mentioned something very interesting about his own life that I found important to mention. He told me that after being in Cuba and performing Popular music, which he loved and enjoyed to perform, he realized he needed and wanted more than what he had. You know, he mentioned that for a lot of Cuban musicians, the Classical Music Route does not get you much, because there is only one Symphony Orchestra in Cuba and the line to audition and join it is very long. He said the real way to succeed and to be exposed to the rest of the world, is to study Cuban Popular music and join a group that tours. This way, you are not only able to travel, but also make more money than you would otherwise be able to make in Cuba. He told me that on a personal level, it was very hard for him to leave Cuba (leave his family, friends, country), but in the end, he knew that there would be more opportunities outside of Cuba for him to grow and expand and increase his musical abilities and musical knowledge. He told me that when he was in Cuba, he really didn't know about all of the different musical genres in the rest of the world, and it was very eye-opening to travel and be introduced to so many other genres of music and to become a very versatile musician. To bring back the phrase from yesterday's Blog, "querer es poder". Yoel knew what he wanted, and sought after it. Thats all any of us can hope for. And once we know what we want, nothing can stop us! Anyway, thats my short synopsis of our talk, but there was a lot more that he mentioned in our 45-minute interview.

On a technical note, I was a little weary that the audio recording would not come out well because we met at a Starbucks. First, we sat outside and then moved inside. Both places were very noisy, but amazingly the recording came through very clearly (with the occasional gust of wind). This Zoom recorder is very incredible, it isolated Yoel's voice and really was able to pick up his speech and minimize the bleeding in of any extraneous noise around us. Yoel was very generous with his time, and I promised to send him a copy of my final research project and findings when I was finished. As always, I'm very impressed and humbled by the Cuban people and their personalities. Truly incredible.

While we were talking, I had a cup of coffee, which I haven't had in a long time (usually I only drink single espressos on occasion). This cup of coffee really energized me and is probably why this Blog post is EXTREMELY LONG Haha. 3 Hours later, the caffeine is just starting to wear off. After the interview concluded (a little after 10PM), I decided to drive South on Route 1 to check out a Jazz Jam session that I heard takes place at a Bar about 20 minutes South of Coral Gables (where I am staying). I took the drive, found the bar, and the place was closed. It looked as if they had been out of business for a couple of months. Definitely a let down, but at least I checked it out and found out that it no longer exists; one less option for a Thursday night.

Anyway, I think I've written enough for tonight. Until tomorrow...

Day 14-My First Interview & Some Great News!

Today was very exciting. I met with Carlos Puig, who I wrote about in my Blog Post for Day 13. Carlos just moved into a new apartment and had no car (because it broke down), so he asked if I could pick him up to go somewhere to talk and do the interview. He suggested we go to a bar or somewhere to talk, but I needed a quiet place to audio and video record him, so I brought him back to my hotel room to record him here. I normally wouldn't bring back people I have just met to my hotel room or place where I am staying, but I had enough positive reassurances about this man that I felt very comfortable. He just finished his Master's degree at UM, came recommended by two of the Faculty of UM, as well as sounded like a very sweet man over the phone. Between this and reading his biography online about his extensive touring experiences and life story, I concluded that it would be fine to bring him back here. My "gut" feeling about this was exactly right. We came back here and we talked for 2 hours about Cuban Music, the Education system both formally (conservatories) and informally (streets/jams/etc.) in Cuba, as well as the Buena Vista Social Club, the history of some Cuban music (Son), and other fascinating things about Cuban culture, music, and history. He was a very nice guy, was very generous with his time, and gave me a fantastic interview which will greatly help my research project. This was a great first interview to conduct and has given me to "jumpstart" that I need to finish up my work here in Miami. Through our talk, I have discovered some things that I am most curious about within Cuban Music and Cuban Music Education, which I will make sure to ask all of the other musicians that I will interview in the future. The only thing Carlos asked in return for his helping with my study is that I send him the audio and video footage of the interview and send him my final research paper. I agreed wholeheartedly to this request and will look forward to sending him my final product when it is complete.

After I dropped Carlos back off at his apartment, I came back to the hotel and made dinner and imported the video from the interview onto my computer. I finally was able to talk to my cousin Lisa (who lives in the Miami area and who I've been playing phone-tag with for a few days now). I'm looking forward to seeing her and her husband one day next week!

Jorge Gomez (from Tiempo Libre) called me back this afternoon after I had left a message on his voicemail yesterday. I called him to request a piano lesson and an interview. He told me that it would be "no problem" and we agreed on getting together on Friday at 2PM at his apartment in Miami Beach. He told me that he does not have a keyboard, but a small keyboard. At first I had suggested that we meet at the University of Miami, where we could use an acoustic piano, but after some discussion we decided his apartment would be a better location. This way, we can do the interview and lesson all at one time, and be sure that we'll have a quiet space to conduct the interview. I'm not that concerned about learning on an electric piano, mostly because I want to learn concepts, exercises, and basic tenets of Cuban Popular music from a Cuban musician; the type and quality of instrument doesn't' matter for this. As long as Jorge can show me some concepts on the keyboard, we will be fine. I can always adapt them to the acoustic piano later on. The most important thing, in my opinion, is the interview, and I'd rather have this done in a quiet environment. I asked Jorge what he charges for a lesson and his time for the interview, and I was humbled and amazed when he told me the following: "For you...nothing". On a strictly financial note, this was great to hear because I am trying to take as many lessons and conduct as many interviews as I can on a limited budget. On a more personal note, I am continually humbled and amazed at the Cuban people's kindness and friendliness. Jorge only knows me through an e-mail I sent him, mentioning that I know a few of his friends and colleagues and telling him a little bit about my research project. I am very much looking forward to our meeting on Friday!

I also called José Curbelo to confirm our interview for Thursday at Noon. It was a good thing that I called to confirm, because José informed me that he had just had a tooth pulled this afternoon, and was not feeling that well. He asked if we could reschedule for sometime next week. He told me to call him on Sunday to reschedule. He sounded very sincere in his explanation, and sounded as if he was in pain. Luckily I am here for another 2 weeks, so postponing this interview is not that big of a deal. I will look forward to meeting with José next week.

I think José canceling tomorrow is a blessing in disguise because now I will have time to actively pursue  a translator for a few of the interviews I want to conduct with musicians who only speak spanish. I will first go to the Cuban Heritage Collection at UM tomorrow morning and see if any of the student workers would be interested in making a little extra money to help me translate. If that does not pan out, I will have to consider other sources to find a translator. I'll also look forward to meeting with Yoel Del Sol at some point on Thursday.

I'll leave you with a saying that Carlos Puig said to me right before I dropped him off at his house this afternoon after our interview: "Querer es Poder." This roughly translates: To want is to be able to. OR as the definition is stated on Cal State Fullerton's website: If you have the desire, you can achieve. This is not the first time I have heard this phrase in spanish (the first time from Profesor Morton of Temple University's Spanish department). A quick side note: Profesor Morton has been extremely helpful with my project (both in practicing my spanish skills and discussing Cuban music). He is a lover of Cuban music, and I have learned many things from him through our discussions about this music and about the spanish language. I just wanted to thank him for his continued support and assistance to date. To go back to this phrase I've been talking about, I find it very intriguing that two people have mentioned this to me in less than a months time. It gives me inspiration as well as the impetus to succeed. I really want this project to succeed and for my knowledge of Cuban Music/Culture/History to continually grow into a career of continued acquisition of knowledge about a topic that I have become very passionate about. I will continually keep these words in mind throughout the rest of my trip as well as for the future!

Day 13-Kind of an Uneventful Day

Today marks the 13th day that I am in Miami and it was a day of planning. I made a few phone-calls and set-up some more interviews. I called Trompetica, who is a well-known Cuban trumpet player. I was lucky enough to meet him in Philadelphia a few weeks ago when the Afro-Cuban All Stars came into town for a concert at the World Cafe Live! He gave me his telephone number and told me to call him on 7/20 when he would be back in Miami from his tour. So, I called him on 7/20...What I didn't realize was that he only speaks spanish, not a word of english...I was able to explain to him who I was in spanish over the phone, but I had a hard time understanding what he was saying to me (loud background noise combined with fast Cuban-Spanish). So...I had to call my Cuban music teacher and friend in Philadelphia (Albert Aguilera) for some assistance. Albert called Trompetica for me and explained everything about my project for me. Trompetica told Albert to tell me to find a translator and call him back to set-up an interview. I am still working on finding a translator, but hopefully should have one in the next day or so. I also was able to set-up an interview on Thursday with Carlos Puig, a recent Masters Graduate of UM and a Cuban-born musician (trumpet). Also, I called a percussionist by the name of Yoel Del Sol who I met at the Loews hotel on Monday night. He had instructed me to call him to set-up a time to meet. He told me he would have time on Thursday afternoon and to call him Thursday morning to confirm and make a definite time. Overall, today was very eventful in terms of planning, but not so much in terms of actual events taking place.

Day 12-Piano Lesson & Lots of Progress

Today marked the start of a new week. It also marked the start of major progress with my project. I took a two hour lesson with a Cuban piano player by the name of Michelle Fragoso. He taught me some basic Montuno patterns and gave me exercises to work on to enhance my skills. Montunos are usually played in Cuban Son music and are rhythmically and technically challenging (in my opinion). I recorded the entire lesson so that I may listen back to it later and remember what we discussed more in depth. I enjoyed the lesson, but will more than likely not take any more lessons with Michelle. It is nothing against him, I just have a fixed amount of money to spend on lessons, and I will want to take a few more lessons with other Cuban pianists I have contacted. In any event, I will be meeting with Michelle on Friday for an Interview about his musical experiences in Cuba (he went to a Conservatory, but learned all of the popular music "on the streets"). Before I left, Michelle gave me the name of an older Cuban gentleman who I will be calling to try and set up an interview.

After the lesson, I came back to my hotel and took care of a few things around here. In the late afternoon, I received a phone call from Eloy Cepero (who is a Cuban music historian and radio show host in Miami). He was returning my phone call to him about getting the phone numbers of two older Cuban musicians. Eloy was very helpful and provided me with the phone numbers for José and Fausto Curbelo, who were both involved in the NYC Latin/Cuban Big Band era of the 1940's and 1950's. José is 93 years old and Fausto is 100 years old, so it will be a real pleasure to meet and talk with them. I called them both to set-up interviews. José and I are meeting on Thursday and I'll mention that his English is very good. Fausto, on the other hand, does not speak English that well because (in his words), he has not practiced in many years because he does not leave the house much. He instructed me to find a translator to bring along and then call him back to set up a time (he told me he's ALWAYS home so any time would probably be fine). Both men were extremely friendly over the phone and I am very grateful for their agreeing to be interviewed.

In the evening, I went to see the band Oriente perform at the Loews Hotel in South Beach. What a BEAUTIFUL Hotel!!! I'll post the pictures when I can get to a faster internet connection. Incredible courtyard, pool, palm trees, architecture...everything was beautiful. The band played the hotel's lounge (where it cost $6 for Tonic with Lime). I thought that they were a Cuban group that experimented with other genres (at least thats what I gathered from their website and descriptions I found elsewhere on the internet). I was very surprised to hear them playing jazz standards when I walked in. The instrumentation was electric jazz guitar, drum set, trombone, and electric bass. I enjoyed the first few tunes they performed, but was wondering if they were going to play anything Cuban. A few tunes later, they played El Carretero and then El Cuarto De Tula, two of my favorite Son pieces. They performed it with a slightly modern-tinge, but overall the performance was excellent. All of the musicians were very talented, most of whom came from Cuba over the past twenty years. I went up to the band at the set-break and introduced myself. I told them about my project, explained about what I am doing, and told them that I was having trouble with finding authentic Cuban traditional music in Miami. They helped me out with all three areas. The guitar player and drummer both gave me their numbers and told me to call them for interviews. They also told me about a few concerts coming up this weekend with authentic Cuban music and about some other musicians that I should contact.

Overall, today was a very productive day! Tomorrow will be a big day as well, because I have a long list of Cuban musicians to call. A few musicians instructed me to call them on 7/20 (Tuesday) in order to set-up interviews and lessons. I will be calling the following people:

Jorge Gomez (Piano player for Tiempo Libre)
Trompetica (Trumpet player for Afro-Cuban All Stars, and a living Cuban music legend)
Paquito Hechavarría (Piano player who played in Cuba in the 1940's, 1950's, played with Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine)
José Martinez and his brother (Flute and Guitar/Vocalist from Saturday Night at Cuba Ocho)


Busy...Busy Day...

Day 11-South Beach

Today was a good day to relax a bit. I went to South Beach to check out Lincoln Road, which is an outdoor shopping mall with many outdoor cafés. It was beautiful with palm trees, fountains, and many restaurants. The stores, unfortunately, were all very pricey (with the exception of a few souvenir shops and the 2 or 3 Starbucks. I didn't last too long outside in the intense heat and ended up coming back to Coral Gables (which is where my hotel is) and ran a few errands. I just finished dinner, and the rest of the night will involve: getting ready for my week, reading about Cuban music, transcribing Cuban music, and cleaning up the hotel room a bit. I'm also really looking forward to a piano lesson I have tomorrow with Michele Fragoso (who plays with the the band Conjunto Progreso that I heard the other night at MIA on Biscayne). I'm excited!

That's it for now...much more to come this week. Thanks again for reading!

Day 10-Little Havana & 4 Hours of Cuban Son Music

Today was very eventful. I walked around Little Havana for a few hours exploring on the main street of Calle Ocho. The first time that I was in Little Havana a few days ago, I did not really spend much time exploring or talking to the "locals". This second excursion was much different and I met a lot of very interesting people as well as found some very nice shops. I found another fantastic Cuban music record store called "Casino Records" as well as a store that only sold DVD's in Spanish. I felt like I was in NYC buying bootleg DVD's on the street when I entered this establishment. Everything looks as if they are bootlegs, and the prices reflect that; $10/per DVD. Regardless of the look and legality of the discs, I purchased a few of them because the type of film recordings that this store offered are not available anywhere else; such as an hour's worth of videos from live performances of Beny Moré in Cuba. After purchasing some items at the music and DVD stores, I walked into a few Cigar shops to see Cigars being made and to find out a little bit more about the Cuban-made Cigars in Little Havana (I know absolutely NOTHING about Cigars). It was kind of funny when I watched some Cigars being made, because the man who was making them was not the "stereotypical" Cuban-Cigar maker. In my mind, the stereotype is of an older Cuban man, dressed in an antique/old guyabera (white button down shirt), making the cigars. The man who was making the cigars in Little Havana had a designer t-shirt, stylish belt, greasy hair, and only spoke in spanish...Very different than what I expected. While I was talking to one of the clerks in this cigar shop, I mentioned that I was a piano player and that I was in Miami to study Cuban music. Right away, the clerk told me to follow him next door to a café. He knocked on the door and the owner let us in (because they were closed). When the doors opened, I walked right into a Sound Check with a piano player and singer; they were performing that night in the café. Everyone was so gracious...I stayed and listened to the soundcheck for 5 or 6 tunes, chatted with the piano player and singer, and was offered a free cup of cafe cubano (Cuban Coffee...which is a REALLY strong shot of espresso with A LOT of sugar). The musicians told me I should come back at night for the concert, and I told them that I would be there. As I was walking back to my car, I passed by an establishment that looked like a Cultural Museum, yet it had a full bar. There were old books, art work, and furniture inside, as well as a baby grand piano and a nice size stage. Only the owner and the cleaning crew were inside, but they let me in and gave me a tour and talked with me for a few minutes. They informed me that at night there would be live Cuban Son music from two different bands (sets at 9PM & 11:30PM). While I told the other musicians at the café that I would come to their show, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to hear authentic Cuban Son music (this is the traditional music of Cuba, which is not always readily available in Miami). The name of this establishment is Cuba Ocho.

Thus, I returned to Cuba Ocho around 9PM at night for the show, and there were only a few people inside. I was somewhat perplexed, because earlier on when I was there the owner told me that they would get pretty crowded. I asked the bartender if there was still going to be live music, and she told me yes, but at 10PM. So, I decided to sit down and have a drink. I thought about what to order for a minute and then decided to have the full Cuban experience. I ordered a Mojito. This was probably the strongest and sweetest Mojito I have ever had (it probably took me 2 hours to drink haha). On a side note, I really need to embrace "Cuban Time" (as so many Cubans call it here). This way, I will not have to wait an hour for a concert or for some other engagement. It's alright....I'm slowly learning.

Closer to 10PM, I took my drink from the bar and found a seat up close towards the music. I started up a conversation with an older Cuban woman sitting a few seats over from me and we spoke in spanish for a little while. Ironically, she teaches Spanish at the University Level in Tucson, Arizona (in Miami on vacation), thus she was more accustomed to hearing slightly-incorrect spanish (after all I'm still learning). She encouraged me to continually speak to spanish-speakers in spanish and not to be afraid of making a mistake. I took her words to heart and shortly after she mentioned this, the show began. What followed was an incredible display of Son music. This band consisted of two guitar players, upright bass, percussion, voice and a flute player. They did a few of my favorite Cuban Sons (El Carretero, Chan Chan, etc.). It was incredible because the one guitar player had his right hand amputated, but was still able to strum the guitar, while voicing chords with his left hand, as well as singing at the same time. He was one of the older members of the group, so I decided to talk to him after their set. He was a very sweet man and does not speak much english. I did my best to explain my research project to him in spanish and tell him that I wanted to interview him about his experiences with Cuban music and education. Luckily, he was a Professor of Music back in Cuba. He told me to call his brother José on Tuesday at 5PM because they were having rehearsal together at that time, and they would give me directions on where they are so we can do the interview (at least that's what I gathered from our conversation...the only thing I am very clear about is calling them on Tuesday at 5PM, the part about meeting that same day I am not 100% sure about). The major problem with trying to speak spanish at this concert was that the overhead music was very loud during the set-breaks, so it was hard to hear (whether it be english or spanish).

The next band to perform had 2 percussionists, violin, electric bass, piano, voice, flute, and guitar. This band had a slightly more "modern" and "electric" sound, however they were fantastic! They played mostly son tunes with the occasional bolero. Throughout their set, musicians from the first band would randomly come on stage to sing a verse of the current song and then they would get off stage. Everyone was smiling and having an enjoyable time on stage. The musicians were not worried about their individual playing or their egos, they were just worried about making great music, no matter who got on stage or not. I was able to take a few videos of some people getting up and dancing in front of the stage; they looked like they were having SO much fun and that the music was just flowing through them (I'll post those videos when I can access a fast internet connection; the connection here is sooo slow, I can't even what a youtube clip, without waiting 10 minutes for the video to load).

On one of the set-breaks I started talking to an older Cuban man who was in the audience and we talked about music and life for about 10 minutes. He came from Cuba to NYC many years ago and then came to Miami. I love being able to talk with so many Cubans about their life so openly. I started speaking to him in spanish and then we "converted" to english so we could both understand each other better. I can't reiterate enough how friendly the Cuban people are. Whether I start a conversation or they start one, the interactions are always very enjoyable.

4 Hours later....The concert was over and I was ready for bed (2AM!). I came back to my hotel and went to bed (not having any energy to write this blog...which is why I am writing it the next evening!)

Day 9-Good Live Cuban Music!

Tonight I heard some incredible Cuban music from the band, Conjunto Progreso. They are a Miami-based group that performs older Cuban music (like from the Buena Vista Social Club). This is exactly the type of Cuban music that I am researching and studying and exactly what I was in the mood to hear. The band was supposed to perform from 7PM-9PM at the bar/restaurant MIA at Biscayne, which is right on the downtown waterfront. I arrived a little before 7PM in order to get a seat and be ready for the show. The show didn't start till about 7:45PM. There was definitely a good amount of waiting around, but once the band started playing I forgot all about having to wait...They started with Candela, and continued with such classics as Mandinga and El Cuarto de Tula. Everything they performed was great and I enjoyed every minute of the hour and fifteen minute performance. I went up to the Piano player afterwards and talked with him for a minute to ask him about taking some lessons. He gave me his number and told me to give him a call tomorrow (Saturday). His montunos and tumbao patterns (Cuban musical terminology) were fantastic and definitely the sort of thing I am looking to learn. His soloing was also amazing (very jazz-influenced...which is what has happened over time). Overall, he should be a good resource to study with. I will call him tomorrow to set-up a lesson and see how beneficial it is. Also, I will hopefully be able to meet up with Jorge Gomez from Tiempo Libre (recorded the album Bach in Havana) in the near future (he just arrived back in Miami from his concert tour today). Also, Mike Orta, the head of the jazz department at Florida International University, returned my e-mail from a few days ago. He is a jazz/latin/cuban piano player and I asked him if we could get together and chat about Cuban music. He told me that he has never really taught latin/Cuban music, it is just something he has always done, compared to Jazz, which he is very comfortable with teaching. Nonetheless, he told me that if I would like to get together with him and chat about the music, that he would be very willing to accommodate that request. I will be taking him up on that offer. I need to talk, study, and interview with as many people who are knowledgable about Cuban music as possible over the next 3 weeks. This way, I will use my time most effectively and gather enough information/research to facilitate the realistic completion of my research project in the Fall.

Day 8-Research, Jazz Jam, and Random Cuban Encounter on South Beach

By today's title, the reader can assume that a lot of events transpired today. I started my day in the CHC (Cuban Heritage Collection) researching different archives of sheet music, arrangments, and original manuscripts of some Cuban Composers and Artists (Celia Cruz, Pepe Delgado, etc.). I photographed a lot of sheet music, some of which I may be able to use for my Cuban music group when I return to Philadelphia. I also started reading a great book entitled Cuban & It's Music by Ned Sublette. The book is very long, but covers all of Cuba's History intertwined with the history of it's great musical culture, starting with it's roots in Africa and Spain. I will be purchasing this book very soon, so that I may continue to read it and reference it in my research.

On a quick side note...If anyone is interested in seeing a great documentary about Cuban Music and it's roots, check out: Roots in Rhythm narrated by Harry Belafonte. It was released probably close to 20 years ago, but it gives a great history of the roots of Cuban music (Marriage of African and Spanish Traditions) and contains interviews and performances with phenomenal Cuban musicians. Its a three hour documentary, and I've only been able to get through the first half over the past several days because I have been taking so many notes on the film.

After dinner, I decided to check out a Jazz Jam session at the Miami Shores Country Club that happens every Thursday night. I got there around 8PM and was very surprised by what I saw. I was expecting a standard jazz group of some kind (bass, piano, drums). Instead, there was a 40 key keyboard with a acoustic bass and piano split on the keyboard and a percussionist with bongos, assorted percussion instruments, and a ride cymbal. There were a number of older female vocalists sitting in with the band, and the piano player and percussionist were pretty good, so I decided to stay for a bit. I eventually introduced myself to the band and sat in on piano for two tunes. I performed Take the 'A' Train and Quizas, Quizas, Quizas in a duo with the percussionist. The band members liked me and told me to come back anytime I would like. I was hoping that they would be able to put me in contact with some Cuban musicians or something like that, but no luck. The piano player only plays showtunes and Klezmer and music like that, and the percussionist didn't know of anyone. The one good thing about this session was that all of the musicians recommend I check out a restaurant called Spice in Hollywood, which supposedly always has Cuban music. I will be checking this out soon!

I left at about 10PM and was not really up to going back to the hotel. It was still somewhat early and I felt like my night wasn't quite over yet. So, I decided to drive into Miami Beach to see the incredible view of the skyline and ocean across one of the causeways. I had been to Miami Beach before to view these sights, but not at night. It is truly a different experience. So, I drove into Miami Beach at the 34th Street Causeway (I forget the formal name for this rode). I thought I would drive through South Beach's main street (Ocean Drive) and see if I could hear any live Cuban music performed. It was a long-shot at best considering that restaurants might not have music outside, or the bands could be on a break as I rode by, but I decided to try it anyway. The other factor was parking, which did not seem like it was easy to come by. I drove down Ocean Drive for about 20 blocks and didn't spot the type of music that I wanted to hear, so I kept driving. Right around 7th street, I heard a Cuban band playing outside of a restaurant/bar. I quickly went around the block and tried to find parking, but had no luck. So...I kept circling the block, driving by the band playing, stopping in the middle of the street for a moment with my window down when there was no one behind me or if there was standstill traffic (its very strange how traffic fluctuates like this in South Beach so rapidly). I finally was able to find a metered spot a block away (cost me $2 instead of the $15 that the valets were all charging in front of the restaurants). Of course, by the time I walked around the block, the band had stopped playing for the evening. While this was disappointing, I went up to the musicians and started a conversation. The first gentleman I saw, the percussionist, did not speak any english. I finally had a fantastic opportunity to put my spanish to good use. Here's the gist of what I said: 

Hola. Soy un estudiante de piano. Soy de Philadelphia. Viajo a Miami a estudiar la musica cubana y necesito hablar y estudiar con musicos cubanos.

Translation: Hi. I am a student of piano. I'm from Philadelphia. I traveled to Miami to study Cuban music and I need to talk and study with cuban musicians.

While this might not look like very complex language and description, it got my point across. I said some more after this, and we conversed in spanish a little bit. Finally, he brought over the piano player who was playing with the group. Of course, he didn't speak much english either. So, I explained myself again in Spanish, and then we conversed in spanish and english. We both understood each other rather well. He told me that he is a saxophone player first and foremost, but plays piano on the side. He was very friendly and gave me the number of a great piano player that lives in Miami. He also offered to call me tomorrow in order to make the introduction between me and this other piano player. I hope that that all makes sense!!!

As always, I am truly amazed at the kindness and friendliness of the Cuban community. Most of the musicians that I meet are exceptionally friendly and will go out of their way to help me out. I will look forward to hearing from this Cuban musician tomorrow and I will continue my journey in Miami in pursuit of understanding and learning Cuban music.

Funeral

Look at this line to get inside the church to pay respects!!!

The Beach at Key Biscayne. Reading a book about Cuba under some Palm trees.

Day 7-A Funeral, Some Cuban Food, and Experience I Won't Soon Forget

Today was a very busy day. I started off my day at the Cuban Heritage Collection at UM. I utilized a few of the archives there that had original manuscripts of Cuban Music (Mostly Piano/Vocal Music). These scores ranged from early Cuban composers such as Ernesto Lecuona and Ignacio Cervantes, to other composers such as Osvaldo Farrés. Many of this sheet music was originally printed in Havana during the 1930's and 1940's. I photographed hundreds of pages of sheet music, which I will convert into PDF's that I may reference later on when I being to analyze Cuban music and draw conclusions about it. It is amazing that I am able to photograph 8x11 pieces of sheet music with my iPhone and import them to my computer with superb quality. Modern technology is incredible!

I spent about 4 hours at the CHC, and then I came back to my hotel for a quick break before moving onto the next part of my evening. On Monday, a Cuban Bolero-Singer passed away, Olga Guillot. Ironically, I had just purchased a CD of her recordings on Saturday and had listened to it, and absolutely loved it. I had no idea that she lived in Miami, but it was obviously not meant to be for me to meet her. In any event, the two women in charge at the CHC heard about her funeral and were planning on attending. They invited me to come along, and while I was a little reluctant (having not known the woman, and feeling like I would be out of place), I agreed to accompany them there. We made tentative plans to meet there around 5PM. When I came back to my hotel room, I realized that I did not have either woman's number (Gladys & Esperanza are their names). I didn't want to show up exactly at 5PM, so I left my hotel at about 530PM and arrive at the Funeral close to 6PM. I am familiar enough with Cuban culture to know that Cubans are not usually very punctual. I parked my car and walked towards the entrance to the Catholic Church. As I'm walking up the driveway, Esperanza and Gladys pull up! Here, I thought that I was gonna find them already at the Funeral waiting for me, and there they are just pulling up. Good thing I listened to my instincts about Cuban culture otherwise I would have been waiting for Esperanza and Gladys for a long time. They noticed me as I was walking up the driveway, and they asked me to get in the car so that they could park and we could walk in together. I obliged, and just as I got in the car, and older gentleman dressed in a suit and tie (must have been in his 70's) approached the driver's side and asked Esperanza (in spanish) for a ride to his car further back in the prying lot. Next thing I knew, the man got in the car and gave Esperanza directions to his car. I picked up exactly what was going on (understanding more spanish that Gladys or Esperanza thought I could). I was amazed that Esperanza and Gladys let this stranger into their car to help him get to his car. I was not surprised the least bit by their kindness (which I have experience so much of since I arrived in Miami), but in this day and age, this is something that you do not see happen very often. This is the Cuban way, everyone is very friendly and helps each other out. This is one of the amazing things about the Cuban people and something I admire very much about them. After this gentleman got out of the car, Gladys started to explain to me what had happened (in english), not realizing that I understood the spanish being spoken. Already, this was an experience I wouldn't forget!

The Funeral (I should specify by saying the Viewing) was very intriguing. The line of people waiting to pay their respects was out the door and almost around the corner. There were many Police Officers directing people and cars, as well as many newscasters interviewing prominent people and documenting the event. Many prominent people were at the Funeral: the Mayor of Miami, the Police Chief, several famous Miami radio/tv personalities, the owner of the largest Spanish-Speaking Paper, etc. Gladys was nice enough to point all of these prominent Cubans out to me while we were walking around outside the entrance. The line was so long, that we decided not to wait to go inside. Esperanza (who is older, probably in her 70's or 80's) was able to find some friends towards the front of the line and "cut" in line so that she did not have to stand for to long. Gladys and I decided to wait for her. By the time Esperanza went in and out of the church to pay her respects, the line to enter diminished considerably. At this moment, Gladys and I decided that we would enter. I'm glad that we did. While it was a little daunting to be at a Catholic Viewing with an open casket, it was very important that I enter the church to see what was transpiring inside. There was live music from Cello and Harp being performed right next to the open casket, as well as a projector screen with photos of Olga and her friends, family, and musicians who she had performed with during her career. We did not pay respects to the family since we did not know them (and not to mention that the family was very busy with talking to many other people).

It was strange seeing Olga's open casket, but in a way I think that it was a good thing that I attended this funeral. While I was only introduced to Olga's music and biography very recently, I felt that it a good thing that I was able to pay my respects to (from what I have gathered) one of the legends of early Cuban music. I did not know her, but I respect and love the music that she performed throughout her career. I would like to think that I was paying tribute to and honoring the musical tradition that Olga represented, just as much as the woman who I barely knew.

While I did not get to meet any musicians at the Funeral (it seemed very strange and out of place to start introducing myself to people in such a time of strife), I was introduced to an experience that does not occur often, a Cuban Funeral. It was both everything like I thought it would be, and nothing like I thought it would be. 99% of the people solely spoke spanish, but the atmosphere felt very friendly nonetheless. It's hard to explain, but I felt comfortable and well-received. I half-expected everyone in attendance to stare at me because I was the only "Gringo" or non-hispanic in the crowd. This didn't happen, and I felt fine.

When Gladys, Esperanza and I were finished at the Funeral, we started walking to the Parking lot. I was all ready to go back to my hotel and make some dinner, but then Gladys and Esperanza invited me to have dinner with them at one of the Best Cuban Restaurants in Miami: "Versailles", which is in Little Havana on Calle Ocho (the main street). Gladys told me that this restaurant is near all of the hispanic TV/Radio station studios and it is THE PLACE for Cubans to hear the latest news out of Cuba. It is where rumors have started about the death of Fidel Castro and where any other news about Cuba is shared. It is a big restaurant, set-up very similar to an American Diner. They are open until at least 3AM most evenings and are always crowded. Luckily there was no more than a 5 minute wait when we arrived. I attempted to order in Spanish, but when the waitress started asking me questions in Spanish (very quickly might I add), I was not able to understand what she was saying (not to mention that the restaurant is very loud). So, she quickly started speaking in English and I answered her questions. Unfortunately, this was not my opportunity to speak spanish…Hopefully I can find a quieter restaurant to attempt this again.

I ordered Ropa Vieja, which is a standard Cuban dish. It is shredded-beef in a light tomato sauce, with pepper, and onions, served with "moros y cristianos" (black beans and white rice) and fried sweet plantains. The meal was incredible! The restaurant gives very big portions, so I took enough home for another meal tomorrow! :)

It was great to spend so much time with Gladys and Esperanza. They have been very kind to me since I have arrived and I am tremendously grateful for this kindness. We spoke about many things at dinner. Everything from Philadelphia, to Cuba, to Miami, to learning a new language (Spanish in my case, English in Esperanza and Gladys' case), to Cuban music, to Esperanza's daughter purchasing a new 2-seater convertible (which Esperanza was quite upset about). One thing I have to realize about the Cuban people in Miami, is that everyone knows everyone. It is a very tightly-knit community in that sense. While at our table, several people walked by who came over to say hello to Gladys and Esperanza. Everyone that came over was very friendly, one person was even a piano player, who plays spanish and some Cuban music. We exchanged information and he might be somebody that I contact in the future. Also, while walking to our table, we walked by the table of Eloy Cepero (who I spoke with several days about about Cuban Music History…I discussed this in an earlier blog entry). Such a small world (in the Cuban Community).

When the meal ended, the waitress brought the check over, and I was reaching for my wallet to pay my share, when Gladys and Esperanza both told me that it was their treat. There was no arguing about the matter, so I accepted their gracious hospitality and kindness. I really enjoyed my evening spending time with these two ladies and again I will mention how grateful I am to have met them at the CHC at the Univ. of Miami. I will return to the CHC tomorrow to continue my research into Cuban Music and see what other manuscripts and texts that they have in their archives. I will also be actively working to set-up a piano lesson with Paquito Hechavarría and interviews with 2-3 Cuban musicians living in Miami.

My apologies for the extremely long blog entry, but there was no other way to express the extent of tonight's activities without all of the above writing.

One of the insights I have come to make as I have been in Miami for one week now, is that: "Its important to focus on the present and not worry about the future." I realize that I'm doing as much as I can to immerse myself in Cuban culture and music. I'm doing so much that eventually everything will fall into place. While tonight wasn't very musically orientted (in terms of meeting people and hearing music), I feel that I have made deeper connections with Gladys and Esperanza, not to mention feeling more comfortable in the city of Miami. I think that the next three weeks will be full of many more adventures, experiences, and research now that I feel comfortable in the place that I am in and the people that I am around. I no longer feel like a stranger in a foreign (more-or-less) city. I feel comfortable with my surroundings and have some firm connections with the University and others in the area. My roots are down and now I believe I can shift gears into more intense studies and more incredible experiences!

¡Vamanos!

Day 6-The Beach

Today I decided to wake up early and get in a few hours at the beach before starting my day. This was my first time at the beach since coming down to Miami. I decided to try a beach on the island of Key Biscayne (about a 15-20 minute drive from my hotel). This was supposed to be a quieter beach, which was exactly what I wanted (I wanted to read on the beach). Of course, I got lost on my way to the beach, but this only added an extra 5 minutes or so to my drive. I finally found the beach and for $5 I was granted access to the parking lot and long stretch of beach. There were not many cars in the parking lot so I was able to park relatively close the the beach access path. It has been many years since I've been to the beach (probably 8-10) and it felt very nice to be near the ocean. I found a nice little spot underneath some palm trees and put my towel down. I ready for about 45 minutes and then decided I would take walk near the ocean. I ended going about knee deep in the water and walked along the shoreline for a few minutes and then preceded back to my spot to continue reading. I would have gone in the ocean further, but I did not have a bathing suit on (I had not planned on swimming so I wore shorts). I got a good amount of sun in the two hours or so I spent at the beach.

By about 12:30PM, I was back at my hotel ready for some lunch. After lunch, I went to the University of Miami Cuban Heritage Collection to attend a Research Colloquium. This event was sponsored by the Collection's Fellowship Program. Every year, the collection awards several Fellowships (monetary awards) to aid Doctoral students in traveling to the Cuban Heritage Collection to conduct research for their Dissertations. Today's event had two of the Fellows who received the award presenting their upcoming Dissertation topics. Interestingly enough, both topics were about Transnationalism (one about the connection between Cuba and Algeria during the 20th century, and the other between Cuba and the rest of the world during the 18th century).

After the Colloquium ended, I utilized some of the holdings that the CHC (Cuban Heritage Collection) has to offer. I was able to find one archive of Musical Books and Sheet Music (some originally handwritten) from different composers, arrangers, and performers in Cuba. The music was all for piano and voice, consisting of mostly Danzón and Bolero styles, with a few others included. I was able to photograph many of the manuscripts, all of which I will transfer to my own "Cuban Piano Real Book", which will be a physical book with all of these out of print and rare songs.

While at the CHC, one of the staff members, Gladys, told me that Olga Guillot, a legendary Cuban singer (of mostly Bolero's) passed away on Monday at the age of 86. I was not aware of this, but she actually lived in Miami. Gladys told me that she was going to the funeral (which is in Little Havana) and invited me to come along. She told me that while it is a very sad time for the Cuban community, it is a good opportunity for me to meet Cuban musicians in the area. Honestly, I feel it might be a little strange attending a funeral for a woman who I barely even heard of before I arrived in Miami. Not to mention the fact that I would need to tell people I meet a little about my project (and get their phone numbers and such) and I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not. We'll see what happens tomorrow...I'll be at the CHC all day researching and photographing more manuscripts, so I'll think about it, talk to Gladys, and come to a decision. I'll probably end up going...haha

The internet connection here is very slow. Pictures take a few minutes to upload on this blog, so I will post some pictures when my internet connection allows it!

I also was able to talk to Paquito Hechavarría again this afternoon (a Cuban pianist who performed with Gloria Estefan) and he told me he would be in touch at the end of this week to discuss getting together to study. I'm hoping that the old saying rings true in this situation: "Good Things Come to Those Who Wait..."



Then, I came back to the hotel and then ran a few errands. I'm going to do a little more transcribing

Day 5-A Little of This, A Little of That....

Today was full of many different things. I started off my day by meeting with the Dean of the Music School at UM. I have been talking to Dean Berg over the past several months via e-mail, and he has been extremely helpful with allowing me access to the University of Miami's facilities. He granted me access to the piano practice facilities as well as put me in contact with many UM faculty members who are active in the Cuban Music "scene." So...I wanted to finally put a name to a face and thank him for all of his help.

Next, I stopped by the Music Library to introduce myself to Albert De La Reguera. He works during the day in the Music Library, but also conducts a Salsa Big Band during the Academic Year. He was originally born in Cuba, but grew up in Puerto Rico. With this said, everyone that I have spoke to at UM (Dr. Raul Murciano who I met a few days ago & Dean Berg) have told me that this is the man I need to speak to. He is a wealth of knowledge about Cuban music and musicians in the Miami area. He told me to stop by whenever I need anything. Also, he told me he would put together a list of musicians he knows in the Miami area that I could speak to for my project.

After this, I decided to get some practicing in while I was on the UM campus. I played a beautiful Yamaha Black Baby Grand for about an hour and then went in search of some lunch. I ventured a few blocks off campus to yet another open-air shopping mall (after all it is Miami!). I found the local Panera Bread Location and had some lunch, while using their free Wifi! Then, I went to Barnes & Noble (which was right next door) and did some reading on restaurants around my hotel so I had a better idea of what is available.

The rest of my night consisted of relaxing. I watched a little bit of the Home Run Derby, cooked dinner, and started to transcribe a Cuban song entitled: Compositor Confundido. I should probably mention that while I was cooking dinner, one of the electric burner would not turn off (the knob broke off). So...I had an electric burner (which is conveniently placed right next to the Fridge) getting hotter and hotter. Of course, maintenance is not around at 8PM and the front desk did not have anyone to call. So..I ended up flipping the circuit breaker for the electric stove (luckily it had its own breaker)! What an adventure...

Day 4-Flea Market?

Today was a very light day. I slept late again and then ventured out to a Flea Market in Opa-Locka/Hialeah, which is about 20 minutes north of where I am staying. There weren't many people at the Flea Market, and many of the vendors were either selling junk or things I didn't need (clothing, shoes, perfume, toys). I was able to find a few CD stands, but the prices were very high and they didn't have many albums that I was interested in. It was very hot underneath the tent (it was an open-air but covered Flea Market). As I was walking towards my car, I noticed one more CD vendor that I had not noticed on my way in. I decided to take a quick look. I found a few CD's that I would have liked to purchase, but they were marked at $15, $17, etc. which is very high for CD's nowadays. I asked if he would haggle on the prices and the man simply said "no." So, I started walking away and told him that the prices were too high. As soon as I told this to him, he changed his "tune" and told me that he would negotiate. Thus, I was able to pick up a very nice CD with extensive liner notes of Bebo Valdés (a great Cuban Pianist) for $12 instead of the original $17 price. I only lasted about 30 minutes at the Flea Market. I left and decided to check out Coconut Grove, which is about 5 minutes south of where I am staying. This is a beautiful area of Miami, with magnificent homes and an outdoor shopping area called "CocoWalk." I walked around a little bit, and then decided to go back my hotel. Now, I am sitting in my hotel room trying to catch up on e-mails and plan the upcoming week. I am meeting with the Dean of the University of Miami's music school tomorrow morning. I want to say thank you for all of his help thus far as well as see what other Cuban musicians he can put me in contact with.

One other thing to mention is that I e-mailed Jorge Gomez, the pianist for the band Tiempo Libre. For those of you who don't know, this band's first album was entitled Bach in Havana and it consisted of some of Bach's music performed with Cuban rhythms and descargas (jams). The musicians on this album are incredible and were all trained at the Music Conservatories in Cuba. I asked Jorge if I could take a few piano lessons with him as well as interview him. He got back to me very quickly and told me that he would be in Miami starting this upcoming Friday. This will be very exciting! I'll blog about this when I have something more to tell.

I'll leave you with this picture of a Rainbow right after a sun-shower. I haven't seen one of these in years!!!

Day 3-Relaxing....Or that was the plan anyway.

Today was a lot different than the past several days. Instead of waking up at 8AM, I decided to sleep in until 11AM. I got up and made breakfast, and made it out the door by about 12:30PM. I had grand plans to go to a Flea Market and see what deals I could find. Of course, the flea market I wanted to go to (that I had remembered going to when I was younger with my grandparents), closed last year! Thus, I asked the woman at the front desk of the hotel where she would recommend. She gave me the name and address of one and I set out to find it! I arrived at the address and there was nothing there :/

Plan B was to drive into Miami Beach and see what was going on over there. I crossed the MacArthur Causeway into South Beach and drove North all the way to Sunny Isles. This is a long drive consisting of resort after resort and intermittent views of the ocean and beaches. I wanted to take this trip to remember my last trip down here over 10 years ago. I accomplished this goal! I purposely did not park anywhere along my travels because I wanted to gain an understanding of the Miami Beach area. I will definitely head back there in the future to explore some more! I think the Beach is calling my name tomorrow!

On my drive back to my hotel, the beautiful sunny day turned into a rainstorm of epic proportions. I have never seen so much water drop so quickly before in my life (I felt like I was in a hurricane). The thunder actually made my car shake and the lightning looked and felt like it was landing very close to my location. Within 20 minutes, the storm had ended. Now I look outside several hours later, and all of the precipitation has dried up!

Now I am sitting in my hotel room trying to do some reading on Cuban Musicians, compile notes I've taken over the past several days from talking with different contacts, and trying to study some spanish for the upcoming week. Nothing like a little downtime after doing so much over the past several days.

More to come tomorrow...

Day 2-Little Havana

I was so consumed with my research question and topics in yesterday's blog posting, that I totally forgot to mention what I did for Lunch on Friday. I decided to drive to Little Havana and explore on the main street (Calle Ocho). A lovely Cuban woman, Gladys, who works at the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami, suggested that I check out Exquisito Restaurant, which has authentic Cuban food as well as live music.
http://exquisitorestaurant.com/

Of course, the live music is only at night, but I decided to have lunch anyway (I can always go back to hear the music at a later date). I asked the waitress: "¿Qué nos recomienda?" and she replied: "Lechón Asado". That was the extent of our conversation in spanish with the exception of a few "Gracias'". I realized that I am not familiar with restaurant terminology in spanish that well, so it is difficult for me to communicate in these settings. Also, I have found that the Cuban waitresses I have had automatically switch to speaking english at the first sign of trouble on my part in speaking spanish. This is obviously a natural response for them because they are used to dealing with many tourists and americans who do not speak spanish. I believe that reviewing the vocabulary and terminology for food and restaurants in spanish will aid me in my ability to hold a conversation in spanish in these situations. Tonight (Saturday) I have been able to review some vocab and grammar so that I may be able to "hold my own" in the future. I will probably attempt to speak spanish in a Cuban restaurant again on Monday (I need a little break after eating so much rice, beans, and plantains over the past few days!!!). In the meantime, I will attempt to speak spanish to anyone who looks as if they would prefer that over english and see where I end up and how well I do. I can't get discouraged after being in Miami for three days and not having much success with my spanish. As the old saying goes: "Try and Try again...Practice makes Perfect." I think I might have put two sayings together there, but I think you get what I'm trying to say...

Day 2-Meeting Contacts

Today I met with two people who were extremely helpful with my research. One was Eloy Cepero and the other was Dr. Raul Murciano. Eloy is a Cuban Music Historian and discussed with me a general timeline of Cuban music and musicians from 1920-1960. I have a long list of people to read about and find recordings of. Also, Eloy mentioned two musicians who had a Cuban Big Band in the 1940's and who are still alive (in their 90's) living in Miami. I will definitely be contacting these individuals for interviews.

I met Dr. Murciano at the University of Miami today. We have been in contact through e-mail for several months and he was nice enough to find some time to meet with me this afternoon. I explained my research project to him, and he was able to provide me with many contacts in the Miami area. He also helped guide my research project in a different direction. Ever since I got to Miami, I have felt like I am in the right place, but have the wrong topic. What I mean is that I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to travel to Miami and study/immerse myself in Cuban music and culture. What I have been unsure about is my focus on Cuban Music Education. This is a very obscure topic, and while it has merit, I don't feel that it is the right topic for me to explore at this moment. If I pursue that topic, I would not be able to delve as deeply to Cuban music history and other information that is readily available to me in Miami. What I really want to do is understand the history of Cuban Music over the past 100 years or so and determine the characteristics (harmonic, melodic, lyrics, etc.) that make Cuban music what it is. I am not exactly sure as of yet how these topics will fit together into a specfic research question, but I do feel that this is more on the right track of what I want to study. I can also incorporate my experiences with taking private Cuban music lessons, which could be the incorporation of the Music Education aspect of my original idea.

In any event, while I may still be unsure of exactly the question I would like to answer at the conclusion of my research, I have a better idea of the niche I would like to explore with my research. I am confident that with some more exploration and investigation, I will create a specific research question that will guide my project now and in the Fall when I am writing my research paper. In the meantime, I will continue to do what I have been doing thus far: listen to music, talk to Cuban musicians and scholars, explore the city of Miami, and constantly reassessing my purpose for being in Miami. I am quite confident that I will come upon a wonderful research question over the next several days!

A Little Cuban Music @ The Ritz Carlton

Someone at the Cuban Heritage Collection (@ the University of Miami), told me about a Cuban Combo that performs at the Ritz Carlton Resort on the island of Key Biscayne. I decided to go the hotel last night and hear the music. Key Biscayne is only about 15 minutes from my hotel, but is a completely different world. In order to get there, you must cross the Rickenbacker Causeway, which has an amazing view of the skyline of Miami. With this said, it is quite a daunting experience to cross this causeway as it crosses a great deal of water, with one side of the road facing out into the oblivion of the open sea.

Once you reach the Ritz Carlton, it is an incredible sight. The pictures that I have posted do not accurately reflect how beautiful the landscape and grounds of the hotel were. I was quite surprised that I was not able to self-park my car and that the valet cost $18. Luckily, since I was going to the Bar to hear the Cuban band, the price was $10. I went inside the hotel, and there was the band directly in front of me performing a lounge. They wore the traditional White Tuxedoes, which are very reminiscent of Cuban Music Clubs Pre-Revolution. The attire coupled with the Cuban architecture of the lounge, transported me to Havana some 60+ years ago!!!

The band consisted of electric upright bass, congas, vocals, tres, and piano (as well as pre-recorded percussion tracks through a speaker). The musicians performed many Cuban "standards" such as Guantanamera, Chan Chan, and Quizas. They even played a 2-3 son version of Autumn Leaves. I ordered a tonic water and lime and enjoyed the music for about 2 hours (with the band stopping a few times for breaks). At one point, the manager of the lounge yelled to the band to stop playing because the Lebron James decision was about to air on television (which I thought was a little rude and unprofessional of the manager to do in such an upscale hotel and lounge). In any event, I was expecting my tonic water to be $6 or $8, but I ended up befriending one of the waitresses and she had the manager comp my drink AS WELL AS MY PARKING!!! So, instead of the evening costing me $20, it cost me $3 (the toll over the causeway and a tip for the valet because the waitress would not even take a tip).

When the music was finished for the evening, I went up to the band and spoke with them for a few moments. It turned out that all of the members were Columbian, with the exception of the Tres player who was Cuban. This gentleman was very friendly, but did not have the knowledge or information I need for my research study. Regardless of the musician's country of origin, the music sounded very Cuban and very well put-together. Since this band performs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I will most likely frequent this establishment a few more times before my time here is up.