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!!!