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!