From paul@afrocubaweb.com Sun Dec 6 13:47:07 1998 Received: from mxu2.u.washington.edu (mxu2.u.washington.edu [140.142.32.9]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW98.06) with ESMTP id NAA14300 for ; Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:47:07 -0800 Received: from mail.AFROCUBAWEB.COM ([216.25.6.1]) by mxu2.u.washington.edu (8.9.1+UW98.09/8.9.1+UW98.09) with SMTP id NAA26759 for ; Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:47:06 -0800 Message-Id: <199812062147.NAA26759@mxu2.u.washington.edu> Received: from soma [24.128.121.54] by mail.AFROCUBAWEB.COM (SMTPD32-4.07) id ADCB2E8012A; Sun, 06 Dec 1998 15:49:15 EDT From: "Paul Capronesi" To: "AfroCubaWeb" Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 15:42:30 -0500 X-Distribution: Bulk MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable Subject: AfroCuban Percussion & Dance workshop tour, Apr '99 4942 Reply-to: paul@afrocubaweb.com AfroCubaWeb is organizing an April '99 US workshop tour of master percussionists and dancers from Matanzas, Cuba, accompanied by an ethnographer. This tour is unusual not only for the musical and dance talent, but also for the cultural knowledge the members carry with them and the drive they have to preserve and teach the African traditions of Cuba. All have wide ranging traditional religious and cultural roles in addition to their musical ones. Percussionists -- * Esteban "Chacha" Vega Bacallao - Los Tambores de Chacha * Daniel Elias Alfonso Herrera - Los Tambores de Chacha * Ramon "Sandy" Garcia Perez - Afrocuba de Matanzas * Pedro "Pello" Tapanez - Afrocuba de Matanzas * Juan Garcia - Asesor de Folklore, Conjunto Folklorico Nacional, and ethnographer * Lilian Oviedo, dancer, choreographer * Danilito Perez, dancer, choreographer Chacha is a legendary figure in Cuban percussion. He is a founding member of los Mu=F1equitos ( he joined just 6 months after they were formed in 1954 and had a major impact on their music). He was already playing in the late 30's and the 40's when he was responsible for a tremendous development of the rhythmic range of the quinto, the lead conga in the rumba rhythm. The quinto was just then being established as an instrument while the rumba moved from the cajones, the boxes it was first played on, to the congas. Today Chacha continues to play actively with los Tambores de Chacha at many major Yoruba ceremonial events in Matanzas. And he strives to impart his rare knowledge of the Tradition to others, as in the case of a set of 140 year old Olokun drums. Juan Garcia has been with the Conjunto Foklorico since its founding and has in-depth knowledge of the history of this culture and music. He is an Oba, or King, to many in Matanzas, where, as master choreographer, he has given a dramatic flair to the dances of both Afrocuba de Matanzas and los Mu=F1equitos, based on his deep knowledge of the culture. He has been for many years with the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional, where he is Asesor Folklorico, and decides what is authentically folkloric. His presentations on the cultural context and history of the music and dance as well as Chacha's legendary reputation make this tour something really special for those who have a deep interest, either scholarly or practical. But it doesn't stop there: the other percussionists are all masters. Pello founded and directed Afrocaribeno and Lukumi Oba, two fokloric groups in Matanzas. He is a founding member of Afrocuba de Matanzas, where he was responsible for the invention of the batarumba rhythms, rumba played on bata. Daniel Alfonso is a master teacher who is currently training the coming generation, including leading US percussionists such as Michael Spiro and Marc Lamson of Bata Ketu. And Ramon "Sandy" Garcia has been compared in knowledge and inventiveness to the young Chacha and has his own group, Yumurinos de Matanzas. The two dancers are of a caliber to match: Danilito Perez, an Omo Elegba and Tata Nganga, formerly of Afrocuba de Matanzas, has directed groups (Afrocaribeno, Obabi Laye) and choreographed numerous shows, while Lilian Oviedo, an Omo Yemaya, formerly of Afrocuba de Matanzas, has given many workshops in the US and proved a popular teacher. Pello, as Omo Oggun, Oriate (Head of a House), and Tata Nganga, and Danilito, as Omo Elegba and Tata Nganga, are especially dedicated to the development of African traditions in Cuba. Tata Nganga is a Bantu term meaning community and religious leader, the Nganga being the sacred vessel. The Yoruba term Omo followed by an orisha name means a son or daughter of that orisha, one who serves as godfather or godmother to others in the Yoruba culture. Chacha is an Omo Oshun, and as such has many godchildren. He is also Omo An~a, which has to with his drumming, and he is very much involved in the rescue and preservation of many old rhythms now largely unknown. Possible themes for Juan Garcia's presentations: - Choreographic treatment of folkloric and traditional dances conserved and created in Cuba - Relationship of dance, song, and percussion in Cuba's folklore - Religious themes and their participation in spectacle - "Descomposicion religiosa" (the disintegration of religion) and it relationship to spectacle. Although Cuba today is experiencing a tremendous revival of traditional African religions, there has been serious difficulties in the transmission of knowledge from the elders to the new generation. - Values in Cuban traditions and their influence on artistic = creation - Influence of African rhythms in popular music and dance We are planning a short tour, 3 weeks in length, at the end of April, and are looking for sponsors and settings in cultural centers and universities, just for workshops and lectures. We encourage joint sponsorships consisting of multiple departments of music, dance, religion, African and African American studies, litterature, and anthropology in one geographic area. Interested parties should contact paul@afrocubaweb.com. See http://afrocubaweb.com/MtzsPerc.htm for the full details, including biographies, photos, and information on the tour. .