Tag: Cuban Culture

Connection and Compassion Through the Arts

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One of the highlights of my week  was teaching a the salsa in an elementary school  next to a 4th grade Muslim girl who had a huge grin on her face the entire time.  Her eyes were beaming  as she gave me a big bear hug at the end of the class before heading out the door.  In that moment of humanity, we were saying to each other, “I get you, and you get me.”  I’ll never forget it.

I just spent one week in an elementary school in Shoreline- teaching a Cuban cultural/dance/and song workshop to 45 classes and 600 kids in all. This residency was made possible by a grant from a local arts organization,  The Shoreline Arts Council.  To say the least, it was rewarding,  to take kids on a “classroom trip to Cuba.” I showed photos and videos of my trip, taught a tradition Yeruban song, a Spanish song, and taught the basic steps of two Cuban dance forms: Rumba, and Salsa.  The previous week,  I spent a day in a high school Spanish classroom  giving the same workshop to 5 groups  of  high school seniors (150 students in all),  yet another arts experience made possible with an arts grant.

You’ve heard it before, the arts transcends borders. When kids are exposed to the arts and culture through the arts, it broadens their world view, takes them outside of themselves, and makes them more compassionate human beings.

After one class, a second grader commented, “I see that even though a leader of a country can be thought of as not a nice person, that doesn’t mean the people that live there are bad.” Too true, my friend!

Here are some comments from the high school seniors:

M.K.  I appreciated the opportunity to express myself through artistic movement

L.E.  It was the most fun thing I’ve done in Spanish all year.

E.Z.  It was cool to learn a tradition of another culture.

L.E.  I’m glad I put myself out there to try it, it allowed me to be exposed to others.

Arts funding is currently under attack under our current administration. Please take a moment to  read this article in the New York Times  about the importance of arts and arts funding to our society.

Yellow House Salon #9, Rhythms of Cuba

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Rumba, almendrones (vintage cars from the 50’s now used as colectivos and taxis), salsa, cajons(a type of drum used in Cuban music), congas, magnificent restored mansions, crumbling  estates, high rise government housing, sidewalk cafes, vegetable venders, bicycles, car honks, clave rhythms, dancers, drummers, bungavilla, more car honks,  Santeria (an Afro Caribbean religion) , arroz y frijoles (rice and beans), strong  coffee, Cuban ballads, tobacco fields, bananas, pineapple, pigs, oxen, chickens, and stray dogs, and many, many, many gracious and beautiful people. My group of 11 intreped travelers settled into this beautiful and complicated tangle for 12  packed days on a recent trip to Cuba!  I joined Andre Mallinger and Laura Tyson of True Nature Journeys for a transformational, small group adventure trip  focusing on the music, dance, and culture.

On the first part of our trip, we stay in the cultural heart of Havana, the Vedado district, known for its hotels, theaters, and music venues. Here colonial mansions mingle with high rise 50’s style buildings. Our hosts for this portion of the trip are Cuban families who operate casa particulars, private rooms in large apartments.

While in Havana, we attend music classes with both highly trained professional musicians and dancers and excellent street style players. Local scholars enlighten us with discussions about music, culture, and Cuban history. Stand out experiences include neighborhood gatherings such as El Gran Palenque, a Rumba fiesta where multi generations mingle together for music and dancing  in a lively party scene.

In addition to our time in the city, we travel out of Havana for a look at rural life in Valle Viñales, where we stay in lovely, family-owned casitas. Here, life moves at a slower pace. We stroll through fields and tobacco farms, and enjoy beautiful rock formations (migotes) which rise like giants (as high as 1,000 feet), out of the floor of the green valley.

This weeks recording is a video of a group heard on our first night in Havana, the group was playing at UNEAC (a beautiful courtyard  venue  dedicated to writers, artists, and musicians in the Vendado district.)

The next few posts will go into deep depth about Rumba, Cuban Canciones, and Cuban culture.