On to Cienfuegos

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On friday morning, (12/9), we left Trinidad and drove to Cienfuegos, a beautiful town with French architecture and influence. On the way, we sang Guantanamera for Gustavo, which seemed to impress him. He then told us about the 3 types of Cuban rumba : yamba, which is slower and danced by "mature" dancers; guaguancó, in which the man pretends to try to touch the woman in an intimate way and she fends him off; and columbia, which is a competition between two men, sort of like a stylized battle. So it seems to have little in common with our ideas of rumba in the US.

We next went to the Benny Moré school of the arts. It was very impressive to see their work. There are hundreds of applicants and only a few are selected. Both art and music are taught at this school. The teachers have paintings to sell and they are wonderful. There seems to be no shortage of supplies here. This school seems to be a showcase and many tour groups are brought here to visit.

The orchestra students performed for us then we performed for them. We sang Take the A Train, and their jazz band played with us. It was wonderful! Again, these intercambios have been high points of the trip and I will remember them forever.

Oh and we're famous in Cuba now! An excerpt of our performance in Santa Clara, along with an interview with Fred West was broadcast on national news. There is only one news broadcast for the country so many people saw us!

More about Cienfuegos in my next installment.

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Photos

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Benny Moiré School of the Arts

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Student work

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Work from the instructors, for sale

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Beginning of the concert, Gustavo interpreting

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We brought some reeds and other gifts