ARTS

The life of a Cuban artist

Music after

the revolution

El Grupo Moncada, one of the musical groups which founded the nueva trova (new song
movement) in Cuba, has been together since 1972 —the first ten years as amateurs and the
last four as professionals. They've visited Canada twice as the guests of the Canadian-
Cuban Friendship Association. Their tour last October had an outstanding response from

audiences and the media and the band has been invited back this July to perform at a

number of Canadian music festivals.

Alberto Faya, the bearded lead singer whose dramatic gestures and disarming smile
helped to generate the band’s charismatic stage presence on the last visit, has since left
Moncada to head music programming for Cuban TV. A former professor of Cuban culture
at the University of Havana, the 41-year-old artist was interviewed while in Toronto by
Michael Connolly about life as an artist in Cuba:

Why did the Nueva Trova, the New Song
Movement, come about?
Faya — Nueva Trova is a result, a con-

sequence of the existence of the revo-.

lution. Revolution brings out new con-
cepts, new ways of facing life and, of
course, art. It’s particularly interesting
the way the New Song Movement has
faced the the reality. Artists everywhere
are engaged by the reality they belong to.
Since the majority of the young people
are engaged with the new life in Cuba,
their art reflects that directly. It turned
the New Song Movement into something
quite new. New ideas arose within the
song — new points of view about life
were expressed in the song. But at the
same time, it’s based on the tradition of
Cuban song-making, from the end of
the last century until now. It’s a very
special way of song-making which is
much more popular than when people
/ used to write songs and arrange them

with big orchestras and all that. Instead, —

this music has been played mostly with
just guitar — a composer and a guitar.
So it’s quite a big style change?

Faya — In a way, but what has changed
the style has been the development of
groups making music. Before the revolu-
tion, people we called ‘‘trovadores”’
used to play these kinds of songs with
guitars. Some of them organized little
groups but since a group should come
with a certain amount of instruments and
technical requirements such as a sound
system, that needs support. Before the
revolution, those people were not sup-
ported by anybody. They supported
themselves. It was very hard to organize
a group since the music they were mak-
ing was not popular in the media. Once in
a while they were played or they per-
formed but they were not stars so they
were not making money. They were not
able to organize groups for themselves.
The revolution has supported artists and
_ groups could be organized.

How has the revolution supported artists?
Faya — All the artists belong to an
‘‘empresa’’, a kind of enterprise or ad-
ministrative organism. This body deals
with the contracts and putting on the
music.

Are the performers paid salaries?

Faya — Yes, each musician receives a
monthly salary which is based on the
amount of work which should be done
monthly. The control of it is done
through the concerts or the per-
formances they make daily. Those per-
formances are evaluated so when a
musician goes, he knows how much he is
going to earn that day. This ad-
ministrative body must fulfill eco-
nomically the needs of the artist. That is,
it must assure the salary of each artist
every month. -

How is this body itself administered? Do
artists have a say in salaries?

Faya — The salaries have been ap-
pointed by the economics department of

the Ministry of Culture. They have been
appointed taking into account the criteria
of lots of people engaged in music —
musicians, musicologists, and econ-
omists. Soa whole system was organized
and salaries for musicians were settled.

Is there a representative body for musi-
cians? If, for example, the musicians
wanted to change something in the’ ad-
ministration, how would they go about it?
Faya — Often we have meetings with
these empresas. They have to inform us
about their work that has to do not only
with the payment of salaries but also with
the organizing of concerts -and _per-
formances, with the health of the artists,
with their instruments and material
needs. They have to inform us regularly.
It’s always open to any artist who has a
complaint or wants to change whatever.
Also, the union is part of the direction of
each empresa.

All of you have a union?

Faya — Yes, of course. We are all union-
ized. Also, the union informs the artists
of the work it’s been doing, the prob-
lems, and the goals.

How does a new artist get started today?

How does one go from being amateur to.

professional?

Faya — They apply to the Ministry of
Culture. Their application is considered
by a board of musicians, a highly quali-
fied board which says whether they can
work professionally or not.

If the board decides, ‘‘Well, you need
more practice.’’ is the person allowed to
go out and make individual contracts, say
with a restaurant? :

Faya — They have done it but it’s not
allowed to earn money if you haven't
been evaluated-as a professional.

Does the empresa run schools for the per-
forming arts?

Faya — Yes, there are schools even for
those professionals who haven’t reached
certain qualifications. In the so-called
popular music, there are many people
who learned music by themselves at
home and there are programs to help
them qualify.

How did Grupo Moncada get together?
What were your musical backgrounds?
Faya — Some of us studied music.
Others had practised music. We started
playing together as amateurs. After ten
years of playing we decided to turn pro-
fessional. That doesn’t mean that you
have to turn professional after ten years,
but that’s something we decided. In the
beginning we didn’t want to work as pro-
fessionals.

Most of you had other professions such
as teaching.
Faya — Yes, all of us.

When you were working as amateurs,
were you paid for any of your per-
formances?

Faya — No. No amateur is paid in Cuba.

Alberto Fayo, left, of Grupo Moncada on stage in Toronto last fall.

Would the Ministry look after expenses?
Faya — Yes, all expenses are paid by the
state.

Is there a body that looks after amateur
artists?

Faya — There is a whole vice-ministry in
the Ministry of Culture that deals with
amateurs.

What would have been a typical day for
you as a professional musician before you
became involved in television pro-
gramming?

Faya — I usually studied in the day,
mainly singing. It could be linked to a
school or done on my own. In the same
day we might have a concert or we might
just have a practice and go home.
Another day we might have a concert
and that would be the only thing to do
that day. It’s not a tight schedule. It de-
pends on what you’re involved in. In
January we agreed with the empresa not
to have a single concert. We dedicated
our time to putting out new songs. They
paid us our usual salary.

So it would be the same if you were to
record a record?

Faya — Yes. If you’re recording you
don’t have to do concerts. You're re-
cording and they pay you for that.

People are always concerned with how
much freedom of expression there is art-
istically under socialism. Is there any kind
of political guidelines for performers?
Faya — No. :

Are you ever asked to do specific types of
music?

Faya — No, But, for example, if the
Ministry of Culture organized an act de-
dicated to something, they might ask you
to work for it or compose something for it
but that’s normal everywhere. Outside of
that there’s no setting of what you have
to compose or what you have to create.

So you could just do love songs if you
wanted? —

Faya— You do whatever you want to do.
We also think that love songs have a
political meaning and political songs
have an ethical meaning.

Are you aware that there is controversy
now in North America about violence and
sexism in rock music, especially in music
videos? ;

_ Faya — Yes. I think that instead of vid-

eos pushing the society, I think society is
pushing the people who make the videos.
It’s a very strong relationship between
the two sides. On the contrary, in Cuba,
we don’t have a need for that since we’re
trying to really equalize women and men.
We don’t have to exploit it in our videos.
Maybe you could find one or two —
maybe. If it does exist you can be sure
that that is something we are struggling
against as a country and as a policy. It’s
not something we are encouraging.

Let’s say there were Cuban musicians who
were doing material that was quite ob-
jectionable because it was sexist or even
anti-revolutionary ... '
Faya — They would be very criticized.

_ strongest cultural items in our coum

They already have been criticized,
tremely. © :
How Does the criticism manifest itself?
Faya — First by the critics, the norm™
critics.

In the newspapers? . mee
Faya — Yes, but also within the union
and that has been done. Also withill
meetings that we regularly do as pro”
fessionals to check on how everybody
doing. That can be brought up there
Even counter-revolutionary work, DU |
don’t think anyone would support that™
Cuba. ee

So there have been times when peoP
were criticized? a
Faya — Oh, yes. We have criticl®
friends even. For example, in the N°
Song Movement we have even exp©

from the organization people who hat’
been working in music in a very 60” |)
mercial way or something like that. ¥ al

the movement is something quite sp©
In general I have seen people 3!
criticized in the meetings of the emp
because their work is really bad 4
dealing with bad meanings. oon

Music seems a bigger part of Cuban ©
ture than it does in Canada where it’s
commercialized. :
Faya — I think that music is one of

Music is, in many ways, one of the fo?
of art which most clearly expresses oe
personality as a nation. That’s why
find a lot of music in Cuba. I think th®
an historical thing that started in the ¥
beginning when the slaves were bro
into Cuba by the Spaniards. The sla
lost all their tools, for making art eX®
their way of singing, their voices: -
Spaniards were not painters or at?
they were just street people, very
most of them. Music was their only
of expression also. So music alway
an important part of our developme?
a nation.

Performers like Michael Jackso?
Donna Summers are extremely pop a
Cuba. I’d like to know more abou
influence of North American m
Cuban culture.
Faya — There’s always been a greal
fluence, at the same time we have,
fluenced North American music- it
long story that you have to follow do
from the beginning of the century 0%
cause the influence of North Amer"
music on our country parallels the!
of North America to dominate our
try economically. The econ
domination of the United States 08
was supported by a cultural dom
At the same time you find
phenomena, you can also see
Cuban culture and the Cubans trae
ally were struggling against U.S.
vention. -

_ You can find still (North Am
music) and I don’t think it’s bad. *
it’s all right. What I think is bad !
North America doesn’t let its P
know, in the same way, the W°
Cuban musicians.

se. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 16, 1986

°