Trabuco, Casa de la Musica, Miramar
Matiné gigante, Casa de la Musica, Galiano
May 28

So this is when you know you're a tragic farandulera - you leave one Casa de la Musica matiné and head straight into town to catch the end of another one.
My love affair with Trabuco could be on the wane: for about the fourth gig in a row they played for barely an hour - with exactly the same songs as all the other sets, except for the opener which was Comunicate - the first time I've seen them play it this trip. It sounded great and I really wish they'd vary the set a bit more - it's not like they're light-on for options - they have such an awesome back catalog - not to mention all the great songs on Hablando en Serio. Anyone going to the Canadian gigs - please ask Manolito to play La Raspadura for me when they come back ... I'll be waiting!
I know it's obsessive the way I keep going to Trabuco but the thing is you get different experiences in every venue: at Cafe Cantante the sound is shit; but it's packed with Cubans - fans of Trabuco too, big fans - and if you scam a spot in the front row it feels like you're right there on stage with them and you can feel Riveron's kick drum in your stomach. Awesome. At Miramar the sound is great, but the atmosphere is a littel sterile. The Tribuna is, well, cool, and Galiano has lots of room for dancing. So anyway, that's the explanation for my obsession and I"m sticking to it.
After the hour and five minute set was over, I got a maquina to Galiano for the end of the giant matinee with Gardy, Dantes, Los Angeles de la Habana and Salsa Mayor.
Los Angeles de la Habana came on just as I arrived. They were all testosterone and not much more. Five singers jumping about; songs with energy and nothing else. The choreography at one point consisted of the singers standing in a row on the top step, sticking their tongues out of their mouths and waggling them for a good few minutes, in what was presumably supposed to be a simulation of cunninglingus. Made all the more absurd by the fact that if you ever got any of them into bed you
you could put money on the fact that the only oral sex happening would have them on the receiving end.
They were fairly tiresome but the crowd seemed to like it. It wasn't packed to the gills - nothing I've been to so far has been - not La Tropical, not La Tribuna - not even Van Van. Actually the PFG concert was probably full. Certainly downstairs it was.
After the niños left, Salsa Mayor came out and really kicked arse. The bands were all doing short sets cause there had been four of them on (I missed Gardy and Dantes). So they did about five songs including Anda pegate, of course, which I really love. They have two very charismatic singers, whose names I could get if my net connection was faster than snail's pace. Tanja got up with them and actually I thought she was quite good, though she is always very buffo. Still that seems to be what her public likes. Dantes got up with her for a spot of grinding. It was a short but very, very sweet gig (thanks to SM). Charanga Forever were on at Miramar por la noche but I'd had enough for one day. I'll catch them on Thursday.

Dancing to Maravilla de Florida at the Tribuna.

Camaguey Special
Tribuna Antimperialista
May 27

The original program for Cuba Disco had this concert listed as being all the nominees in the "musica bailable" category, which meant it would have been Trabuco (the ganadores); Paulito, Azucar Negra, Bamboleo and Maravilla de Florida. As the week went on it seemed less and less likely that this would be the line-up: Trabuco's Chino, who used to play with them, told me Maravilla had already gone to Spain - but after he told me that, various members of the group turned up and jammed at the matiné. Then one of their violinists Jelien, told me they would be leaving Saturday; so that meant they still wouldn't play. With PFG's big gig the night before, I thought it unlikely that he would do it; and the day arrived with me certain of only one thing (thanks to their flute player David Bencomo): that Trabuco were playing. There was virtually no publicity as usual - there were some ads on TV but they weren't specific as to who was playing, only that there was a concert. I heard nothing at all about it on the radio. A friend of mine heard it was going to be Trabuco with Andy Montañez and Maravilla. It's hilarious, right? Classic La Habana.

Alain Daniel was playing the closing night of the Pabellon Cuba events of Cuba Disco - and for $2, you can't go wrong. The radio is playing one of his songs - it sounds like classic Manolin, but then, Manolin doesn't so much sound like classic Manolin any more, so I thought: I'll check him out. The pabellon was the most crowded I had seen it all week - jampacked. Alain had terrible sound, but the band was pretty good and I liked the songs. I will go and check them out again. After a nice piece of fish at a nearby paladar, we went down to the not very crowded Tribuna. It was a little while before the first band came on - the rumba group of Camaguey. I think they're called Rumba Bata, but don't hold me to that. The audience grew slowly, but it never got huge. The place was lit up a like a Christmas tree as usual (to discourage fights) and the audience barricade put us miles from the stage. I hate that. It 's a bit different from Cantante where you're so close you're practically bumping uglies with Mayami. Or in his case, I guess, pretties.


Maravilla took the stage straight away after that - they have had problems with the guy who is taking them to Spain, so ... still here! They were as good as they were last year when I saw them: great, solid timba charanga. I fucking love their sound - the strings against the chunky bass is really special. They are also a lot better live than they are on record, which is a drag, cause they're kinda hard to catch, even in Havana. They did a short set, which was a shame. Bailé mucho. There were a few drops of rain, and the sound was cut out. They left the stage for a few minutes, then came back, and started the song exactly where they left off - as if someone had taken the needle off and then put it back on the record. These bands here really are amazing.

Trabuco suffered from the rain a bit too - going off and coming back on a few times - and it was another short set from them. I'm coming dangerously close to being disappointed I have to say. Not only are they playing short sets, but it's the same songs at every gig. With almost nothing from Hablando en serio. I don't really know what's going with that. Maybe I need to take Manolito himself aside and have a word. Maybe you can do that for me, Billy - tell him I'm dying to hear La Raspadura... Anyway it was still fun of course. Maravilla's Jelien took over from Nicolas on violin for a while and Jose Miguel (above, with Mayami) took over from Miguelito, who was dancing around enjoying himself. All good. Afterwards I went down to 23 for a beer with Chino and Jelien and Jose Miguel. The talk was rapid, but highly entertaining (when I could catch the gist). Another late night and another great time.

Paulito FG - 15 años pega'o

Paulito FG - 15 años pega'o

Outside the Teatro Karl Marx, it was blustery and cloudy - like being on a north coast town in Australia in winter. Those ones that have kind of been abandoned cause everyone has moved closer to the new shopping mall or something. There weren't that many people outside the theatre, and we went straight in - it started an hour late. Sheesh. At first it was really empty but it filled pretty much to capacity I'd say. My friend said: how do these people know it's going to start late?
From the way they had advertised it, it looked like it was going to be five acts - they were going: the centenary de Compay Segundo! 50 years of Muñequitos! 80th birthday of Guillermo Rubalcaba etc etc.
Munequitos started - but within a nanosecond, PFG had joined them and he only left the stage once - to change his jacket from a black one to white. It was clear from the beginning that this was his party - 15 años pega'o, as the screen behind him said - and he'd hog the show if he wanted to. And I wouldn't have had it any other way, quite frankly.
After some nice rumba and dancing from Muñequitos - and singing from PFG too, claro, he launched into un Poquito de to', of course, and a bunch dancers came out and twirled around him. Con la conciencia - woooh! - was next, and everyone got up and danced! I was surprised. It was a very diverse audience - little kids up to abuelos - and even the teenagers were singing and dancing to Conciencia. And they all squealed when he took off his jacket too... I would have thought the teenagers would think he was passed it... Anyway, it so rocked. It segued into another song that I actually didn't know... I can't believe it. It was clearly old, but I couldn't place it at all. Then he did Son de un amigo which sounded really great. And old Rubalcaba - dressed in a white suit - came out and played a solo. Very fucking nice. After that was a bolero. De la Habana fully kicked arse, and halfway through he got various musicos from his old band out: Noroña; Alexander Abreu, Ceruto, dude on a bass whose name I didn't catch (Frank Rubio, apparently) and another dude on guitar, ditto (Nápoles – thanks Kevin). They were pretty underused. I mean, by the time they came out, the song was well into the bomba and they just jammed a bit. They played on the next one, which I again I didn't recognise - it was a quite funky jazzy number. Sorry for the haziness. But Paulo was pretty cavalier about them all - especially Ceruto to whom he owes an awful lot, and who he barely acknowledged.
Vannia (above, with the man of the hour) came out in a really weird outfit - a kind of white cotton shirt dress thing that had buttons down the front to the hips then was gathered under her bum. And was diaphanous so you could see her undies. But I love her. La adoro. They did a medley of ballads - Tu no me calculas; Illusion de papel - that were arranged as a kind of conversation, and there was a lovely chemistry between them - both very playful and singing beautifully. I'm even tempted to go and see her play solo, although she does only ballads/boleros.
He did a song with the Compay Segundo group - a son; then left the stage (the only time all night) so they could do Chan Chan, which I swear is the new Guantanamera - you can hardly take a step here in Havana without hearing it. When he returned he was accompanied by Cubanito and drum machine ("I've got this great idea, we have some of the world's best percussionists here, solet's get a machine to play the drums, and leave the baterista just sitting on his drum stool twiddling his thumbs!"). They did a hip-hop/reggaeton version of Ina, which was fun, despite the monotonous rhythm. Then they did Te boté - which I thought would have been a closer, but no, there was more. El punto, with that dude from Eminencia Classica, who fell a couple of times during pa'l piso and I have no idea if it was deliberate or not. PFG himself hardly pa'l pisoed all night: he kind of made jokes about not doing it, then finally did it for a second, then made a big production about how hard it was to get back up. Kinda weird. I can only guess that it actually is hard for him now (an injury perhaps? Old age finally setting in?).
After that was a really boring reggaeton song with the rap group (and an encore performance from the drum machine). Then Libertad, which was the big closer.
The troupe of dancers came out periodically to twirl around him. They didn't seem too bad at the beginning, but at the end during Libertad, they were useless - they were all looking around at each other for cues like they had no idea what they were sposed to be doing.
It was a great gig - they crowd was just going nuts. By the second song I was like - this is sooooooooooo good.
It was a great show really well put together. Great invitados - the Vannia appearance was especially good, but it was all good. Great clear sound and good staging and lighting. Gigs like this make the complications of La Habana worthwhile.
They were filming it, so check mucho swing for clips. If I hear of an air date while I'm hear, I'll post it. I actually got some good pics - when they're filming, the lighting is great for stills with my shitty Olympus. But I won't be able to upload them until get back. So look out for the slide show. What a great gig!

Cristian was there with his posse, and said there was a party afterwards but it turned out to be Dantes y su Novena at Cafe Cantante. I went anyway - I wanted to see him and Cantante is usually only $5 now at night. They were already playing when we got there and there was not a big crowd. Probably less than half full but he and the band were putting on a great old-school timba show, with lots of dancing. Some of his songs have a bit too much of that generic tropical vibe but some of them are more timba. Good to see him keeping the ancient art of the cintura competition alive ... Annabel said: I didn't think anyone did this any more! (Apart from Klimax.) He did "Riki Rincon" with words changed to "Dantes y su Novena" where I think it once said "Charanga Habanera" but I'm a bit hazy on any post-Tremendo Delirio CH stuff. He had a five piece brass section (three trombones, two trumpets) - which is unusual - and they sounded tight - also unusual. Actually the band was great. Only piano, no tecladista. Man they worked hard for that tiny crowd. Good on them. Los agradezco.
Another CH alumno, Mayito "ditu" Sombrilla was playing last Wednesday at Cabaret Las Vegas - I had planned to go after the Trabuco/Montañez gig, but that went late because of the rain, so I missed it. Hope I can catch him again before I go.

Just a quick post because I've done so much but I'm completely knackered, because I've been going out, and coming home and writing till late, then waking up early cause, well, I'm in Centro Habana, and it's a (concrete) jungle out there; and writing some more then going out some more and ... well, the upshot is, that as well as the Trabuco/Montañez concert at La Tropical, I also have a Los Van Van report to file from the gig last night; and tonight I saw "especulacion de la Habana", PFG's 15 años pega'o concert, then after that I went to see Dantes, who is back from Italy, and put on a neat little show too...
Also just wanted to say to the peeps whose comments I haven't responded to: the new blogger is making life on dialup here in Havana hell. It takes forever to log in, let alone do anything else, so it's not personal.

Todo fue mental ...
[The pressure is on: I'm a day behind; but I will upload a report of the Trabuco gig at La Tropical last night ... just... not right now. Instead, I'm fast forwarding to tonight ...]

Back to the zoo that is the Trabuco matine - probably the last one in a while as they are going to Canada next week. (Thanks Billy, for taking my Trabuco away from me! Sob!) We got there at 7, because last week they didn't start till 8 – and this week they didn't start until about 8.45. Fortunately the music wasn't too obnoxious (not too much reggaeton) and there was a big rumba outfit as the opener, who are mates of Trabuco's from Camaguey, and in town for Cuba Disco and playing tomorrow at Pabellon Cuba. They were pretty good - they wore African outfits, which you don't see that often here; and had singers and drummers. And possibly dancers, but I wasn't playing that much attention because 1) I was just dying for Trabuco to play and 2) while I was waiting I was mucking around with the lads. Bless. They're a lot of fun, and so very pretty.
Also in attendance was Jelian, a violinist from Maravilla de Florida. Had a chat with him, too. Unfortunately, they're going to Spain on Saturday and won't be playing here at all. Qué lástima. I saw them last year and they were great. Kickass charanga.
Anyway, finally Trabuco started. I ran down the front and got booted out of the frontline by the hardcore Cubana Trabuco fans. Man, don't mess with them! Gave me an excuse to actually see and hear the gig from different perspectives for once. The first thing is: wow, you can actually really hear Riverón's drums in the front of house. Jajaja. I went to the side and still couldn't hear the strings really. Jelian took over from Nicolas for a while on violin. Seemed to be having fun. Then I went and stood next to Miguelito and in front of the brass, which was cool, cause you can never hear the brass at Cantante. The set was pretty similar to the one they've been doing lately and it lacks some of my favourite songs. Actually it lacks a lot of my favourite songs, though it's hard to argue with El Aguila and Saliditas Contigo. Kinda weird to hear Amaray doing El Gallo though. Riverón the elder was there with his bass, but he didn't end up sitting in because the rumba band went for so long and Trabuco's set was reasonably short (they usually play for a long time at Cantante). I've only seen them here twice this trip, and he has been there both times; yet last year he didn't turn up any of the dozen times I saw this show. I asked Roícel why and he said, oh he had just been playing with us, after Mora died and before Chino joined, and he wasn't interested in doing it again for a while. Makes sense. He also said something about how he's the best bass player in Cuba. Brotherly love - bless. There was lots of good shit going on with sit-in drummers, including Riverón the younger briefly on the congas, which I had never seen before. (Too brief for me to get a picture.) It ended with an appropriately mental version of Locos por mi Habana, which always just hypes me up for more; but then house lights come on and they kick every one out rapido rapido and you get outside, and everyone has gone and you can hardly get a taxi, but you don't want to really go home anyway but there isn't anything else to do ... and it's all a bit coitus interruptus, really. But hell, the foreplay is amazing.

CubaDisco, Pabellon Cuba and Klimax

Piloto y cantantes

A funny thing happened at the Klimax matiné at Galiano yesterday: a whole bunch of people went. And most of them were Cuban (seriously). And most of them were young. I know what you're thinking: they come for the reggaeton that Klimax does so much of now. But they could dance casino - really well - and they did dance casino, all afternoon. Where were the huge groups of Italian tourists? OK, so there were a few Japanese ... but, wow.
I bumped into singer Juan Carlos, who had come to my party last year, outside. Inside, Piloto, who has been kind of cool to me the last couple of years, gave me a warm and effusive greeting. Where am I again? (Vigorous shake of head.) Anyway, that was much appreciated, of course. Before the band came on I had a great dance with a young guy who danced really good casino; but as I was wearing thong-like sandals; I had to dance a la cubana - ie with a kind of shuffle to keep them on my feet.
The band came on and started with the medley of all the hits Piloto has written for others, that has become their standard opener of the last couple of years (and is on their recent DVD). It goes forever but it's really awesome - it's like a potted history of the high points of timba from the last 15 years. Makes you realise what a talent he is (if you didn't already). I spent most of it trying to get a decent photo out of the completely shit camera I bought before I left (and no, I didn't realise it was completely shit until now...) If I ever get any decent pics here it will be a fucking miracle.
The guys put in a great show - Piloto works his singers hard - they never stop dancing. But that always raises the question: how does Juan Carlos keep the weight on when he's doing all that physical work? Joel, who had corn rows last year, then quite fetching shoulder-length corkscrew curls, now has a close crop - he looks like an Aussie builder's labourer. Everyone seemed to be having fun - Piloto hates to miss out on the action front of house, so he has an acolyte who sits in on the kit so he can fraternise with the singers and the audience. Unfortunately his mike technique is terrible and I always struggle to understand what he's saying, whether it's in English or Spanish.
I could have done with less reggaeton, but most of the stuff they do in that genre isn't too obnoxious, and there was a terrific vibe in the room, from the moment I arrived until the dreaded cintura competition at the end. Oh and for any potential contestants: wear pants, girls; if you wear a skirt, you won't be allowed to participate.

Cristian and I , surrounded by Compañia Latin Dance Ballet.
Pic by Jim Beatson

Earlier in the day we went to Pabellon Cuba for one of the days of Cuba Disco entertainment. It was due to kick off at 2 (it started about 3.15). The first act was called Compañia Latin Dance Ballet. I got a nice surprise when they started dancing and it turned out to be a rueda company - apparently, one of the first in the country. They were between their 50s and 60s and were quite a big group - I have some video footage I will upload when I return. It was very cool. Afterwards they played a bunch of Van Van and I danced with an older dude from the audience, who danced really well; then I hit Cristian up for the a dance, who said, no I've got my camera. I challenged him with: just like a white boy, you don't want to dance. Well there was the gauntlet thrown. Excellent dancer - I thoroughly enjoyed it (you'll have to ask him how it was for him). In fact those were two of the best dances con pareja I've had here in recent years (along with the dude from the Klimax gig) - a bumper day for casino. Hurrah!


After the rueda was an awful rock band, but thankfully they only played a few songs. Then a son band played, then there was a peña with a couple of singers singing boleros to backing tracks. The son band returned; Cristian and I went to eat fried chicken; then came the flamenco girls. Oooohhhh! This was really good. And OK, they weren't the best dancers ever (though they were pretty fucking good); but they're still very young. And the choreography and costumes were outstanding. And it was a long show. They did about six numbers I think. Really good stuff. A great day's entertainment for $2 (extranjeros); $5 MN (Cubanos).

El mejor de Cuba: Alexander Abreu. Pic by Cristian Muñoz

CarHabana - featuring Alexander Abreu, Rolando Luna y otros
Teatro Amadao Roldán, May 21

The teatro, on Calzada and D in Vedado, is a tasteful and elegant building of indeterminate age - possibly '30s? Our group split into two - I was upstairs, and I wish I managed to score seat downstairs, for reasons that I'll get to in a minute.
The show started (late) with a video doco of the project, which started in 2005 with aim of combining the gypsy music of France with Afro-Cuban music. Central to the project are Alexander Abreu, Rolando Luna, Yaroldi Abreu, Frank Rubio and a French group called Caravan.
Unfortunately, once the actual concert started, the impeccable chops of the performers were severely marred by the abysmal, muddy and horribly unbalanced sound (though my friends said it was better downstairs): the piano could hardly be heard; Vannia's lovely voice was completely drowned out by the guïro - the guïro for fuck's sake! - and even when it wasn't, it was so muffled you couldn't understand a word she was saying/singing. The violin started low, but was raised higher in the mix as the show progressed and you could hear that el frances, Mathias Levy was really doing a fine job. Alexander - el mejor de Cuba - as a friend said as we left, totally blew up a storm; and the crowd went mad for him. Actually this crowd was so enthusiastic, I wondered if I had slipped into a parallel dimension, given the Habana crowd's usually sullen greeting of anything incredibly smoking. Maybe it's just the timberos who are recalcitrant.
I must say some of the music wasn't really to my liking - although I might have liked it more if I could have heard it better.
After I had discovered that a friend had organised a ticket, I found out Pupy was doing the Miramar matiné, and I was torn, but I thought I should go to Carhabana, because it was a one-off and I had seen Pupy on Friday, but in retrospect ... Oh well.
Afterwards we joined up with Cristian Muñoz, who was hungry and took us to a tourist trap in Habana Vieja to get something to eat. Turns out it's the only place in Havana where you are forbidden to dance. Thanks Cristian - you are the best! Jajajaja. When I got home, I found out Angel Bonne was on at Miramar. His gigs are a great respite when you have been buffeted and bullied by the drunks and jineteros of the other gigs - everyone at his gigs is polite and really only wants to dance (apart from his jintero saxophone player). And they usually all dance well too. Hopefully I can catch him another time. Busy week coming up though: Klimax Tuesday; Trabuco with Andy Montañez at La Tropical on Wednesday, Trabuco (jajaja) Thursday at Cantante; Salsa Mayor Friday Galiano (my local); Saturday PFG at Teatro Karl Marx; Sunday Aragon or Charanga Forever (very different kinds of charanga!) in the afternoon and a big concert at Tribuna on Sunday. Weeeee!!!

Manolito madness
Matiné, Casa de la Musica, Galiano, May 20

Another afternoon in Havana with a kick arse band and bundle of guest stars ... The DJ started with mostly pretty good music (ie a minimum of reggaeton) - including the Azucar Negra with Haila classic Vengo de estreno; Revé's No te doy mas nada (which cleared the floor!) - even CH's version of Nube pasajera; but I couldn't find anyone to dance with. At least, no one who could actually dance to the same rhythm as the music.
By the time the band came on, lots of people were very drunk - although it wasn't really a long wait - guess they were just efficient time managers ... We were down the front, but it wasn't very comfortable; what with the drinking and all.
They band did what seemed like a short set. El Indio didn't even come out on stage for the first two songs - that stupid song with the Dale reggaeton coro was first (at least that was over and done with early) and the lovely Saliditas contigo - it's great to see them doing that regularly. What a fucking great song it is. Also in the set was Mayami's new midtempo song and the other new midtempo song that Amaray sings - too many midtempos! Dáme La Raspadura! (Chino says they hardly ever play it any more).


Candido Fabre (above, with Mayami) got up and did some impro - I had never seen him before; and Andy Montañez got up and sang too - for the two songs of theirs that he has recorded: Locos por mi Habana (they did a mix of their version and his) and Sacude la mata. He also sang Como fue with El Indio. That was kinda nice. But Andy didn't seem in great form vocally - I saw him in 2000 in New York and he was amazing; but today it lacked power. Maybe he will be better when he plays at La Tropical on Wednesday with Trabuco.

El Indio and his new friend.

Mayami was in pretty good form - he has this great belt that is like an illuminated sign and he has programmed his name in flashing blue lights. Pretty cool. All the singers were prey to an exceedingly intoxicated chica who kept throwing herself at their legs as they sang.
As far as Trabuco gigs go, it was a bit average for me: I'm already tired of the Galiano jineteros - Cafe Cantante is much better in that sense. Kind of homey. But it still had moments of pure joy. Which is why I come here. Miguelito said to me, just before he went on stage: Gracias por venir. Indeed. Y gracias a ti.

Cuba Disco Awards 2007
I always think it's weird how the Cuba Disco week starts with the awards, instead of finishing with them, but that's Cuba for ya.
It was at Teatro Karl Marx in Miramar, which is this nice building from I don't know when - the 50s? It's angular and painted in slabs of pale blue. Very groovy. We arrived about ten minutes late - the show started about 20 minutes after that. There were some nice productions - good dancing and groovy costumes. The Bamboleo number was good - it was the Cristal one (not sure I'll ever like them enough to bother looking up the correct title ...) combined with Amor Loco, for which about 30 dancing girls came out dressed in white Arabic slave girl costumes. They were miming, as were everyone except Vocal Sampling, or Sampling or whatever they're called now, who were really astounding - one dude was doing fuzz guitar with his voice. I see from a cartelera that they played last Friday. Would have been good to see them. They sang with the girl group Sexto Sentido and did a really great version of Come Together. Sounded like the 60s group that gave Minnie Riperton who start, The Rotary Connection. They had a choir too, but I couldn't really figure out what they were doing.


Trabuco's El Chino and Miguelito and Riverón mimed backing to Amaray and Dayani (above) on Comunicate; then later (second last song of the night), shortly before Trabuco won the award for musica bailable for Hablando en serio, the rest joined them for Sabrosona. A trio of boys sang some pop ballady thing - one was Charanga Habanera's Leonid, and girls scurried down the front to take pictures, and I believe there was some screaming. About 20 raperos came out for a medley - wasn't bad actually - more hip-hop than reggaeton; with dancers with face paint - very '80s.


There was also another good number with Westside Story costumes, and a tune from Vannia, Tanja and Yeni (above) that appeared to be choreographed down to the tiniest smile. About halfway through there was a tribute to Compay Segundo - I thought the version of Chan Chan was very nice - it had lovely strings, and a brief appearance from Mayito, who would be playing later that night at Galiano with Los Van Van (I didn't go) - but it was a real room clearer. The show finished with a tribute to Beny Moré which was fun.


There were loads of awards – a lot of classical ones – but the hosts kept things moving at a fair clip and thankfully, only a few people gave speeches. At first the presenters - all from the film industry, as this year the theme is soundtracks, were sonambulistically understated, just reading the name of the winner in an expressionaless voice (so much for their profession...) voice; but finally some guy turned up going, Y EL PREMIO POR .... !!!
Lucas, the video clip director came out and did a routine that had everyone in stitches but was way too fast for me; I got the gist, but not the jokes.
Didn't kick on anywhere. I thought Trabuco would have been celebrating, but I saw David Bencomo today and asked him when he found out that they had won, he said: just now, when you told me. What a strange place this is ...

All pics by Cristian Muñoz. Thanks Cristian!

Salsa Mayor (tarde) y Pupy y Los Que Son Son (noche), May 18
Casa de la Musica, Galiano

El matiné
My friends and I left about 6-ish - the matinee times for summer have changed, and they now go from 5-9. We walked down San Miguel, for something different, me in my new high heeled shoes from Buenos Aires. A little way along two cars drove up - which is actually not that common on San Miguel, as it's one of those tiny little streets in the laberinto between Zanja and Neptuno - and I realised Miguelito from Trabuco was in one - I shouted: Donde vas? and he pulled over. Then the other car behind him stopped too - I was thinking: why doesn't it pass him? Then I realised Riveron was behind the wheel. They said they were on their way to Teatro Karl Marx to rehearse for the awards tomorrow night.
We continued on to Galiano. There was a good-sized crowd, but the air conditioning was broken and you felt it pretty much a minute after walking in. We had timed it reasonably well. There wasn't too much reggaeton before the band came on. But the earplugs went in anyway.

They arrived on stage, the singers wearing fantastic long-sleeved shirts that said "Soy la Salsa Mayor" in silver. Would love to get my hands on one of those. They all had tops underneath too - they must have been fried. But they performed with alacrity as they usually do. As usual some of the songs really fired and some didn't, but the crowd was very good. I really like Anda y pegate, which they finished with. Kicks ass. I should try and get the album while I'm here, though the chick in the tienda at 23 and L told me that because it's on Envidia, you can't get it in the shops, only at their gigs. But I didn't see it there.
I actually danced with a guy who was quite good, but I spent some time with my feet up on a chair too. There were spilt drinks everywhere and I almost slipped a couple of times. I was drenched in sweat. And it was exhausting. But lots of fun of course. The evening finished with traditional pelea ...



La noche
We came home from Salsa Mayor, had dinner, then turned around and headed back out. We lammed up Neptuno and outside CdlM, I saw Pupy's baterista Bombon, and chatted briefly with him before going inside. It was busy, but it wasn't packed. Just as well, cause it was still fucking hot. I hadn't changed cause I thought - wtf; I'm just going to get really sweaty again. But I felt pretty seedy - sweat on top of sweat isn't that great... We had sometime to wait. There was the usual bizarre variety show - juggling and dancing and lots of lycra. I went and said hello to Jindra, Pupy's daughter/manager, who was wearing the sequin eyeliner that is a la moda en Havana at moment. Wonder where you can get it? I spoke briefly to Pupy, and the photographer from the afternoon, who it turned out is that French guy - Patrick Bonnard. He pointed out Cristian Muñoz, who I haven't actually met before - only emailed. All good. Pupy kept coughing and whenever he did, everyone around him seemed very concerned, but he got through the show OK. Changuito was there looking a bit like a crumpled heap of American sports clothes. He had his sticks with him but he didn't play.

I danced with Hosniel, who my friend Paulina had invited when we were at SM in the arvo. He promotes SM, and I hope he's a better dancer than he is promoter. Terrible lead, out of time footwork. Nice guy but ... hope I don't have to dance with him again. Ever. Pupy came on I don't know what time, cause I don't have a watch any more (the battery died about five days after I arrived here). They started with Que cosas tiene la vida and finished with Timba a pogolotti. In between were the three demos - A la italiana, Calla calla (which was very good) and Machucadera. And La bala de Billy, Dice que dicen - I never get tired of that song - and El puro, during which Mandy not only looked at his watch, but also rolled his eyes. He had nil interaction with the audience. But Pepe was great as always, right down the front on the lower steps; totally involved. He's a great performer. I'm so glad he returned to Pupy. I almost couldn't imagine the band without him. He kissed me hello during one song. I like the new singer, William, but he only had one song I think (Bala). The audience was mostly foreigners, as opposed to the afternoon when it had been mostly Cubans. I had a good dance with Patrick to Dicen que dicen. I love dancing to that song.
Their new bass player is a paler-skinned guy with ringlets and a hairband, a bit like Joel from Klimax, but darker. Don't have his name yet (sorry - I will do some real work at some point, pero ahora,, dejame gozar por favor...).



Tanja (above, with Pepe and Osiris) was there and got up for ... ahora no me acuerdo cual cancion. She looked less frumpy than usual but was wearing outrageously tiny denim shorts - like boyleg undies really - with a white top and a low shiny belt and motherlode of bling around her neck. But her hair is like nana's. Jeez. What's up with that?
The place was like a sauna with the broken air conditioning and I poured my mineral water over my head. Kept me cool for about a minute.
As soon as they finished, I shot through. Two concerts in one day is always a big ask, I find. You need to rest between times, pero si la vida te dice baila ...

Tomorrow I'm going to the Cubadisco awards - thanks to my excellent new friend Neris. Gracias Neris! And the program for Cubadisco says next Saturday PFG is playing at Karl Marx for his 15th anniversary, and even better, that on Sunday, all the nominees in the musica bailable category are playing at the Tribuno, so that is Manolito, PFG, Maravilla de Florida, who I love, Azucar Negra and Bamboleo ... Can't wait!

La Habana pa' vivirla; La Habana pa' gozarla...

El Indio and Amaray.

Havana, Thursday May 17, 11.55pm
Just back from Trabuco at Cantante. It was a great gig ... though not what I expected; and my feet were killing me due to the long wait for the band (the matinee goes till 10 now - wish I'd found that out earlier) and my wearing my dancing heels.
All of Trabuco gave me a warm welcome, which was lovely - bless. The place filled to, probably capacity while the reggaeton bludgeoned my ears; and the band finally came on about 8-ish. They started with Saliditas Contigo which I have never seen live and sounded great - it was the first of many old songs - later they played Todavia no - how cool...
It was an unusual set to begin with - as well as the oldies, there were two new songs - neither of which was Loco por tu besos. One was a faux cha cha cha sung by Mayami, of all people. What a weird choice - it hardly fits with his delightful hip-grinding persona. Why not El Indio? I hope this isn't the beginning of a transition that sees him get the arse. The other one was like Besos in that it had a super wussy beginning and kicked ass after about 2 minutes or so. Riverón was spectacular during that one. He's a tempest in a drumkit.

There were many guests - some chick called Barbarita sang a jazzy version of Besame Mucho (which didn't make it any better - that would be on my list of songs I could stand to never hear again) which featured a string of guest trumpeters ... one of which I didn't realise was Alexander Abreu until much later in the set when he sang. How many timba geek points do I lose for that? (Actually now I think he got up with them last year too.) He put in a pretty showy turn. He and some other dude - bald, but with dreads - wouldn't stop soloing, and Manolito ran around from behind the keyboard and poked Barbarito in the back to get her to start singing and cut them off. On Sabrosona, a big, pale-skinned lanky dufus took over Chino's bass - I had seen him come in earlier, but it was only then that I realised that it was Riverón the elder. I'm not deducting timba geek points this time, cause he looks really different from the Knock Out video. Kind of like a hippie, with wild hair ... There were ring-ins on piano, congas and bateria, but when RR the elder started going off, Roicel came back and kicked off the dude on the kit - who was actually doing a pretty good job up until that point. I guess he figured he knew his bro best. Manolito sent Amaray out to round up the latest mob up and end the jam.

As the show went on it developed into glorious chaos, as it does sometimes: a million people on stage; everybody laughing and smiling. As well as the aforementioned, they did Hablando en serio and Sacude la mata (the only two from the last album); Marcanda la distancia; Me dijiste mentiras; that dumb "Dale reggaeton" song ... They are back to a four-piece brass section, which sounds better, though it's pretty hard to hear the metales at Cantante anyway.

The Cuba Disco awards are on Saturday at Teatro Karl Marx and they're playing one song, though El Chino told me he didn't know what that song was. I think the gig is for invitados only. I think they televise it, but I have a feeling they show it the next night, in which case ... I'll be at Galiano ... seeing Trabuco! Tomorrow is a Salsa Mayor matinee - I already took a couple of extranjeras to see them on Tuesday (they were very impressed) and I'll put up that report later. Tomorrow night is Pupy. Squeeee!

Havana 3am - and 6 de la tarde ...

The geeks are working on links to what's on guides in La Habana. Here is what we have so far: remember - always call in advance to check if you don't want to be disappointed. Any more, please add in the comments section.

Radio Taino
Canal Cubano
Egrem
Cuba Plus
The H Magazine
Creart

One night in Cuba - and six weeks more

A belated report on Casa de la Salsa's great night last Friday - the music was awesome - thanks Mani! - and all present were sporting huge grins and sore feet - the perfect combination.



Here is Mani centre, with guest DJs me (that's DJ Yemaya to you!) and David.

They're going to do it again soon, so if you love timba and dancing casino; keep an eye on their web site. The following pic gives you an idea of what it was like - it's me and Kian fully blissing out to Van Van's De la Habana a Matanzas.



I won't be able to make it to the next one (likely to be early June): I'm going from one night in Cuba to six weeks in Havana - look out for reports of live gigs, news and hopefully some interviews with various timba luminaries. As soon as I get hooked up to the net there (I'm in Buenos Aires as I write, I get into Havana tomorrow night).