In this interview, Pedro López, interviewed by Anthony Miniconi, tells the story of Chinitos and their rumba, how they learned the batá, and how the depths of their neighborhood of San Miguel del Padron, near the center of the city, they were propelled to the forefront of folk music Havana.
Antoine : "Tell me first what was your story, that of Chinitos, the uncles."
Pedro: "We maintain a family tradition: my father and my uncle had a sextet of Sound. I was not born yet. My name is Pedro López Rodríguez. We, the Chinitos - we are not so many - we face "of Asian". They call us "the Chinitos" since we created our first activities in the district of La Corea "here." (The Corea = "Korea", ndt).
"My father and my uncle met every years, traditionally the day of Mother's Day,
December 31, Easter, and organized their own festival here, playing their music from Her. But then it always ended in rumba. People began to type on a shelf, a dresser, a small box ...
And it has created something that we appropriate, we have internalized. And from there we continued this tradition every year without thinking that someday it would take such an important overnight ...
Then, over time, between years 70 and 80 - it had to be 75 or 76, more or less - we've created a kind of polyrhythm. One of our friends who was one of the largest rumberos there was in Cuba - it was called "El Llanero" ("the head-of-the-plain"), I think his name was Martinez He lives there in the U.S. now, and a derogatory manner, he gave us to play the name "Guarapachangueo.
À l'époque nous faisions de la rumba de manière spontanée, sans imaginer qu'un jour ça allait prendre une telle importance. Untel jouait sur le mur - "tikitin" - et tel autre sur un cajón - "tukutum". Nous avons commencé à utiliser un cajón qui était une table de nuit qui appartenait à ma grand-mère Mamaíta.
Mon oncle avait un cajón de contreplaqué, qui avait un moteur à hélice à l'intérieur - c'était son ventilateur à lui - et on a commencé à y jouer un tumbao, assis dessus. Et on changeait sans arrêt de place: "toi, prends ce cajón, je prends celui-là, etc…". On a commencé à jouer ces rumbas, quand les gens se réunissaient, chacun de ces jours spéciaux. Et même certains jours ordinaires, alors tout le monde s'y mettait, toute ma famille, mon frère José, etc…
Et de tout ça est finalement resté le nom de "guarapachangueo", qu'El Llanero lui avait donné de façon péjorative: "regardez-moi ça, cet espèce de guarapachangueo qu'ils sont en train de jouer…!"
À partir de là, nous avons commencé à fabriquer notre propre style de cajones, qui est le véritable guarapachangueo (le cajón grave), et ensuite the first ever made cajon trapezoidal in Cuba by a friend, Ifraín Friol Kofa, who said: "I'll make a cajon trapezoidal and he shall not slip between your legs when you play."
(To play the "low" on the cajon, the percussionists raise with your legs, and a cajon rectangular sliding down naturally when tapped; ndt.)
is the first who made such a cajon. At that time, I worked as a carpenter with him, and he gave me all the advice so I can then make it all myself.
After that, with time came the son. Piri has learned with us, right here. At age four he played everything he could because he had serious skills for that. He came to the world with music, hearing already in the womb of the rumba and all that. We did nothing of ritual at the time, no music of Saints, nothing religious field was our rumba, rumba rumba.
After thereafter, actually, when Raices Profunda was created, we started practicing la musique afro-cubaine, en 1980. Et ça aussi a commencé à prendre de la force. J'ai eu le privilège de rencontrer un des tout premiers grands musiciens de Cuba, "Changuito" (José-Luis Quintana). Cela n'a été à proprement dit une entrevue, sinon que simplement nous dialoguions avec lui, à propos de ce nouveau rythme que nous avions créé. Je lui ai montré un peu ce que nous faisions, et lui m'a dit qu'il avait incorporé ça dans son jeu de batteur. Tout ça lui a beaucoup plu. Le guarapachangueo a commencé à prendre de la force, et encore de la force.
Aujourd'hui there are many groups that make a lot of other things, because Guarapachangueo is a matrix. They made a polyrhythm. Pancho Quinto was the first, and then Maximino Duquesne.
Subsequently, from Guarapachangueo they made their creations. "Their evolution," they said, compared to this matrix. And we had the chance to share things with Yoruba also Andabo. We were participating in their festivals, their rumba. They have always approved it. They gave us the ability to develop all that, and also it allowed them to develop their style.
But all that is born of the original matrix of Guarapachangueo, created by us, Chinitos, with their blessing. And with that all major rumberos: Juan de Dios (Ramos), (Ricardo Gomez) Santa Cruz Alambre ... (Antonio Rivas?) Alambre, another great rumbero here. We had the chance to meet with Muñequitos Matanzas. And even them, Muñequitos Matanzas, they use it, they changed their bosses ryhtmiques, and they have in their repertoire a song - I do not remember which - in which they "saw" to "tukutum" in Guarapachangueo.
That is to say he has become so important that everyone uses it. There are many polyryhtmies, things that I do not understand, are not that bad, but I do not understand. Because I believe that music should be given space (silence), to breath for all musicians, such as a guitarist. I do not know much about music. I know there is a "clave negra" and another of his, but I can not speak of partitions, or syncope, because I know nothing of it.
But in summary, they do many things that I do not like. They are not badly done, but I just do not like them. I think that there is always a dialogue between percussion, singing, and spectator. For me, all these bands play rumba, and all their polyryhtmies are good, but some I like and others not.
From there, Piri, since little has been playing the kónkolo (the smallest batá). In fundamento drums, in that where we were with Amador in the drum of Pancho Quinto Román Diaz with that, and then we had access to petrol drum batá with Aspirina Pedro - Pedro Adde, Pedro Pablo Aspirina, who was originally with Pablo Roche. He started small with Pablo Roche. (It seems there were two Aspirina Pedro, one of whom is named Pedro Pablo, different from that which would have taken the lead in the Coro Folklórico Cubano 1990s. From what I think Pedro Pablo deceased , while the other is still alive Pablo; ndt.). And we were lucky that they incorporate into their drums us, for our character, our way of being, our correction. Pedro was a man of respect, a very serious man. So we had a chance to start studying with him, and him we have learned many words, because there was gasoline drum batá, as is Angarica Papo, as is Jesús Pérez, and he Pedro was Tamborero with Jesús Pérez, Jesús, and was a student of Pablo Roche.
must therefore say: we are - Piri and also when he was little - has "fallen in the Mafia" (he mean, no sense pejorative "With the bosses") with them, I can say that, in the largest within the ANA, the drum. And it is from there that it really started, the fire started. We all were there to hear them play ... for example Aspirina Mario, Mario Jáuregui, family-even aspirin, for all are one family - and we admire very much - everything is done like this: "will thus, come see it here, come by here ... "they helped us, and Piri had fire, trees quickly, he knew all the" hats ". He was a prodigy, they admired him very much, and it is fortunate that we had. All
guarapanchangueo traditionally comes in our house, but nothing Yoruba, because we were in the rumba. And there's a theory that is mine, that the rumba is the most perfect of all popular music that exist in Cuba. Some say it is the Son. It is certain that the Son was there first with the yambú and Changüí. I think the oldest is yambú.
But those years, the old days I do not know much. It all began with the "-tukutum kutum" of rumba and added marimbula then, and after came the Son, with septetos, but it has a beginning, that is to say that first came the rumba, and everything else came after. Between popular music and music foklorique, I do not know, there are scientists who deal with this, because they are studying. But according to my theory, the most popular music there is in Cuba, the rumba. Give yourself
account: you go to a party - any party. And when it's over and people sit attrappent a tin can, a stick, and they begin to play. After the music is over, another music begins, and it all ends in rumba - that's my theory.
That's how we started, it is a tradition familly. Then we were lucky to have Irian. Irian was younger than us, and it captures everything. And with Irian formed Piri, always stuck to Irian, which gave him a lot. Both have a clear mind, no problem, they had everything. They were free to use their talent to the drum batá, Ana. They have always worked in pairs.
In Abbilona, other tamboreros came to play at the studio, and Irian told them: "No, no! Piri, play it yourself, so that it is done well." And segundo (itótele) is Piri who played. Piri took a helmet, he started à enregistrer, et il a tout fait en une prise. (…)
Le cajón guarapachangueo trapézoïdal, écoute bien: il y a de gens qui disent que ça a été fait en premier par "Areíto" (une entreprise discographique cubaine): non. Le premier qui est sorti d'ici a été fabriqué pour Pancho Quinto. C'est Ifraín Kofa Frioles qui l'a fabriqué, qui est parti du pays. Il vivait ici, et il parti pour les États-Unis, et il s'est fait assassiner là-bas. C'était un des plus grands galleros (maître dans les combats de coqs) qu'il y avait à Cuba. Il officiait avec ses coqs au Club Habana, où à l'âge de 16 ans il était difficile d'entrer, et he returned. It was one of the best "espueladores" (manufacturer of lugs or spurs for fighting cocks) in Cuba, he made studs cocks. But he also worked in carpentry. He told me: "I make you a cajon, which does not slip." And this first cajon stayed here in Cuba in a museum, where the Irian left after a concert. So is he who is the initiator of the cajon trapezoidal in Cuba, and nobody else. (...)
Yoruba Andabo was created (from the group "Guaguancó Portuario Maritimo" in 1981; ndt) with my brother Bertico, a founding member of group with Pancho Quinto. Whoever was in the Yoruba Andabo "kipatin-skate-patokotom" was my brother Bertico. Chori and the El Gordo y Julio maintained thereafter. Which was added later, I do not understand. In any case the cajon Guarapachangueo is Berto, who has maintained that tradition, with Pancho Quinto and his inventions, the spoon and the three batá a very particular style. Thus it was Pancho and has already lost its style to him, personal. But, you know, the Guarapachangueo comes from here, La Corea. "
Anthony:" I was told that here some time ago, there was a rumba every weekend in this block, right? ".
Pedro:" Here, yes, every Sunday in the 70's until 1980, until it goes "the rabble", as they say, the "scum" when people left the country. (Pedro is alluding to the events of 1980, when Fidel Castro, having passed an immigration agreement with the U.S., has allowed those who wished to leave the country, providing them with cargo from the port of Mariel - d Hence the name "Mariel" which we call these people. The word "scum" can describe both all offenders and Castro has "cleared" - see the movie Scarface - and all people "no longer believed in the Revolution" that were actually considered as "traitors" or at least as "cowards" ndt).
Until then here every Sunday, we played the rumba. But also, as always, on January 1 and the day of Mother's Day, which are "perfect day". We are fortunate that many Rumberos, Guanabacoa as Marianao everywhere. It was a peña, a meeting, then there was Juan de Dios, director of Raices Profunda, is one that we a initié au monde du spectacle. Il est venu nous chercher alors qu'on était par hasard dans une rumba à Santos Suárez. Il est passé et nous a dit: "venez par ici", et on a commencé à jouer avec lui, et après il est venu chez nous tous les dimanches. Traditionnellement, c'était le dimanche…
À une époque les rumbas étaient interdites, parce que dans les rumbas il y a toujours eu des bagarres, des intrigues, des embrouilles, parce que la rumba est la musique du petit peuple, des basses classes. Après la Révolution les choses ont changé, aujourd'hui, pour des raisons culturelles, les gens sont instruits, la rumba n'est plus une bagarre… c'est devenu autre chose. Through the process we've had here. We must give thanks to the Revolution for that side, she has helped many traditional things. Before the rumba was punching, shooting ... there were continual problems. Today it's over, everything has changed. We have maintained our traditional peñas of January 1 and Mother's Day. Sometimes it was hard when we contacted the same time to go play for a ceremony such as Saint or deity. And sometimes just
January 1 Mario DREKE "Chavalonga" as this year, a respectable gentleman in the world of Cuban rumba. He came, old as he is with its 80-odd years. "Chinitos, I come here to spend a moment of rumba with you," he told us. We had to settle, we had an agreement with him, we were exhausted, but there was that day a great rumba (...).
But our neighborhood ... you know that we are far from the center. And this was not always easy to get. Had we been more in the center of Havana, the pus peña famous of all was that of Cuba Chinitos. (...)
Currently, there is a project as a kind of "Buena Vista Social Club" they will do very soon, and why they came for me, they want que je joue le guarapachangueo. Est venu León (Argeliers León?) et il m'a dit: "Pedro, tu es celui qui doit participer, parce qu'ils veulent réunir tous les créateurs", des messieurs qui viennent de je ne sais quel pays, de la culture, et de tout ça… ils veulent faire la même chose que ce qu'il ont fait avec le Buena Vista Social Club, réunir tous les grands soneros… Le type est venu jusqu'ici l'autre jour. Pourvu que ça marche, si je ne peux pas le faire, j'enverrai Piri.
Il y a tant de choses à raconter. Mais c'est la vérité: le guarapachangueo est d'ici, Piri est né ici, et je lui ai toujours enseigné - comme il est mon fils - je lui toujours enseigné to remain very modest, everyone here knows.
Piri is part of "Aspirin Guaguancó", a group of fans out there, created by Aspirinas themselves. The group was very strong, but I do not know what the problem started and it disintegrated. The group traveled to France, but I do not know what happened next. Then, Juan de Dios came looking for Piri Raices Profunda. Piri did not attend the hearing as do others, Juan de Dios, who said I must Piri. Then there came, and he was a pillar there, with Eduardo, Cusito (Jesús Lorenzo Peñalver), and with all good rumberos there are now. Piri promises a lot with this project and hope it will be very large. because he plays many styles of drumming, not just the batá: rumbero it is, it plays the palo, he plays a variety of styles, and he has many fields to plant. Which will, over time, remaining very small. You see, I do this with the heart, and so, I'll prove who I am, with my hands, but what I have inside I'll show it too. That's what touches the viewer, the people, the public - you understand? - It's the most beautiful. "
(Interview by Anthony Miniconi - translated by Patrice Banchereau)
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