Orlando Valle "Maraca," creator of a new genre of Cuban music
By Jesús Ibarra March 14, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
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Orlando Valle “Maraca,” a renowned Cuban musician, was in San Miguel de Allende for the fifth annual week of Cuban culture. |
An acclaimed flute player and composer, he opened the festival with a performance in the Jardín on March 8 honoring two legends of Cuban music, Benny Moré and Tata Güines. Although he would demure, several experts consider him to be the creator of a new genre of Cuban music. Journalist Adolfo Rubio, head of the festival, and Eduardo Rosillo, a well-known Cuban radio announcer and expert in Cuban music, agree that Maraca has indeed created a new genre.
“Maraca” granted an exclusive interview to Atención reporter Jesús Ibarra.
Jesús Ibarra: How did you get involved with music?
Orlando Valle: I come from a family of musicians. Since I was born I listened to saxophone and clarinet music. When I was 10, I began playing the flute. When I was in school, in 1977, Chucho Valdéz, head of Banda Irakere, the greatest band in Cuba in the last 50 years, chose me to play in his band. I played with them for six years, and since then I have played in more than 50 countries.
JI: What kind of music did you begin playing?
OV: In school I only learned classical music, but I have always liked improvisation. One day, I began playing Brazilian music and jazz. Then, at 15, I played every year in jazz festivals in Cuba. I had the opportunity to play with several international jazz stars.
JI: How did you begin composing?
OV: One day I started improvising and I composed a danzón. I have always tended toward composing. I began to understand what Cuban music is by playing piano pieces called tumbados de piano, which have a very special rhythm. Cuban music is very complex and has inexplicable elements that are very hard to understand; some can play it and feel it, but it is impossible for them to write it. These elements come from Africa and are more emotional than academic. Cuban music has to be felt and lived to be understood.
JI: You have created your own musical genre called maraca.
| OV: Some people call it a genre. I am not really concerned about that. Musical genres are the consequence of evolution and a mix of elements. One cannot say, “I will create a new musical genre today”; it is impossible. | |
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A musical genre appears as a development, as a culmination of a long background of musical culture and knowledge. Cuban music has had a lot of influences: African, American, Mexican, Italian classical music and contredanse. Mixed together, they became danzón, cha-cha, salsa and rumba.
JI: Why the nickname “Maraca”?
OV: When I was a student, we called one another by nicknames. Almost all Cuban musicians have nicknames. I was very thin and I had a lot of hair, as was the fashion at that time, and I looked like a stick with a big head—like a maraca.
JI: Are there any types of music you still hope to learn to play?
OV: Of course, lots of them. For example, in Brazil there is a universe of rhythms, as well as in Mexico and in many other countries. It would be impossible to try them all.
JI: Have the two Cuban musicians honored during the culture week in San Miguel, Benny Moré and Tata Güines, had an influence on your music?
OV: Absolutely. Benny Moré is a god of Cuban music; he is essential for us. I am honored to be the president of the Benny Moré festival in Cuba. He was a genius; he did not study music, but he played and sang any genre. Many have tried to imitate him but nobody has succeeded. Tata Güines is another great musician; he revolutionized the conga. There is conga before Tata Güines and conga after Tata Güines.
JI: Are you also a singer?
OV: No, never. I would never even try to sing. I was not born for that. I only know how to compose, but I know how to choose the people who can sing and play my music.
JI: What did it mean to you to have been nominated for a Grammy award?
OV: I feel more tension in a Cuban music competition in Cuba than with the Grammys. Many people are given Grammys, but in Cuba there are so many artists and so much talent that is very difficult to win an award; this is a motivation for me. However, I do not work to win awards; I work to play music.
JI: In what other countries has your music been well received?
OV: One of the countries that has welcomed my music is undoubtedly Mexico.
JI: Where have you been in Mexico?
OV: All over. With Banda Irakere I traveled to several places in Mexico. I was on the TV show La Movida with Verónica Castro [a famous Mexican actress and host]. I played at Sala Ollin Yoliztli, home of the Mexican symphonic orchestra, and I have played in Tijuana, Rosarito, Mexicalli, Tlaxcala, Morelia, Chihuhahua, Los Cabos, Guadalajara, Mérida, Tamaulipas, León and Guanajuato during the Cervantino festival, among other places.
JI: Is this your first time in San Miguel?
OV: Yes, and only a couple of hours after arriving I could tell it is a wonderful, great city with very friendly people. I feel at home.
JI: What do you think about the celebration of Cuban culture in San Miguel?
OV: It is really very important for us; it shows that Mexico and San Miguel have a great appreciation of Cuban culture. I think that this festival must continue and grow each year.
Special equinox concert at El Charco
Concert
Equinox Celebration
Thu, Mar 20, 5pm
El Charco del Ingenio
60 pesos/30 pesos
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As is customary every year, El Charco celebrates this festival of the sun, offering music to the flourishing earth. Since the equinox this year falls on Holy Thursday, we will have a program of sacred music of San Miguel composers of the 19th century. |
The musicians will be led by Francisco Mota, accompanied by a children’s choir from the Oratorio. Traditionally played in several churches of San Miguel during Easter week, this music will be heard for the first time in a natural setting with wonderful acoustics.
Come with friends and enjoy an hour of magnificent music in a spectacular setting. We suggest you come early, and bring a hat and cushion.
To avoid line ups, tickets will be sold at the front entrance of the garden a few days before the event.
Have You Heard?
By Doug Robinson
What’s an Album, Daddy?
There are many versions of stories where a kid sporting a John Lennon “Imagine” tee shirt breathlessly tells his father something along these lines:
“Did you know that John actually used to be in a group called The Beatles?”
Time marches on. Even as I type, the very concept of ‘albums’ as a way of disseminating music is receding into the realm of nostalgia. At one time, the physical forms of music distribution actually drove artistic aspects like length. Those days are gone, and the once-popular 78 and 45 rpm records have disappeared from all but the funkiest of thrift shops. I recently tried to buy a cassette player in order to transfer my demo tapes from the 70s and 80s into a computer. But the poor sales child at Best Buy in the States had no idea what a cassette player was. After consulting with his boss, he cheerfully produced a box containing audio software and pointed to a blurb that said “for transferring of cassettes.” It pained me to point out that it still required a player.
In the 50s, the 45 ‘single’ was king, and these two-to-three-minute platters were perfect for radio stations to hook listeners. When The Beatles hit in 1963, 45s were still key to their early success, but soon fans started clamoring for entire albums. I suspect it was partly because they craved more of a relationship with the band than a single song could offer, and let’s not forget how the bands worked that angle by including posters, liner notes with commentary about the groups, and lyric sheets. We got a lot of value for our US$4 back then.
Suddenly artists were thinking bigger about their work. By the late 60s and early 70s, rock was growing up. From Sgt Pepper to The Who’s Tommy, ‘concept albums’ were everywhere. Themes got darker and more complex. Although Tommy’s audience was broadened by the infectious hit single “Pinball Wizard,” those who bought the album discovered that composer Pete Townsend’s story about a serially-molested deaf, dumb and blind boy was a cynical attempt to explore the darker side of fame, fortune and his own ‘superstar’ status.
In the days when FM radio was the renegade alternative to commercially-oriented AM stations, they’d play entire albums without interruption late at night. (Listeners with the aforementioned cassette players were even invited to tape them.) But on AM radio, where advertisers paid the bills, programmers avoided all but the shortest tracks from these albums. Fewer songs, more ads. (This in turn put pressure on the composers to include at least one short catchy tune on every album.)
By the 70s, more people were listening to music in their cars, and radio faced the challenge of channel-surfers. Soon it was impossible to hear an entire album on the air. I don’t think it was unimportant that the major record labels with 20–50 artists to promote were frustrated by 45 minutes of solid airtime being dedicated to only one band, especially if it wasn’t one of theirs.
By that time, albums were the norm and ‘singles’ were dismissed by artists as a necessary evil, a tool to grab listeners with short attention spans. Albums made the record labels more royalties than singles, bands could stretch out artistically instead of placing all their bets on one hit song, and fans got to spend more time with the artists they admired, including hours of pot-saturated contemplation of psychedelic cover art. (Hey, I couldn’t have been the only one, could I?) New physical forms of portable music were developed to combat radio’s penchant for playing only the singles: the 8-track and then the cassette became the standard for taking complete albums with you. No longer were you constricted by radio’s focus on single songs from your favorite artists, even in your car.
Fast forward through the 80s and 90s, when CDs took over as the dominant physical form of music distribution. Even though they lacked full-sized cover art, they still delivered a collection of songs that gave the listener a well-rounded view of the artist’s creative vision and capabilities. Still, they were bulky, breakable, and ridiculously expensive compared to the cost of manufacturing, and listeners hungered for something new.
Enter the Mp3, a file compression format that takes a big song, throws away bits of audio that some engineer has decided you don’t need to hear, and crams it into an iPod. Overnight, listeners could fit thousands of their favorites onto portable music devices, instead of the one or two full-length albums they could fit onto a cassette tape. Lots of positives here: most impressive is what this has done for independent artists, some of whom can’t afford to press physical CDs but do allow fans to download their latest albums … or just single tracks. Yes, we’ve gone full circle, and I suspect that if it hasn’t happened already, soon sales of Mp3 singles will far exceed those of complete Mp3 albums. Listeners cite dissatisfaction with paying for a full album when they really only want one song, but I think there is another motivation at work: fear of the new. We’re busy, we’re on the go, so just give me the music I know I want and leave all the experimenting for someone else.
Aside from the diminished sound quality—something most listeners don’t seem too concerned about—the thing about the Mp3 single mentality that drives me crazy is this: Artists used to slave over compilations of songs that belonged together. An album had the potential to tell an extended story of, say, the arc of a love affair. Viewed in that context, single tracks feel like the equivalent of little more than a pick-up line. Anyway, those are my influences. As an independent artist with several of my own CDs floating around out there, the coolest part of the creative process is the first time I look at a list of 20 songs and narrow it down to the 10 or 12 that best express what I’m feeling at that moment. I arrange the titles a dozen ways before I’m through—first for pacing (fast, medium, slow, etc.). Then I toss that list and do it by quality (best song first, second best song next and so on). Then I take note of how it feels to listen to all the songs in several different orders. Too schizophrenic to have a l
ove song right after a break-up song? What would Randy Newman do?
Anyway, it’s just one more way that the music industry has changed. And I’m still looking for a good cassette player.
“Keyboards for Mortarboards” was my wife Glenda’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion for the title of the upcoming benefit concert for Jovenes Adelantes. The official title, “Burnin’ for Learnin’,” is only slightly less whimsical but at least it hints at the truly hot musicians who are donating their talent to send disadvantaged Mexican kids to college in 2008. It’s going to be a solid evening of unusual music at the Angela Peralta: Flamenco guitar, Middle Eastern belly dancing and then a multiple keyboard extravaganza featuring Ken Bichel and me. Aside from a cameo at the Casita Linda benefit, I haven’t played in public since the jazz festival and, I have to admit, I’m ready for the thrill again. Hope to see you on March 26.
Doug Robinson is a pianist and composer who lives in San Miguel with his wife and three hounds.
Rotary benefit features tunes from the forties
Concert
Doris Rogers
Tue, Mar 18, 7pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
200 pesos
Art provided by Robin Loving
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Whether you want to recall travels along Route 66 or on the Chattanooga Choo Choo, you’ll enjoy a trip down Memory Lane when Doris Rogers sings hits from the forties to benefit the Midday Rotary Club. |
“We’re always looking for ways to raise funds for our projects while involving the people of San Miguel,” said Gordon Logan, president of the club. “Everyone loves Doris’s singing and she’ll be accompanied by guitarist Ken Basman.”
| The audience will be invited to sing along on this sentimental journey. Tickets are available at the theater. For more information, contact Gordon Logan at
gordonandmuriel@hotmail.com |
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Blues legend appears in San Miguel
By Desmond Davis
Concert
Jimi Mamou
Fri, Mar 21, 8pm
Sat, Mar 22, 8pm
El Viejo Topo Café-Teatro
Stirling Dickinson 28
150 pesos
Reserve: 154-8701
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Born to sharecroppers, Jimi Mamou developed a love for music as a boy listening to the Creole sounds of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. As a young adult, Mamou relocated to San Francisco and soon began playing rhythm & blues with T-Bone Walker. Mamou pursued a career in music which led to his touring with Chuck Berry, The Coasters and Fats Domino. |
At the age of 20, Mamou was hired by the late Mae “Big Mama” Thornton as her guitarist. Mamou spent the seventies touring the hotel circuit in England, Japan, Jamaica, Korea and across the US.
Mamou, 70, is now based in Zihuatanejo. His lively and exhilarating music combines big city sophistication, rustic folkiness and an unselfconcious use of dancing and even acrobatics. He joins danceability with a fiery soul substance, leading music lovers from a slow gut-wrenching blues ballad to a heavy house-rocking rhythm & blues favorite.
Mamou’s appearance represents an unparalleled opportunity for music lovers to experience a living legend in San Miguel.
Latin American harper
By Gabriela Servin
Concert
Folklore Harp and Flamenco Guitar
Sergio Basurto
Mon, Mar 17, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
150 pesos, limited seating
A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or a harper. Typically, folk/Celtic musicians prefer the term “harper,” whereas classical/pedal musicians prefer “harpist.”
In the 1600s, Jesuit missionaries took harps to the new world. Indigenous peoples were fascinated with the instruments, made some changes and adopted them as part of their own culture. The many Latin American variants include the Venezuelan harp, Mexican harp and arpa llanera (harp of the plain).
They are made of thin wood (cedar and pine) and are lighter than the European harp. Playing styles and techniques are vibrant and dynamic in contrast to the softer European tone. Sergio Basurto will use the folklore harp to play traditional rhythms from Latin America and Mexico and the guitar to play original Spanish flamenco.
World’s most famous opera arias
By Alice Sperling
Ópera de San Miguel
Singers on the Road to Stardom
Sat, Mar 15, 8pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
300/150/50 pesos
Famous arias from the world’s most loved operas, including La Bohème, Faust, The Marriage of Figaro, Madama Butterfly and Carmen will be showcased in Ópera de San Miguel’s (ÓSM) Cantantes Camino al Estrellato. The 11 singers are the finalists in a national search for the best and most promising new operatic voices in Mexico. This performance is the last leg of the audition process.
Tickets are on sale at the Teatro box office. Three grants will be awarded that evening for 40,000, 25,000 and 15,000 pesos. In addition to the scholarships, the audience will get their say by voting for their favorite singer. Another 5,000 pesos goes to the winner.
OSM artistic director Joseph McClain said, “We will be hearing a fascinating variety of different voices, crossing the spectrum from the highest coloratura sopranos who reach notes in the stratosphere, to one of the lowest male voices. In between we will experience the beauty of a true lyric tenor, followed by the robust, larger sound of a young spinto tenor. I think these will be sounds that haven’t been heard in the Peralta for a long, long time.”
Juan Carlos López, 34, a finalist and tenor from México City, is a graduate of the Escuela Nacional de Música of UNAM. He has won various prizes, nationally and internationally. In a phone interview he said, “I am very happy, excited and nervous to be in this competition. It is important that people from other parts of Mexico will be hearing and seeing me sing. It is always friends and friends of friends who usually attend. I feel very privileged to have been selected by as an important person as Mr. McClain. If I win I would probably go to the United States or Europe to study.”
There is a burning need for money for continuing voice studies in Mexico. These are some excerpts from letters written to McClain, from contestants who did not win: “I want to express my thanks personally to you for your enthusiasm and your desire to support Mexican talent, which you know is huge. I do not want to pass up this opportunity to express this to you since the economic situation and the cultural level in our country is
not always favorable to our development. The development of art really needs the support of the private sector, just the kind that you are so kindly making possible. So thanks again for that! If you help some of us, you help all of us.” Rebeca Aguirre Samaniego.
“I congratulate you for initiating the support of young Mexicans, since here in our country there are many of us and we feel so little interest, so little support financially.” Liliana Medrano.
McClain said, “This is a must see. These finalists will be singing their hearts out, reaching for the grants in order to continue in their development.”
In addition to the public performance, Teatro Ángela Peralta is underwriting two free shows, March 13–14, specifically for high school and preparatory students in San Miguel. After some of ÓSM’s expenses are covered, the proceeds from the concert will go to purchase a new grand piano for the Teatro.
Those interested in supporting Ópera de San Miguel can contact us through www.operasanmiguel.org
or email operadesanmiguel@hotmail.com.
Sunday series continues
By Carly Cross
Sunday Matinee Concerts
Love Songs
Xavier Hernández & Enrique Prado
Sun, Mar 16, 2:30pm
Latin Soul
Xavier Hernández & Liliana Gutiérrez
Sun, Mar 23, 2:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
50 pesos
Tenor Xavier Hernández and pianists Liliana Gutiérrez and Enrique Prado will perform in the Sunday Matinee Concerts starting March 16 and continuing for four weeks. This series of concerts for tenor voice and piano has two distinct programs: “Love Songs” and “Latin Soul.”
Maestro Hernández also plays the flute, and his wife, pianist Liliana Gutiérrez, are a remarkable pair of musicians who direct the Children’s Choir of San Miguel, the St. Paul’s Church Choir and the Voces Unidas choir. These groups present several concerts throughout the year, and their Christmas concert is now a holiday tradition in San Miguel. Xavier and Liliana will perform together March 23 and April 6. Their repeated program will feature a Latin American theme, with Xavier also playing flute and guitar and with pieces by Astor Piazolla, Manuel Ponce, Maria Grever and Agustín Lara.
Maestro Prado is a well-known pianist who was trained in Texas and Cuba. Last year he started a successful series of dinner concerts here called “Duets: A Marriage of Good Food and Fine Music.” Enrique and Xavier will perform together the Sundays of March 16 and 30. Their program of love songs will take you on a journey across cultures and through time with pieces by Schubert, Fauré, Weber and more.
These four concerts at the Biblioteca during March are a celebration of world music from various styles and origins. Tickets are available at Teatro Santa Ana.