A group of women master the Iyá, the Itótele and Okónkolo-names given to each of the bata drums. Furthermore they sing, dance and play the claves and chequeré deftly as wise connoisseurs of our folk traditions.
It is Obiní Batá. This ensemble looks at the Afro-Cuban syncretism from culture and has been for two decades on the scene. It emerged in 1993 within the National Folk Ensemble. Eva Despaigne, their leader, says it is nothing new that women are interested in this kind of aesthetic proposal; they are faithful to the legacy of Rumba Morena and other women’s groups who cultivate the rumba.
Eva recognizes that it is not common for women to “play bata drums, accompanying instruments of all singings of the Yoruba religion, and which are only played by men, since within that worship is forbidden for us (women).”
Eva Despaigne, ensemble’s director
Despaigne explains that to them having the opportunity to play the bata represents a steady improvement as artists. There they find an incalculable cultural value, as these instruments have influenced our music, and offer them the possibility of have an impact through them. Hence, these drums have a role in the artistic proposal of Obiní Batá .
That’s what we just saw last Saturday Avenida de la Habana room. The women’s group proposed to its followers the show Here we are, where they undertook a special journey through the national syncretism through the most emblematic pieces of the group in its 20 years of existence.
Conceived dramaturgically for two times, the Saturday’s evening had as the ingredients the verses by Olga Navarro, Nicolás Guillén and Rogelio Martinez Fure. In the first part, the songs dedicated to different Afro-Cuban deities Obatala , Yemaya and Oshun were noted: , which were adorned with choreography created by Eva Despaigne for the occasion, while in a second session known pieces were interpreted from the Cuban and Latin American pentagram as Mojito , Cachita and El baile de la Chancleta , among others.
The appointment with Obiní Batá after this Saturday’s presentation at the Avenida room is agreed for each Friday in the Yoruba Association of Cuba, always at 9:00 pm. Each time you will attend a meeting with the best of our musical and dance traditions, a special moment with our syncretism.
