I heard the news that some activities will be carried out to pay tribute to Candido Fabre´s intense artistic life lasting already 35 years. I remember those early mornings after seeing three or four films in the Festival of New Latin American Cinema; we went around the pool of Hotel Nacional and danced until nearly dawn. In those parties of the penultimate decade of the last century, the main responsible for the joy and leisure time was always Fabré, who once musically claimed that “Havana wants party” with his music. The Cuban capital is enjoying his art for many years and looks forward to his visits.
His songs have been around much of the world and dancers have enjoyed his compositions also assumed by many groups and singers of great prestige. Even the great Celia Cruz took Candido´s wit in her repertoire!
One of those nights that I evoke, and another one in which the artist was performing with the same fervor on the dance floor or platform, in the street of a popular carnivals of his beloved eastern provinces, I am sure that Fabré played that lovely hit that starts talking of mischief of Candito boy and then goes to the craftiness of the choirs, unleashing the collective dance. In one of the short and rhythmic phrases he said something like “Let’s play a circle / if you do not get in, you’ll be left out”.
Well, I am listening again to that wonder. It is from the times of Fabré with Original de Manzanillo group. After that, it was never the same. The formidable orchestra which remains headed by maestro Pachy Naranjo lacks of Candido and its followers miss the power of that great band in the new working stage of Fabre. Anyway, they are still together in the recordings, in the nostalgia of those who lived that stage and were able to continue their strong work through independent paths.
Returning to the image of the frantic dancers circle and the sorrow of being left out of such enjoyment of body and spirit, I join the tribute to Candido with the materialization of an idea certainly shared by many and an anecdote.
The tireless and precious Fabré´s ability to improvise brings together two essential traditions of our popular culture. Improvising with expertise in the words and thinking speed nurtures the tenth-verse stanza kingdom that is sung at parties or other public spaces. When talking of recent times: Alexis Díaz Pimienta, Tomasita Quiala, and many others can deal for hours in improvised poetic combats. But, the repentista poets do not unleash dance of the body but admiration, applause, or a joyful but discreet movement of the hands following the rhythm of the tune.
On the other side of the coin it is common that the great singers of popular orchestras to put some of their harvest to the time of extending the original theme in complicity with the dancing fury. The most common thing is them to provide a couple of ideas per night and the rest is to follow-varying tones, playing with the emphasis of the words-the letter of the original chorus. Fabre has the mischief and the rhythm of the best leaders of popular bands and adds that ability to improvise that resembles the sung tenth-verse stanza and Cuban punto.
I quickly get into the anecdote because I could lose the sweaty circle of Fabré. It would be 1993 or 94. I was in the bar of Guantanamo Hotel when I was approached by a tall and polite man. He offered me a shot of rum and ensured that he admired from the film ¨Clandestinos¨. I tell him that I also think I know him and he did not believe me. Peña, that is the surname of this formidable sports trainer-is not used to be recognized when he is not dressed as a baseball player. His essential function was by then visiting the pitchers during their performance and to advise them the strategy.
From the fast friendship we went to the main objective of the coach for those days in which a music festival was held in his town. Peña was looking for Candido Fabre and the singer was happy to embrace him. Two days later we spent a time in the simple house of that Guantanamo’s enthusiast. Fabre is a passionate fan and even casual baseball player. Peña gave him a uniform of the many he has used and put some music on a tape recorder. Although Cándido was the only one of the three without tasting any spirit drinks, we saw him doing something that those who met him evoke in Benny Moré. Cándido sang the song that he was hearing on the tape, he was trying to improve for a couple of friends what he had recorded in the studio. Endearing gift, I will not forget it.
