Manolin, El Medico de la Salsa, will return to live in Cuba . The single story, with no frills or drama, is enough to become a main headline. As shocking as any other explanation is superfluous.
Cuban musician, who has lived for 12 years off the island, firmly announced his wish: “I want to establish myself in my country and forever “. It is not a decision taken lightly. “I’ve been to do it for a long time and I think now is the ideal time. Those of us who have walked more in life, we know that there is nothing like the family home. There is no place like your own land and that is what I need: to live in my country to the rest of my life, “the artist said.
The truth is that the decision will cause a stir in its first stage, some will blaspheme against him, and others will shrug in disbelief. Meanwhile, Manolin will be playing around Cuba the music that in the 90’s made him one of the greatest exponents of timba .
We found him in the gardens of the Hotel Nacional with his friend Pachito Alonso, outstanding Cuban musician who also agreed to participate in this discussion…
Repatriation??
Since last night, in the middle of a rehearsal, Pachito had made it clear to OnCuba that “we do not like that word, it is very ugly. That word is very political and we are not politicians, we are artists, regular people and we belong to fans. We are Cubans and we have we made it here in our country. “
To which Manolín added as we talked in the Hotel Nacional, “I think that to come you first you have to go, and I’ve always been in Cuba, one way or another. It is normal for humans, the artist, to want to know, to live other experiences. I had a job offer that I found interesting and it took me a few years to live outside my country, more than we imagined. But what is a fact is that I will not be further away from here. “
These two men have something important in hand. Starting on November 9 they will begin a concert tour by several provinces and some districts of Havana. The first will be at the National Theater of Cuba, where Manolín, accompanied by the orchestra of Pachito, will have a reunion with those who for a decade danced his songs and refused to forget him.
When asked about the structure of the show, both musicians look at each other to reconcile the answer. Alonso takes the initiative, said it will be at least a two-hour concert. “In order not to bore the audience” and he winks. “We’re going for 12 Manolín songs, and we plan to sing others together. But the expectation is for Manolin, they have waited years for him. “
The Doctor nods quiet and adds that the musicians of the orchestra are terrific, “and sound great and they enjoy each rehearsal like a presentation.”
With Pachito and his band, Manolin wants to play on the national scene, feel close to the people he has not forgotten in all this time. He is starting from scratch, in the same places, with the same songs and with every expectation that this generates.
Manolin , how will that moment be after so many years?
“It will be wonderful, I’m sure. I also know that I have to play the songs as usual because people want to remember and those who haven’t lived the experience want to do it. I always dreamed of that, but will be more spectacular than I imagined, as children in the rehearsal yesterday danced and sang topics I wrote when they were not born. And that is wonderful. “
Uncertain if the National Theatre is the most appropriate stage, it is not usual to use in presentations of this type, Pachito sparked general laughter by throwing a loud “it is going to be tiny.” Something that will undoubtedly happen.
Then what?
Up to Alaska if we can! Pachito ensures amid laughs. More sedate, Manolin explains that “at the end all presentations in Cuba we take the show abroad. We are fortunate to agree on what we want and there is a special chemistry between us, it shows on stage. We want to go to Europe, to Latin America and to the United States … have many plans and hopes. But first Cuba.
“Here is the land that has given musicians like Benny, Chano Pozo, Pacho Alonso. We were born here and we owe it to it and its people. At least I think so. “
During the entire conversation Pachito Alonso and Manolín have avoided political issues and have every right to do so. Some things are better left alone to avoid corrupting. Yet I’m game, perhaps because the awkward questions give excellent answers
Do you think that this project will serve to build a bridge and fellowship in which, at the end, is the same people?
Pachito squints at me, I crossed a line that is not drawn, but it exists. Then he loosens the face and he calmly explains, choosing each of the words. “Those are things of politics and we try not to mix with them. We have principles – as – can anyone have, ours are with the public, which is the end of the day, to whom we the artists owe. This project serves to understand that music has no boundaries, and we’re musicians, not politicians.
“We try to do something important; we will work where we have always done: Pinar del Rio, Santiago de Cuba and Havana as well, but in the La Piragua. You have to remember that the general public was that made us what we are, so you have to play for the people. “
I look straight at Manolin and ask: you recently came to Havana, what happened when you got to Miami?
Manolin takes a deep breath and rests his head on his fist. He removes the cap for the first time in the conversation. He looks up and downplaying the issue he tells us: “I had a concert that was suspended, but this is normal. It was something small; because I came here it was suspended. Miami is a complicated place with many mixed feelings for decades.
“Luckily that is changing, and many Cuban musicians have gone there and sang and they treated them well. The important thing is the people, not two or three who are a minority, yes powerful but minority. We cannot give great importance to it, especially when most trade is in favor of and support the artists.
“I think we should see the glass half full, not half empty. Increasingly, those who want the normal exchange, and that may say who goes there. The rest, scandals and handling are matters of convenience”.
The word “public” has been present all morning, in one way or another, as if everything revolved around that mass of people who for years has refused to forget. A group of souls who are beyond polices and grudges fermented over time that has only served to divide us.
How do you feel playing for Cubans outside Cuba?
“The Cuban is the same wherever you are. This is the music that runs through the blood. Being outside has more longing, and so when you sing is like moving them here. It is like giving them back a piece of their lives and they appreciate it and take full advantage.
“Now for these presentations that we will have people from Europe, the United States will come, to live this project on its land, its people and this is an incredible opportunity to reconnect with yourself,” Manolin says.
With tireless enthusiasm he imagines future projects and immediate presentations. In his eyes there is brightness, Doctor is in the land, with the boardwalk at his feet and surrounded by a people who never turned their backs on him, that all these years have danced with his music and now receives him as if he had never been absent.
“These days, he concluded, a friend called me and asked me how I felt: I am happy, not only because I am in my country, but because I’ve known a lot and I have that peace, I am not tormented by anything or nothing baffles and that peace lets me enjoy more my country and the simple things. I repeat: Those of us who have walked more in life, we know that there is nothing like the family home. “
