{"id":204890,"date":"2019-08-27T10:01:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T14:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=204890"},"modified":"2019-08-27T10:09:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T14:09:45","slug":"alden-gonzalez-what-happened-with-santiagos-carnivals-seems-shameful-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/music-culture\/alden-gonzalez-what-happened-with-santiagos-carnivals-seems-shameful-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Alden Gonz\u00e1lez: “What happened with Santiago\u2019s carnivals seems shameful to me”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alden Gonz\u00e1lez accumulated enough merits as a producer during his work with the <\/span>Septeto Santiaguero<\/span><\/a><\/em>. He won two Grammy Awards with the group and contributed to giving some shape to records that bear witness to the international drive and high credits of traditional Cuban music.<\/span><\/p>\n

After <\/span>his departure from the group<\/span><\/a> he put together an ambitious album project with experienced arranger and producer Geovanis Alc\u00e1ntara, which will soon come out to keep root music on a steady footing in Cuba. For this they summoned three heavyweights from the island\u2019s music scene: Mayito Rivera, Alain P\u00e9rez and Alexander Abreu.<\/span><\/p>\n

The album <\/span>A romper el coco<\/span><\/a><\/em> was recorded in the Havana and Santiago de Cuba EGREM studios, and treasures 10 anthological themes of Cuban music given by the island’s sound contemporaneity and the proven experience of its producers.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Working with those three greats of music was a big challenge. They have great knowledge about what they are doing. With the Septeto<\/em> I was part of the group, but now it\u2019s different. I have to make sure that everything I present is convincing,” says Alden in an interview with OnCuba<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I have been friends with <\/span>Alain P\u00e9rez<\/span><\/a> for years, also based on the understanding of music with similar views. It was a process that I enjoyed very much. We made a good design together with the artists. It wasn\u2019t easy but as we enjoyed it so much we didn\u2019t see the difficulties pass. This way of working easily has a lot to do with the work of Geovanis, who is amazing as a professional.”<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the purpose of an album like A romper el coco<\/em> that rummages in the roots of traditional Cuban music, when what prevails in the market are the most commercial sounds?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In A romper el coco<\/em> we are in favor of the rescue of Cuban music. There are interesting fusions like “Negro de Sociedad.” The theme was popularized by the Rumbavana group and in this version La conga de los hoyos<\/em> also participates. We are talking about the participation of three notable figures as singers but who in principle are musicians, artists with superior knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

On that record there is a tribute to Arsenio Rodr\u00edguez, the Matamoros group, where Benny Mor\u00e9 sang; to the Casino group. At that time there were different ways of doing in the format. As if there were black and white groups. In the white ones the casino was the leader and Roberto Faz and the Nelo Sosa Colonial Ensemble came from there. We also pay tribute to La Sonora Matancera, with the recording of its song “Ave Mar\u00eda Lola,” which Carlos Argentino recorded and was very popular in its time. In Havana, people really had a great time with the Sonora Matancera.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Cover of the album “A romper el coco.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Me la llevo” is a tribute to Benny Mor\u00e9 sung by Mayito Rivera. We used the clarinets because the Matamoros group indistinctly incorporated one or two clarinets. One of the clarinetists was our Compay Segundo.<\/span><\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t made this album in a mimetic way, but we have thought about the consumers of this music today. Believing that we are going to win a new audience would be a bit pretentious, but we do aim to reach those who like dance music. The ways of interpreting have been spectacular, we are talking about singers with a very strong musical personality who defended different concepts.<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel very happy with the result. It’s a record we wanted to sound as if we had remastered an acetate. That people identify with those sounds according to the frequencies they handle. It also helped that it was recorded in the emblematic Siboney Studios, in Santiago.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you think were the main requirements of the recording process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We experimented a lot with sounds and instruments like the tres. Before, the unit that the tres had, the pickup, was from the electric guitar. That marked the sound of the time when Ni\u00f1o Rivera was in full swing. Arsenio also recorded things like that. There is a pil\u00f3n rhythm by Enrique Bonne called “Que rico est\u00e1 esto.” At that time Pacho Alonso composed a lot for Bonne.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Pacho Alonso con Los Bocucos had was an electric guitar and now on this record we achieved a very rich sound. The same happened with “El jamaiquino,” Ni\u00f1o Rivera\u2019s master work. In 2019 we celebrated the centenary of his birth <\/span>as well as that of Benny Mor\u00e9<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also wanted to play with those dates because this year also marks the 125th anniversary of Matamoros and the 105th anniversary of Roberto Faz. Sometimes those dates go unnoticed, which does not mean that someone does not remember. For example, last year it was the 90th anniversary of Pacho Alonso’s birth and I don’t think much happened. Nor did much happen with the 40 years of Son 14, one of Cuba\u2019s major groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

I listen to many types of music because it\u2019s necessary to understand how today’s sounds work. If I work on an aspect of the son, I also like to hear a lot about what is happening in the salsa and jazz environment. It\u2019s not only about the musical performance, but also the ways of communicating it.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you talk about defending tradition, people only relate it to the old Santiago trova and the son. It\u2019s about all Cuban music, from timba to the most recent expressions of our popular music. The new generations don\u2019t understand that it\u2019s impossible to exist today without yesterday; little is looked at the past. That’s why we formed a team to highlight the Cuban tradition based on groups, the format that has contributed the most to the development of dance music today.<\/span><\/p>\n

The musical base was recorded in Santiago because this city is a kind of reservoir of tradition. The DNA of musicians is always in favor of preserving the sound accent and the more traditional Cuban music. In the east, from Camaguey to Santiago, there is a different way of thinking the son. That has to do with ways of accentuating the low frequencies. The bass player thinks the son differently.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Santiago there are many groups playing repertoire that we can call traditional, but it isn\u2019t originally from the east. The way of playing the bass, the tumbaos, have much preponderance in the definition of those genres. In Santiago an effort was always made for the bass to be more in favor of stability and a little less in favor of virtuosity, which later developed in the timba.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alden Gonz\u00e1lez (left) with Geovanis Alc\u00e1ntara (right), also producer and arranger of the album “A romper el coco.” Photo: Yasser Landazuri.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Did your passage through the Septeto Santiaguero<\/em> have any influence on the recording of this album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was in the Septeto Santiaguero<\/em> we toured with \u201cTibur\u00f3n\u201d Morales, with whom we reaffirmed the potential of Cuban music. Exchanging with “Tibur\u00f3n,” who was a fundamental part of Son 14, is normal for people in Santiago de Cuba. But what struck me the most was when we were staying at a hotel in Havana and there was the Camag\u00fcey soccer team and the 20 year olds or younger approached him to take photos or greet him.<\/span><\/p>\n

That happened despite the fact that “Tibur\u00f3n” doesn\u2019t appear on television or radio. That young people feel admiration for his music means that not everything is lost despite the fact that our promotion of Cuban music in the media is very bad. When we shared a concert with him in Venezuela, it was also great, because people came with anthological records of Son 14 for him to autograph.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes we think that whoever defends the son is not defending Cimafunk. And that posture is not correct. Everything must be defended to make Cuba a heterogeneous country in terms of music, where the public can choose. The United States, for example, is a country where people can listen to all kinds of music, as in Spain or Colombia.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the first thing that has to be defended is the roots, the origins. That is precisely why we made this album, which is a tribute to Cuba\u2019s major groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

How have you perceived so far the path traveled by the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have managed to have a high level of sales in the digital field, but I think this album should focus mainly on a national impact. It isn\u2019t as complex to have resonance in the nearest markets as it is in ours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now we are in the process of consolidating the project. I am convinced that based on the official launch many things can happen with the disc. That people get to know it in Cuba would be glorious for me. What we achieved internationally with the Septeto Santiaguero was because we first managed to have recognition in our country. Those who thought that we did our job thinking about the Grammy are wrong, because our intention was always to have an impact on Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I finished with the Septeto I immediately started looking for what I was going to do. Research work fascinates me as well as listening to a lot of music for that purpose. Also, working with unpublished material is very comforting to me. I enjoy it very much. That is why the idea of \u200b\u200bthis album also arises, which was born exactly after the rupture with the Septeto Santiaguero.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alden Gonz\u00e1lez: \u201cNi me fui, ni me botaron\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n