Piping in Cuba

Alex Suárez Méndez teaching young pipers in Havana

by Jimmy O’Brien-Moran

Taking a stroll in Havana

Last February I got to cross one item off my bucket list with a visit to Cuba. I had wished to visit for a long time and feared that the country would change before I got to do so. It was a fascinating experience as it is a country of contradictions: there is huge poverty in this paradise, but despite that, the people seem to be relatively happy. There is music everywhere and the people show incredible resourcefulness and ingenuity in their everyday lives. As in every other country, Cuba has its propaganda although, perhaps, the endless signs celebrating the revolution become a little tiresome. Its revolution happened over sixty years ago which is more than a lifetime ago for some, myself included!

But one of the things that excited me was that there were uilleann pipers in Cuba. Could there be an association called CUPA? Or how about the Buena Vista Pipers Club? Well, in fact, they have settled on a different name but there is a growing group of intrepid uilleann pipers and through contacts with a friend I got in touch with them. Very selfishly I offered to give a morning’s tuition in exchange for an afternoon’s tour of the real Havana and I think I got the better deal.

The local session

My wife Marie and two friends, Declan and Anne, arrived in Havana to our Hotel del Tejadillo which had a lovely ‘shabby genteel’ feel to it. The location could not be more central to old Havana and it was perfect for the two nights we spent there. We dined in a nearby house and had lobster of course! After enjoying a mojito and some Cu- ban music which included the ubiquitous Buena Vista Social Club repertoire we headed for bed, tired after the long journey. And then the phone rang. Alex Suárez Méndez and Evelyn Prado (the piper of Havana and his lovely girlfriend) were downstairs waiting to meet me to make arrangements for the following day. I struggled down- stairs, not terribly clear headed, and met the enthusiastic couple. Alex doesn’t speak much English so the conversation was translated by Evelyn. We arranged to meet the following day at the hotel.

Jimmy receives a warm welcome

True to their word they arrived at the agreed time and I gathered my bits and headed off with them. We went to a small conservatory of music named in honor of Mozart where the director had kindly agreed to allow the class to take place. Those pipers I met include Alex, who has been playing for two years but with only about five hours of les- sons, and Luis Gutierrez who has been playing for maybe a year (and who also plays bodhrán). Alex is already a fine piper and Luis is also progressing well. Others that were there included Byrom Coto Aquino, who is a photographer and an enthusiast and who is learning English so that he may learn Irish; Sorah Rionda Hernandez, who plays the tin whistle and also plays the banjo; and another guy whose name I did not catch but who plays the re- corder. I think it was his first time. I cannot now remember what we did but it involved each piper playing a tune and me suggesting possibilities for ornamentation and variation with each. I focused my attention on Alex as he is a good player and takes responsibility to teach the others. But it was a little difficult trying to get things across. Luis had to act as interpreter. I also gave a tin whistle lesson as there were a few whistle players there. Their enthusiasm is quite amazing. I wondered where this interest had come from but of course there are strong Spanish connections in Cuba which have led to an interest in Galician and Asturian music with a particular emphasis on the pipes. They were a very nice group and presented me with a gift of a bottle of old Havana Club rum which was much appreciated.

Translating English to Spanish, whistle to recorder

Evelyn, Alex and Byrom were true to their word and in the afternoon we met with Marie and the others and were brought off on a tour of Havana at least some of which is normally restricted to Cubans. It included a ferry ride and a bus ride, generally the preserve of locals. Later that evening we visited Las Estaciones pub on Calle Amargura in Old Havana where there is a session every Monday and Wednesday evening at 8pm. It was interesting and unusual and there was a mixture of group and solo playing. The pub has a wide entrance which opens onto the street and a small crowd of tourists gathered to witness this phenomenon. A young Irish couple looked in in complete surprise. They had been walking up the street and heard the Irish pipes—not what they were expecting in Havana.

Two days later we took a 1948 Plymouth (one of 39,000 pre-1960 American cars) from Havana to Pinar del Rio where some other pipers are based. It was not the most comfortable of cars. We were met at our casa particulares by Yadira Hernández Barrera, a singer and actress from Pinar who organises the pipers there. Our landlord agreed for us to have the class in the courtyard of his house so Yadira fetched the pipers, Rosalia Adel Azcuy, a grand young piper, and a guy called Miguel who is playing well, too. Luis Gutierrez also showed up. So we had a nice little class which finished with a song in Irish from Yadira. Even though she did not understand the words she was singing they were perfectly intelligible and I really enjoyed the performance.

The next day we continued on our two-week holi- day, doing hill walks and forest trails, bird- spotting and generally appreciating the difference of it all. We saw oxen-drawn ploughs and oxen- drawn wheel-less sleds, hand flailing of crops and many other wonders. We spent most of the holi- day in the town of Trinidad which was a wonderful base for our trips. Despite the reports we en- joyed fabulous food, unspoiled beaches and countryside and wonderful hospitality almost every- where we went. Of course there is lots of hustling and people begging but it must be difficult to resist trying to tap tourists for a peso when sixteen tourist pesos equals a month’s wages for a professional.

Whistle class

I had promised to give a final class on the last full day of the holiday but when we arrived back in Havana we were met by Alex and Evelyn, who informed us that all music events were forbidden as the country was in mourning following the death of Hugo Chavez. Alex and I did another lesson at the house where we were going to spend out last night and I also recorded two video clips of his playing, which I hope to post on YouTube.

Evelyn arranged for a friend of hers to bring us to the airport the next day and Alex, Byrom and herself came to see us off. The whole trip was a fascinating experience and it was amazing to witness the effort and enthusiasm with which the pipers and other musicians pursued Irish music despite so many difficulties. I wish them well.

For a complete PDF of the original Summer 2013 Pipers Review this article is from, click here.