Re: Cuban music after Castro (Fidel, not Jacira)

Date: 26 Jun 2003 09:23:47 -0700
Newsgroups: rec.music.afro-latin
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Kevin Moore <email-address-deleted> wrote in message news:<email-address-deleted>...
> Leaving our political biases aside for a moment, and attempting to
> objectively predict the future of Cuban music, what can we expect to
> happen in the coming years.?
>
> SCENARIO 1: Castro dies, or the embargo is lifted, and relations with
> Cuba are normalized.
SCENARIO 1: McDonald's buys out El Rápido, and introduces the
"McMediaNoche." Son bands greet tourists getting off the plane, like
the steel band guys do in other parts of the caribbean. Ry Cooder will
now be free to return, but has to do his recording on location at the
nursing home. Clear Channel buys a majority share of Cuban radio and
puts Marc Anthony and La India in heavy rotation. Casa De La Musica is
sold to the descendents of Meyer Lansky and to save costs, they make
NG La Makina the house band and establish a karaoke night. Cuban timba
bands now no longer need to worry about visas to come to the States,
but there's still nowhere to play. The flood of American Salsa
tourists to Havana forces the groups to incorporate more merengue,
cumbia and batacha in their acts. El Medico returns, but can't get a
gig anymore, because of the disastrous sales of his latin pop CD.
>
> SCENARIO 2: Castro lives forever, and/or whoever takes over for him is
> able to retain the socialist status quo, and Bush or whoever takes over
> for him continues the embargo.
SCENARIO 2: Life goes on más o menos as it does now. nobody's making
any money, but the average orquesta size remains around 14-16 musicos,
and the best of them make music that pleases them, without concern for
anything other than getting Cubans to dance until they drop. Playing
in a band remains a musician's JOB, and they are free to rehearse and
create and live the life of a musican as their work, without needing
to play with seven different groups or getting a day job.
[exit tongue-in-cheek mode] Actually, I hope that when the bloqueo
goes, it's a good thing for all concerned. Most of the Cubans I've
talked to about this are determined that Havana doesn't get turned
into another Cancun. They're fiercely proud of their culture, and
hopefully it will survive an American tourist invasion. After the
bloqueo, Cuban acts should be able to get more airplay in the States,
and hopefully broaden their audience beyond the cult level. Perhaps if
more American salsa dancers went to Havana, they would understand how
to dance to timba, and bring that back home.
With or without the embargo, a musician's life is tough all over the
world, and getting tougher. Live music, no matter what genre, needs to
compete with 150 channels on the cable, fifty or more movie screens,
the internet, discos, and all kinds of distractions available to the
entertainment-seeker. Recorded music is in a big transition, too. why
buy it when your buddy can burn it for you, or you can download it.
The next few years are going to be very bumpy for everyone in the
music biz.