ASERE - schools presentation

An introduction to Cuba, the island and its culture.

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, the official language is Spanish and it has a population of eleven million people. For most of the year it is hot and, with it being a tropical island, there are just two seasons; winter and summer.

Cuba is known for its carnivals and festivals, particularly in the east of the country and specifically in the capital of the region, Santiago de Cuba, considered the cultural capital of the Caribbean. Cuba has a mixed culture with elements of African and Spanish traditions that characterise all artistic expression; painting, music, literature and architecture.

Musically Cuba is a melting pot of styles. As well as the profound African and Spanish roots, the musical influences of Jamaica, Haiti, France and Louisiana have all reached these shores.

A large variety of different rhythms have in evolved in Cuba such as the son, guaguanco, cha cha cha and mambo, several of which have in turn influenced dance music across the world. The cha cha cha and mambo for example played their part in repertoire of the English and American dance bands of the 1930s and 1940s and, more recently the son rhythm gave birth to salsa, now a global dance phenomena.

Asere have based their music principally around the son tradition using the acoustic instrumentation of congas, bongos, double bass, guitar, tres (from the guitar family), trumpet, maracas, claves and cowbell.

Son combines African rhythms with song structures from the Spanish musical tradition. Originating in rural eastern Cuba at the end of the 19th century, in the early decades of the 20th century it became a highly fashionable dance form, taking the elegant salones of Havana by storm.

Asere then, with an unswerving commitment to their musical roots, have inherited this tradition from their forefathers. Son is the rhythmic-harmonic base they have chosen to cherish and develop, from which they have begun to explore other musical styles. They seek to evolve this and other Cuban styles in a modern world.

‘Our work is for those who enjoy the music, those who possess nothing yet live for everything, those who have lost hope and those who humbly seek to make this a better world’.

 

Asere and their work in school

The musicians

David Echevarria - lead vocal, composer and percussionist. Aged 29. Born in the capital Havana. Earns his living as a singer with Asere and in Cuba with other groups.
Juan Luis ‘Luz Brillante’ Alarcon - bongos, cowbell, cajon and congas. Aged 29. He is married with a little boy aged one year and seven months. Born in Manzanillo (Eastern Cuba). He works with Asere and in Cuba with pop and rock groups.
Jose Reyes ‘Guajiro’ -Tres (an instrument derived from the Spanish guitar) and chorus. Aged 34 and is married. Born in Yateras in the region of Guantanamo, Eastern Cuba. He performs with Asere and is also a farmer with small holding just outside Havana.
Alejandro Padron - guitarist, singer and composer. Aged 33, married, he will become a father in December. Born in Santiago de Cuba. He performs with Asere and as a troubadour in Cuba (singer/songwriter), he also writes music for a Cuban TV series.
Vicente P. Arencibia - congas, voice and hand percussion.
Aged 40, married with two children; a boy aged fifteen and a girl aged three and a half. Born in Havana. He performs with Asere and also works as a mechanical engineer in Cuba.
Ivan Suarez - Bass and chorus Aged 28. Born in Sibanicu, Camaguey (Centre of the island). He works exclusively with Asere.
Michel Padron - Trumpet, chorus, composer and musical director of Asere. Aged 27, married. Born in Havana. He performs with Asere and the Havana Symphony Orchestra. He also writes music for Cuban television.


Programme for the day

Asere begin their day in a school with a performance. During this ‘mini-show’ we introduce the musicians, their instruments and the band present a selection of different songs from their concert repertoire. The children are encouraged to participate with hand clapping, singing and sometimes also dance steps, the last song is quiet one, designed to help the children return to their classrooms peacefully after the excitement of hearing the more up tempo rhythms.

1. Vengan Todos a Bailar el Son
A mid tempo dance rhythm from the son tradition.
2. Cha cha cha.
Mid tempo upbeat song using the cha cha cha genre.
3. A Favor del Viento.
An up tempo piece mixing salsa and other caribbean styles including mento - a Jamaican rhythm that arrived in Cuba with workers who travelled there to work in the sugar industry.
4. Romantica.
A slow ballad in a troubadour style.

After the performance Asere work with groups of children concentrating on dance, percussion and instruments - violins, guitars, brass etc. Please note that the children who play instruments need to have at least a basic knowledge of their instruments and be familiar with a series of notes.

The groups work separately during the day on the different musical components of the classic Cuban song ‘Guantanamera’. At the end of the day, after a short rehearsal to bring it all together, the piece is then presented as a collaborative performance between Asere and the children to the whole school.

Whenever possible we like to create a space during the day so that children and musicians can discuss non-musical topics, sport for example, with questions and answers.