[PEN-L:273] Dos Alas -- Two Wings

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Although the Puerto Rican bomba and the Cuban rumba are both closely
related to  Central and African musical and spiritual traditions, it was
nearly impossible in the past to see the two genres performed on the same
stage. The Cold War had turned Cuba into a pariah and attempts to show
musical or political solidarity with her were risky. The "Dos Alas" concert
last Friday night at Symphony Space marked a departure from the past, as
the musicians themselves repeatedly stated from the stage. They were "dos
alas" of the same bird.

Bomba and rumba ensembles consist of nothing but singers and drummers.
While two of the drummers produce a steady background percussive melodic
signature, the third drummer dialogs with the singer in call-and-response
fashion. You can hear ensembles of this sort both in the countryside of the
two islands, or in Central Park on any weekend.

Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas was first to perform. The band was formed in the
Matanzas province of Cuba, which is both a stronghold of African culture
and the July 26th Movement. The band members are members of
Cabildos--"cultural and  spiritual mutual aid societies founded as much as
two centuries ago by Africans of the same ethnic group," according to the
program notes. Part one of their program was devoted to Yoruba chants and
dances, while the second part consisted of rumbas. Francisco Chirino, the
group's director and lead singer, has one of the most powerful and
distinctive voices in the world of folk music. The other star is the dancer
Luis Morales who performed as Ogun, the warrior deity, in the Yoruba
portion of the program, and in all of the rumbas. He was especially
convincing in a flirtatious Guaguanco, performed with  Dolores Herrera.
Next to them, tango dancers appear positively frigid.

The bomba portion of the program was in the hands of Los Hermanos Cepeda,
an extended family from Santurce, Puerto Rico. The group stays close to its
community roots and has a strong rapport with the audience. One number had
everybody up on their feet doing something that looked like the Macarena,
but what the band leader called a bomba like they do it at Jack Lalanne.
Over half of the bombas paid tribute to their African heritage, such as
"Deloye," a lament of Africans and their descendants about their
mistreatment at the hands of the plantation overseer. Whereas African
culture is encouraged in Cuba, bomba groups have had an uphill fight in
Puerto Rico to keep the genre alive, where African forms of expression are
not encouraged.

The final portion of the program brought both bands together, where a
"Rumbombazo" was performed, a perfect musical synthesis. Dancers from both
groups danced with each other and the various musicians embraced while
performing. The leaders of both groups spoke as one to the audience. They
said that the Cuban and Puerto Rican people are brothers and sisters and
will always be in solidarity with each other.

This statement had added poignancy since Hurricane Georges had just laid
waste to both islands and to other Caribbean islands that have historically
been victims of imperialism as well as tropical storms. The AP reports:

 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: At least 125 people confirmed dead by the government;
Red Cross claims another 76 dead. Hundreds missing, 100,000 homeless.
Seventy percent of bridges damaged, 90 percent of banana and other
plantations destroyed. Damage to power grid tops $111 million. Heavy
flooding in Santo Domingo and elsewhere.

HAITI: Twenty-seven deaths reported, at least nine missing. Flooding in
Port-au-Prince, north coast around Cap-Haitien and other areas, dozens of
homes destroyed.

CUBA: Two deaths, according to Mexican news agency Notimex, nearly 20,000
homes flooded in Holguin province, damage to coffee, cacao and banana
crops, electricity knocked out in some areas, 200,000 people evacuated from
their homes.

PUERTO RICO: At least three killed directly by the storm, eight others by
heart attacks and other health complications, 28,000 people in shelters.
Hundreds of homes lost, near-total blackout, most water service lost.
Damages estimated at $2 billion.

All four countries have been invaded repeatedly by the United States
throughout the 20th century. In a very real sense, the Hurricane is also a
form of invasion as well since global warming has intensified weather
patterns in recent years. Speaking at a news conference in Barbados in
1994, Castro said:

"I think that for the first time in Rio, politicians faced up to the
tragedy that degradation of the environment means to the world. I would say
they were in the process of learning at that time, but at this conference,
I would say there was a greater awareness among the politicians as well as
a greater awareness among the industrial nations, more than in Rio, and in
a rather short period of time. Of course, the politicians from the small
island states were more aware than anyone else at the Rio conference. I
remember we had acted as contact between members of our delegation and
representatives of those small islands. They were truly anguished over the
future prospects for their islands because of climatic changes, warming of
the atmosphere, the frequency of hurricanes, and drought. All these are
real phenomena that we are witnessing, and they constitute a question of
natural life or death for these nations. I was able to perceive in Rio that
they needed something, they needed to strive to obtain some hope. Because
they are isolated, these countries also have many economic problems. They
are small countries, although they have large areas of sea. Communications
are very difficult. It takes over 20 hours to travel from Samoa, near New
Zealand; or from here to Barbados. It takes over 20 hours of flight.
Maritime communications are very complicated. They do not have
communication -- practically none. If a natural phenomenon occurs, it is a
national disaster. It is not like a hurricane hitting Florida. A strong
hurricane can hit Florida, but the rest of the country is enormous. It does
not ruin the country. But to a small Caribbean island, a hurricane can mean
ruin."

As recognition of the ties between global warming and the consumption
patterns of the northern industrialized countries deepens, there is no
question that a red-green synthesis will be embraced by broad sectors of
the progressive movements in the southern hemisphere. The stakes are not
over "quality of life" such as the sort taken up by the Sierra Club, but
rather ones of economic and biological survival.

While Cuba has been represented as a fossil in recent years, clinging to an
antiquated command economy, it may soon look like the only sort of economy
adapted to conditions of capitalist crisis. When foreign capital has been
condemning economies all over the world to misery and ruin, the Cuban
people still seem to have some control over their own fate. This has meant
that Fidel Castro and the revolution he leads will be less and less of a
pariah as the capitalist crisis deepens.

What better symbol of this phoenix-like rise is Castro's recent trip to
Grenada, the site of a terrible imperialist invasion during the Reagan
years. Commenting on the visit in New York's Newsday, Les Payne writes:

"Upon entering Grenada last week, Castro was not at all rejected but
embraced. Twenty-one guns saluted his arrival as he trooped the honor guard
to the cheers of civilians attending on their own initiative.

Alimenta Bishop, the mother of the assassinated prime minister, had a warm
reaction to Castro's visit. 'I showed him pictures of Maurice, growing up
as a boy, different things,' said the 83-year-old widow. She was pleased
that Castro's visit had stirred island memories of her son and the reform
his New Jewel Movement had inspired. 'I told him he was looking tired. He
said he had a full day in Barbados.'

"The 90-minute address by the usually longerwinded Castro spoke of his
wearinesss. However, he did not pass up the opportunity to tweak the
postCold War nose of the Great Satan to the north.

"Recalling no doubt President Bill Clinton's Beijing lecture about human
rights, Castro called up memories of slavery in the United States, European
colonization around the world and warned against western domination of the
global economy.

"Though slower in his starched fatigues and ammo belt, Castro still can
command an audience and display not only his enduring charisma but his
flat-out endurance. He is working on outlasting his eighth U.S president,
who, unlike the early ones, has no Cold War design on Havana. A teenager
when Castro first came to power, President Clinton, unlike John F. Kennedy,
has given no orders to have Castro killed or make his beard fall out."

Los Hermanos Cepeda has a CD titled "El Roble Mayor" on the Bombalele
label, while Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas has recorded for the Smithsonian
label. Their first studio recording, "Raices Africanas" has just been
released on the Shanachie label.

Louis Proyect

(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)