“You should go before things change”.

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That is the most common charge one gets, since the bilateral thaw in relations between the United States and the island nation of Cuba, which is what prompted Art Salad, in a way, to visit one of the last bastions of state socialism.

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It is not far from the truth that there will be changes in the years to come; it is the way of the world. How this thaw, will shape up things is anyone’s guess; definitely in economic terms. What is also interesting, other than the future value of the Peso, is how the art and music, namely the culture scene, will be affected by the thaw, either positively or negatively.

A nation which is so much defined by its unique art, music and dance scene, Cuba’s halfhearted openness to the world, might also be the Trojan horse to bear witness to the risk of a potential alienation from its own very special flair, perhaps worthy of a nostalgic reminisce in a few year’s time.

 

Bringing together a plethora of differing African, South American, European and North American influences, Cuban art and music is just as diverse as the DNA palette of its own people. The embargo, as well as a homegrown mentality of stifling dissent, has in essence cut off the island’s mainstream connection to the rest of world, for more than a century, allowing by default an evolution of a unique local artistic style and flair.

 

This relatively fresh aura of freedom has seen countless artists showing their work and art assertively in throngs, in scattered studios around the country, on walls and piazzas as part of the burgeoning street art movement, but also in polished context as in the case of the Museo Nacional de Bellas in Havanas.

 

In music, it is interesting to note that despite the embargo placed on the island nation by the US, the musical connection between the two nations remained long and deep, to a certain extent:

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Long before Fidel Castro ousted Batista in 59’, American music legends such as Nat "King" Cole and Franks Sinatra dazzled audiences to great acclaim at Havana's magical nightlife scene. Dizzy Gillespie and his trumpet, had forged a unique collaboration with Cuban visionaries such as Chano Pozo, Machito and Mario Bauza resulting to the invention of an Afro-Cuban jazz genre that is still prevalent and ever-evolving globally.

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It is within the cultural practices of the African continent that the jazz of both nations can trace its roots; roots that link the US and Cuba through a common language that transcends politics: music.

 

It is only fair to assert that what hasn't changed here is the aforementioned close relationship between the music of both nations, which can be traced all the way back to the 19th century. The phrase primos hermanos, more common to Spanish speakers, refers to the relationship between familial first cousins, a just appropriation when describing the give-and-take relation that has been going between the two countries.

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Art Salad has spoken to local based Cuban musicians and artists, expatriates in their own right, in an effort to trace that history in art and music. Technocrats and bureaucrats alike, both in the US and in Cuba, have a lot to learn by those who create art and even more so music; finding familiar ground, celebrating diversity and differences, bridging gaps are some of the skills necessary to bring a group of people together to play music, to paint.

Art Salad’s visit to Cuba wants to expand, and explore this cultural connection between the two countries and capture the essence of Cuba’s contemporary art scene; a self-ascribed utopian phenomenon, before it changes for ever.

In an effort to captivate this utopian phenomenon Art Salad has commissioned Ismene Geraldine Mavrocordatos and Stephen Argentieri Holder to conduct a series of interviews with artists and musicians to capture their reality first hand.  

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