Today is Sunday and I am going to do one of the things that excites me the most in this life. I'm going to the "Solar de la Cueva del Humo" to sing a Rumba with the real rumberos, with those who know it all, with those who just give a blow in the drawer and I get a lump in my throat and when I get to sing with them I always get some tears that I have learned to hide slyly ... —hahahahahaha.

The long stretch between my house in Vedado and Old Havana (where the lot is) is short between my steps in a hurry to get there, today I don't have the patience to wait for the bus. I will meet halfway first with my friend "El Pita" who is the coordinator of this Air B & B experience in the solar, which is to show tourists how these rumbas were done in the past, and I say in the past, because they are no longer done as before in a natural way. Before, when they finished officiating their religious ceremonies, they took out the cajones and Tumbadoras and had fun drinking rum, playing and singing "La Rumba"; a musical complex that consists of three movements: The Guaguanco, The Columbia and The Yambú.

In reality the tradition that is preserved through daily practice is only the religious one, now to have fun they play "El Reguetón" recorded, which has absolutely nothing to do with our roots but it is what is in fashion and fits perfectly in their socio cultural canons and it is not that they have forgotten at all the touches of the rumba, what happens is that they see it only as a job to get money and not as a form of art or spontaneous fun.

Anyway... but today rumba is played in this solar and we have rumberos and dancers of great renown among them "El Miki" Priest of Orula, owner of a drum of foundation, percussionist, singer and a very charismatic person and knowledgeable to the extreme of the Afro-Cuban cultural religious tradition; inhabitant, organizer and decision maker of everything concerning the solar. There are also "Cortico" and "El Payo" two very recognized and respected players among the rumberos and a dance couple also of much rank in the rumba environment and the inhabitants of the solar itself who also interact dancing and singing in this magical cultural phenomenon that sadly is destined to disappear.

For me as a musician, composer and lover of the genre; to sing here with them in the first place means the highest honor, and on the other hand I can do versions of boleros in my own style in Yambú time, and improvise on the fly whatever comes to my mind, counting on the experience and mastery of these wonderful musicians who know how to accompany with high wisdom and good taste.

At the last minute when we had everything ready to start, we received the news that the tourists had had a mishap and could not attend the "activity". And that's when the magic happened. El Miki dedicated the rumba to Chano Pozo, the most notorious and recognized rumba player in the world, the mythical founder and creator of Latin jazz together with Dixie Gillespie... when those cajones started to play and the first trills of the Quinto were heard, the intangible spirit of music took over all those present in the site, I started to improvise and I felt transported back in time to the era of rumba glory in the 30s.

The communication was perfect, that is what the old rumberos refer to when they talk about "Una timba cerrá, sin cortinas" that is the essence of what is ours, that is what we have to protect and take care of, it is the greatest thing that we Cuban musicians have and it was precisely the experience that I lived this weekend in "El solar de la Cueva del Humo".

❤️💚💙

My native language is Spanish, this text is translated by Deepl.com in its free version.

All images are my property.