This was a very productive week. I visited the Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la Musica Cubana (CIDMUC), the Writers and Artists Union (UNEAC), and Casa de las Americas on Monday. It was nice to be able to come in and say hi to all the librarians and musicologists I had met last year, and they were all very enthusiastic about my second visit. On Tuesday I visited the Instituto Superior de Arte, where I went to an undergrad thesis defense on the Grupo de Renovacion Musical (1940s). It was great to hear a Cuban musicologist present on a topic I had been doing research. Some of the composers of the GMR later became the professors and supporters of new music after the 1959 Revolution, so the thesis presents much of the background information I need to provide the background for composition in Cuba after 1959. I had met Jose Luis (the student who defended) during last year’s trip to Cuba, and he ws very happy to see me at his defense. After he passed his defense with the highest marks, his family offered lunch to all who attended. Among the people there was the librarian of ISA, with whom I have been in touch since last year’s trip, and with whom I established a more personal relationship. It was opportune that I saw her this week, since she is leaving for three months at the end of May to visit her son in Spain. Almost everyone I have met has a family member or a close friend living in Spain, since it is relatively easy for Cubans to get a visa or residency in Spain, especially if they have parents or grandparents of Spanish origin. After the defense, I went to the office of International Relations to give them all my documents so they can process my academic visa. Because of their regulations I opted to stay only until July 11, so I will be returning home earlier than anticipated. I’m only losing about two weeks of research, but after talking to several librarians and musicologists, it seems like two months should be enough time for me to collect all the materials I need.
I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the library of the CIDMUC photographing books and thesis relevant to my research topic. The librarian, Tamara, makes and sells lunches to the people working at the CDIMUC for a very low price (1CUC), and they are very substantial, healthy, and delicious. They are definitely an improvement over the bocaditos on which I was surviving last year and earlier in the week. Tamar loves to cook, and every day she tells me how she made all the different items she brings in the fiambrera, which included a green bean salad, croquetas, stewed garbanzos, and, of course, rice. I think this year instead of losing weight, like last year, I may gain a few pounds. When I got to the CIDMUC on Thursday I talked to one of their musicologists, Ailer, for a while. She recently finished her thesis on the Contemporary Music Festivals that took place in Cuba during the 1980s and 1990s, and she is very familiar with the music and composers I’m investigating for my dissertation. She suggested several other archives to visit, and she is going to set up a time for me to go interview Alfredo Diez Nieto, who is in his 90s and is one of the few living composers from the generation of the Grupo de Renovacion Musical (although he did not belong to that group).
This next week is going to be less productive because most musicologists and music centers will be busy with Cuba Disco, which is the equivalent of the Grammy’s for Cuba, except that musicologists are a lot more involved in Cuba Disco. Prisca, a musicologist and the owner of the house where I am staying, works at Cuba Disco, and tells me that there will be a series of conferences and scholarly events during the whole week which are connected to Cuba Disco. Musicologists seem to be a lot more involved in the music industry (including popular music) than in the U.S. Among the events featured will be a conference by musicologist Danilo Orozco, who spent a few months in Washington, D.C. this last year and has written a great deal about popular music exchanges and influences between the U.S. and Cuba. I met him last year, and I hope to get together with him over the next month or so to pick his brain in regards to my dissertation, so I will be going to his conference this next week.
It has been a lot easier getting used the different life style and pace of life this year when compared to last year. After going to through it once, I already knew what to expect, like the power going out without notice, or having to bring toilet paper with me everywhere, or not knowing when I’ll be able to check my email next. I do miss having someone like Annia (the Polish student from Manchester, who was here when I visited Cuba last year). But there have been a few things that remind me of home, like the occasional episode of a U.S. sit-com or tv drama, like The Big Bang Theory and Private Practice. And I can’t complain about the food, which is just like my grandmothers’ (lots of onions, peppers, garlic, rice and beans, yum). Prisca and I also end up talking for hours after dinner, mostly about musicology, but about life in general too. It helps that her husband and son are percussionists, which makes me feel right at home.
The national baseball playoffs are in full swing. Two nights ago the team from Havana, Los Industriales, beat the team from Matanzas, Los Cocodrilos, wining the champoinship of the Western Division. The finals are this next week, and the Industriales will be facing the champions of the Eastern Division. As most of you may know, people here breath, live and eat baseball. When there is a game on tv, the entire city goes quite, and you here the occasional city-wide cheers when a player from the Industriales hits a “honron.” It reminds me of my grandfather, who is ALWAYS watching “besibol.” It is a very different experience from watching a MLB game, a lot lauder and more intense. When I walk to the archives in the morning I can hear men, women and children discussing the previous night’s game, and even arguing about how the manager should have handled certain situations.
This morning I got to the hotel Melia Coiba, which is a 30 minute walk from the house, at 9am to use the wifi and try to video chat with David through gmail, and IT WORKED! Yes, it froze and got a little choppy from time to time, but I was able to talk to him for 20 minutes! Last time we tried skype, but it didn’t work, and so he called me at the house three times throughout the entire month using skype credits, which cost a little more than a dollar per minute to call Cuba, and get a little pricey. Although I have to pay for the wifi at the Hotel, it is definitely cheaper than the skype calls, and I can even see his face! This is going to make it a lot easier to get through the two months I will be here, and I know it will make it easier for him too.