Monica Rocafforte Filmografia

Marseille Havana

GROUP Compay Segundo

Marseille, Espace Julien

November 2, 2010

Compay Segundo

Compay Segundo, will not have been a meteor of Cuban popular music. His real name, Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz , father of Andalusian recently installed in Cuba hardly independent from Spain (1898), he was born in 1907 in Siboney, a town named after former Indian native of Cuba , immortalized by the famous habanera drawn from a zarzuela by Lecuona, near Santiago de Cuba's rich folklore which will be the champion, and died on 14 July 2003, at 96 years. As longevity virile and vital art, which he gave with his humor Cuban recipe: "Rum, cigars and women", what we have here once translated into a song, if you want to believe: "Cigarettes p'tites whiskey and grandmas. "

Falsely retired in 1970, 1997, with the release of the album Buena Vista Social Club produced by guitarist Ry Cooder and documentary film maker Wim Wenders in 1999, he enters the world stage. Four years of touring and international fame for Compay and his group and, with surprise and delight, we discover the freshness and rhythmic vitality of this nonagenarian invigorating and almost all contemporary musicians. It's a whole section of traditional Cuban musical heritage they hand with current evidence and make a dazzling repertoire now universal.

Group Compay Segundo

Compay death, or rather, simply died, his group continues and continues to sustain it and becomes the heir and custodian of this wonderful Cuban popular music of his native province We find his son Salvador Repilado (bass), Basilio Repilado , claves and vocals, Hugo Garzón (singer, host) and a few musicians still "Buena Vista Social Club", whose average age is necessarily need a renewal. But the directory is still as youthful and lively. And in this space Julien, Compay himself played ten years earlier, audiences of all ages press, cheered, sang, and gets up to dance or dance in his chair, possessed with an irresistible rhythmic Cuban contagious.

To begin, it's a song in tribute to Compay and the evening will be punctuated by others with the Cuban genius improviser slippery in any song, without solution of the rhythm, rhythmic echo, "Ay, Compay!", as the room itself will be invited to sing.

Apart from two famous boleros, Dos gardenias and Perfidia , there are some successes of the famous disc. Not sure, but some Hispanics, the room understands flavor, puns rogues, falls so humorous quatrains Sabroso , this Aguador, bearer of two-way water and blood, ready to extinguish the fire ladies isolated in their fifth floor of the irresistible Ternera. A singer (remember Omara Portuondo?) will perform two songs, a Cuban Marseille, saxophonist, will be invited to play with the band, and an Italian guitarist. Basilio, will provide a captivating Saludo Chango , hello to one orishas , deities of Santería pantheon of , syncretic religion, a mixture of African and Catholic beliefs, avatar Yoruba of Santa Barbara and Jupiter. But essentially it will be those Viejos sones de Santiago , music from the region of Oriente, Santiago, Compay which became a composer, performer and celebrated, the son montuno set for by the Trio Matamoros .

The his

Derived from the diminutive slide danzón (derived from danza came from the contradanza , the French quadrille, itself derived from the country dance English!), The his is a cocktail of influences, Hispanic and African miracle of Cuban syncretism: antiphonal singing where singer and alternates group, choir or chorus launching a brief a simple word and the soloist improvises a verse without necessarily report what has preceded. The support base originally was brief but effective percussion instruments: bongos, congas, claves (two sticks of wood), maracas, and especially this very , this little guitar played with a plectrum, three pairs of double metal strings, which will become the Armonico with a rope and more, invented by Compay. Here, the veteran group is a virtuoso who launches into dizzying improvisation where melody, fainting, all is more than rhythm. But, bass, woodwinds and guitars bring here another density.

Claimed to cry in the room, as an encore, we will Chan chan naturally punctuated by heart-all with "ay, Compay!". It's warm and friendly, Havana Marseille (which some seek to match, see link above) as an obvious pairing of the heart, color.

Photos Yves Bergé.

1. The group

2. The virtuoso very .