Visiting Cuba is currently illegal, but those attending Summer Stage last night were treated to the next best thing as Cuban national Pedrito Martinez and his band PMP performed before a showing of the 1964 Soviet film I Am Cuba. It was a hot and humid, night reminiscent of the tropics, with audience members in the bleachers fanning themselves with programs before the start of the show.
Pedrito Martinez is a 35 year old composer, lyricist, percussionist and vocalist who was born and raised in Cuba. From age 11, Martinez was playing and singing comparsa -a conga comparsa is the band in a carriage that follows dancers in a Cuban Carnival procession. He has been in the United States since 1998, and currently leads two bands: Ibború, a four person group plays traditional Cuban music (son, cha cha, danzones) at New York City's Guantanamera restaurant and the Pedrito Martinez Project (PMP) plays Martinez' original compositions in his own brand of Afro-Funk-combining Afro-Cuban and Afro-Beat.
The Pedrito Martinez Project (PMP) includes two percussionists, a keyboard player, a three person horn section, a bassist and three female back up singers. At Summer Stage, the band initially took the stage without Pedrito and incited the tame crowd into more rambunctious behavior before their front man triumphantly burst on stage. Although not all of the band's members are Cuban, their sound is Cuban through and through as they blasted a set of complex rhythms and lusty mambo. Pedrito did most of his work last night as a vocalist, patrolling the stage in a white linen suit and hat, singing and dancing as the band’s funky horn lines and infectiously syncopated congas blared behind him. Not content to play only traditional fare, the band integrated some hip-hop elements into the performance with one of Pedrito’s backup singers rapping a spanglish verse on a song. “Put your hands up” Pedrito implored the crowd to dance, but for most of the set people were content to listen from their folding chairs, finally getting up at the set's finale.
After the set, Summer Stage showed the film I am Cuba, The 1964 Russian film is about Cuba during dictator Batista's regime just prior to the successful revolution led by Fidel Castro. The film was directed by Soviet filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov and shot by cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky in lavish black and white. The film tells the story of Cuban poverty and hopelessness prior to the revolution through the lives of four central characters: a desperate Cuban prostitute preyed on by lecherous Americans in a Casino, a landowner who burns his sugar cane crop when he learns that it will be taken over, a rebellious student, and a farm worker who joins the rebel group and ends up marching victoriously into Havana.
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Despite threatening forecasts lately, we've had a string of beautiful summer nights, despite the heat. Last night was no different in Central Park, where we headed to see the Pedrito Martinez Project at SummerStage. As one of the last nights of the music & film festival and part of the African film festival, the Pedrito Martinez Project performed before a screening of the iconic film "I Am Cuba."
We were in for a treat when the PMP took stage, as the band tried to hype us up before the man himself stepped out. The people on stage were moving, grooving, and the beat and their happiness was infectious -- the unmistakable Cuban influence on the music gave it a dance feel that should have made people jump up. There were a few audience members swaying their hips in time, but mostly everyone was happiest to watch from their seats, which I think might have thrown the band members. Pedrito Martinez has a beautiful voice, and he talked to the crowd a little bit about his band, his music, and the fact that he believed that Africa was the greatest country in the world. The large band of people on stage seemed glad to give the performance, and never stopped trying to involve an audience that, while they were paying attention, seemed not to want to take much part. Pedrito Martinez has been making music as part of bands for years, and this is his first real foray into a solo act, which I think came through just a little bit. Despite that, it was lovely music for a humid summer night, and gave us just a glimpse into what the Cuban culture might be like.
After, "I Am Cuba" was shown on the large projector screen in the park. An iconic film, "I Am Cuba" has historically become the much talked-about movie that depicts Cuba during the time of the revolution. Made in 1964, the film is exquisitely shot, and juxtaposes the glamour of American Cuba -- the hotels, casinos, pretty women in tight dresses and bikinis -- with the Cuba that no one ever talked about: the poor, impoverished, hungry, and working. The film starts with the country narrating. "I am Cuba," she says, and explains that, while beautiful, she's been stolen from and beaten down. "I am Cuba," she says, "don't run away. Look."
