Sounds of Cuba
Music literally drips from the streets in Havana. Musicians work there. Music is so deeply embedded in the culture, it's beyond the domain of some industry-defined 'elite'. Music belongs to everyone and is part of everyone.
The son band Ovi-Nava blew my mind the most. I spotted them walking past one of 100 cafes in Habana Vieja. The lead singer, Lazaro Hernandez Alfonso, is a bona fide star waiting to happen. To see my vid, CLICK HERE
This next one is a montage of 11 different groups (including more Lazaro at the end). We didn't plan to see any of these groups, still don't know their names. This vid collects random sounds we were fortunate enough to stumble across in walks around town. The consistency of the quality is astounding. CLICK HERE to see & hear for yourself!
The most popular of my Cuba youtube videos actually features the least music. My son Sasha needed to take a week off from kindergarten to go on the trip, so we agreed to make a little movie of Sasha sharing his journey with his class. He did a great job! Grownups are loving it as much as kids. See it HERE
Lazaro, video still by Chris Rael