WorldM | Conj. Folklorico Nacional de Cuba

El Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, fundado a principios de 1962, se propuso desde sus inicios contribuir al rescate y rehabilitación de nuestras raíces danzarías y musicales, pudiendo seleccionar aquellas manifestaciones de verdadero valor artístico, para organizarlas de acuerdo con las mas modernas exigencias teatrales, pero sin traicionar su esencia folklórica. Hoy después de treinta y cinco años de su fundación ha desarrollado un estilo de Arte. Folklórico Teatral, de gran efectividad escénica y estética.

El Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba ha ofrecido mas de mil ochocientas representaciones, durante sus ya noventa y tres giras internacionales por diversos países de Europa, América y Asia; los públicos de mas de trescientas ciudades y pueblos han aplaudido el arte profundamente nacional de este conjunto danzario. Los mas prestigiosos escenarios del mundo; desde París a Moscú o Leningrado, desde Lima o México a New York, o Canadá hasta Madrid, desde Florencia hasta Varsovia hasta Argel, Bogotá o Washington D.C., desde Angola o Mozambique hasta Ghana o Zambia, han conocido con beneplácito sus actuaciones, y los públicos mas disímiles han ovacionado en decenas de lenguas, los cantos y danzas tradicionales creados por el pueblo cubano.

Ultramodernos escenarios como el Palacio de la República Berlinés o los milenarios mármoles de los Teatros Romanos de Argelia, han vibrado con los encendidos ritmos de los tambores y sus cantos y danzas. Festivales Folklóricos Internacionales como el del Teatro de las Naciones Sarah Bernhardt de París, el Cervantino de Guanajuato, México, Carifesta de Guyana, y otros, han recibido con alegría a el homenaje fraterno que siempre han aportado los artistas del Conjunto, y han coronado esta hermosa labor al concederles Premios y Diplomas de Reconocimiento, como por ejemplo: El Tonel de Oro y el Collar de Plata, otorgado por unanimidad en las Fiestas Internacionales de La Viña de 1975, celebradas en Dijón, Francia; la Usuta de Oro, recibida en los Festi'Danza de 1974 y 1984, Arequipa, Perú; La Bandeja de Billinghan, Inglaterra; y el Templo de Oro, en el Festival del Almendro en Flor, de Agrigento, Sicilia, entre otros.

The current director, Manoclo Micler, replaced Juan Garcia Fernández, in April 2004. Juan Garcia had replaced Teresa González in July 2000. 


La Europa racista. La era barroca lidapilando sus riquezas...
El mar y Yemayá (Triste e impotente muestra su dolor, los hijos de Africa son arrancados, ella les acompaña en su horrible travesia
Danda de los esclavos. ( En medio de tanto dolor consiguen traer sus rituales,sus bailes,ritmos y musica, y en el corazon ansias de liberad
Olókun. Pas de deux (Reina de las profundidades, recibe tributo..Aquel que vea el rostro de Olókun, pagara con su vida"
Danza Arará (Ya en America, muestran sus aportes a nuestra cultura)
Coreografia: Santiago Alfonso


2ª parte
Obbatala Ayaguna (el tambor bata, la percusion cubana, la mezcla de lo ritual y lo profano, lo puramente callejero, se unen para el CFNC deguste de este sabroso y bello ajiaco escenico
Coregrafia: Santiago Alfonso



Conjunto Folklorico Nacional
de Cuba  Música
    Yoruba
National Folkloric Ensemble of Cuba featuring
Lázaro Ros
Música Yoruba is an outstanding recording of traditional Afro-Cuban folkloric music. It holds the double distinction of being one of the best produced records of this type, as well as featuring performances by one of the largest assemblage of Cuban folkloric masters ever. It is a classic, both as an incredible aesthetic experience and as documentation of a time that has passed into history.

The Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba was founded in 1960 in order to preserve and pass on Cuba's unique cultural heritage to future generations. The greatest singers and dancers of the time were chosen for this task. To this day the Conjunto continues to be the premier ensemble in a network of government-sponsored amateur and professional folkloric groups devoted to teaching and performing the culture indigenous to their towns and regions.
Although the Conjunto Folklórico Naçional specializes in the folkloric music and dance of Havana province (where they reside), they also collect, study and disseminate Afro-Cuban culture from the entire island. Folkloric masters from the various provinces of Cuba come to the Conjunto to teach the resident masters and students. The visiting masters in turn, are encouraged to take the other masters' classes.
As Cuba's foremost folkloric ensemble, the Conjunto has, since its inception, acted as an international ambassador of Afro-Cuban culture while touring throughout the world. Their school in Havana is a center for the many foreigners who come from everywhere to attend ongoing courses in dance, drums and singing. The Conjunto has won numerous international awards and appeared on film and television. Many of its members have gone on to distinguished solo careers.
Música Yoruba consists entirely of Lucumí songs for the orisha, accompanied by batá drums. Recorded in the 1970s, this recording has captured a period when many of the Conjunto's founding elders were still in residence.

The Performers:

Akpons (Lead Singers)
Lázaro Ros 
Cuba's most famous akpón is Lázaro Ros, founding member of the Conjunto. From early childhood, his talent set him on the path to becoming one of the great interpreters of the Lucumí language as used in Afro-Cuban rituals. Studying with Eugenio de la Rosa and other masters, he perfected his singing technique and has become a nationally recognized virtuoso. His long career has included work in theater and films and many recordings. Always an innovator, Lázaro's ground-breaking fusion efforts with Síntesis and Mezcla combine orisha songs with modern rhythms and orchestrations. These days the master lives simply in Guanabacoa where he devotes his time to singing in ceremonies and to developing his current group, Olorún, which includes many younger performers, thus fulfilling his desire to pass his knowledge on to the next generation.
Felipe Alfonso Pérez
Felipe Alfonso, a founding member of the Conjunto, had a legendary style of singing. Felipe's technique included a playful approach to timing that was unparalleled. Playfulness characterized many aspects of his life. This recording is probably the best documented example of this master's outstanding skills. Tragically, Felipe Alfonso died in November 1991 at the age of 43.
Zenaida Armenteros  
A founding member of the Conjunto, Zenaida Armenteros is still with the group. Until recently she was the primary dancer of the orisha Oyá in the Conjunto. Zenaida's singing career spans more than 40 years. She started out by taking part in a singing competition on radio station Cadena Azul. One of her early teachers was Obdulio Morales, an innovator who introduced the horn section to the popular music known as Son (or Salsa outside of Cuba). Zenaida has sung in the most prestigious clubs in Havana, such as the Tropicana, and appeared as a singer in two films, Yambao and Mulata. Música Yoruba captures the marvelous quality of this incredible singer's voice.

The Drummers

Carlos Aldama (Iya Bata)  
Carlos Aldama, a founding member of the Conjunto Folklórico, left the group in 1991. He studied batá under Jesus Pérez when that master was in residence at the Conjunto. Carlos has also worked with Alex Valdez, director of the Karl Marx Theatre in Havana. Other credits include recording with Adalberto Alvarez y su Son and more recently, a project involving both Lázaro Ros and the piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba. After being lead drummer for Lázaro Ros' Olorún, and playing with Sergio Vittier, Carlos moved to the US.
Mario Jáuregui (Itotele Bata)  
Another founding member, Mario Jáuregui studied batá with the master Pablo Roche at the age of nine. He also played at the Tropicana nightclub with Jesús Pérez. Mario played on the very first record of folkloric guaguanco, Guaguanco Afro-cubano (Grupo Folklórico de Alberto Zayas). Mario also played with Sergio Vittier. In addition to his drumming skills, Mario is an extraordinary rumba dancer, a talent he demonstrated in many Conjunto performances.
Ramiro Hernández (Okonkolo Bata)  
Originally from Matanzas, Ramiro lives in Jata near Guanabacoa. He is still in the Conjunto today and is among the new group of elders who have had the "baton" passed to them. Ramiro played with batá masters Jesus Pérez and "Trinidad" Torregrosa.

Music

Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba
Música Yoruba
-text is liner notes from recording courtesy of Bembe Reocrds.
Música Yoruba is an outstanding recording of traditional Afro-Cuban folkloric music. It holds the double distinction of being one of the best produced records of this type, as well as featuring performances by one of the largest assemblage of Cuban folkloric masters ever. It is a classic, both as an incredible aesthetic experience and as documentation of a time that has passed into history.
Bata Drums
The batá drums are the most important of the several different drum systems used in Lucumi ceremonies. Batá are a set of three progressively-sized, double-headed hourglass-shaped drums, considered to be one instrument and acting as a single organism. They play rhythms that are without a doubt the most intricate of the Afro-Cuban drum systems. The batá literally “speak” the Yoruba language and recite a litany that is crucial to particular rituals. The largest of the batá is called Iyá (mother). The Iyá is the lead drum which initiates the recitation of the litany,improvises to the dancer’s steps, and carries on call and response conversationswith the mid-sized batá known as Itótele. The smallest of the batá is the Okónkolo. The Okónkolo plays the simplest patterns of the three, emphasizing the main beats. Batá used in the religious ceremonies are considered sacred. Each consecrated set of batá has living within it the deity known as Aña.
The Yoruba People
The Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria have a rich religious liturgy which includes hauntingly beautiful call and response songs and some of the most rhythmically complex drumming in the world.
Residing within the Yoruba cosmology is the pantheon of deities called orisha. Orisha represent the primordial forces in nature, the various archetypal human personalities, and act as personal guardians or guides to initiates of the religion. During the ceremonies (called bembés), which involve music and dance, the orisha come to earth by possessing the bodies of mediums. In this way, the orisha are able to ‘live” amongst their followers, giving them blessings and guidance.
The Yoruba’s Oyo empire collapsed in the early 1800’s after decades of internal conflict and warfare with their neighbors. As a consequence, many Yoruba were sold into slavery and brought to the New World to work on plantations. Strong traces of Yoruba culture, specifically the worship of the orisha, can be found today in Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago.
Lucumi: The Yoruba in Cuba
Cuba, in particular, still has a phenomenal amount of sacred Yoruba music and dance. In the time of slavery, owners purposely broke up the families of slaves and mixed together people from the different African ethnic groups as a way of maintaining control. However, in early 18th century Cuba the Spanish Catholic Church created mutual aid societies, called cabildos, as a medium of entertainment and reconstruction of many aspects of their ethnic heritage. There came to be Yoruba cabildos, Congo (Bantu) cabildos and Arara (Fon) cabildos in Cuba.
Yoruba religious ceremonies were practiced and preserved in the cabildos of Cuba as the slaves seemingly synchronized their masters’ pantheon of Catholic saints with their own pantheon of orisha. Thus, the orisha covertly lived on in Cuba hiding behind a facade of Catholicism. In truth, these traditions did not exactly synchronize with Catholicism, but rather Catholicism was used as a camouflage behind which Yoruba religious practices took root and flourished. While the white slave owners observed the Africans celebrating a saint on his/her particular day, they were usually unaware that it was actually the orisha who was being worshiped.
Today, the terms saint and orisha are used interchangeably in Cuba. The correlation of the Yoruba orisha with the Catholic saints is part of the island’s common culture. For example, Santa Barbara is understood to be the Yoruba orisha Changó, the god of thunder. San Lázaro is synonymous with Babalú Ayé, the orisha of infectious diseases. Consequently, the Yoruba religion in Cuba is often referred to as Santería, or the cult of the saints.
Another common name for this religion is Lucumi, a Yoruba word meaning friends. Lucumi is also the name given to descendants of Yoruba slaves in Cuba, as well as their music, dance and their Cubanized dialect of the Yoruba language.
Yoruban and Christian rites are easily mixed together by Cubans. After all, the genetic and cultural mixing of African and European ethnic groups has been occurring there for centuries. However, little European influence can be found in the dance and music of the Lucumi ceremonies. Also, the Nigerian systems of divination, such as Ifá, remain intact in Cuba.
Songs for Orisha
Eleggua
Elegguá is the guardian of the crossroads, the intersection of the spiritual and material planes. He is the gate keeper, the messenger between humans and the orisha. Some of Elegguá’s most common depictions are that of a trickster and a child. His colors are red and black. All Lucumí ceremonies begin and end with songs to Elegguá. This opening song is appropriately called The Crossroads. Lázaro Ros’ nasal “doublereed” sounding voice immediately grabs one’s attention. His call says: “Baraloure soke eboda, omo onna alguana ko mama kennia irawo e.” Roughly translated, this means: “Elegguá on top of the mountain graciously accepts the sacrifice. Child of the roads, you were once a mystery”.
Obatalá
Obatalá is the father of the world. His color is white and he isrepresented by the mountain. Felipe calls in the piece with the rhythmic creativity that made him famous. In the second section, he sings the prayer:”Baba eleri Ifá, odu mila”, (”Father, witness Ifá’s divination, my salvation”). “(Bobo eworo), eki lala baba so lalao”(”[Attention all initiates], fulfill dreams, father, speak dreams.”)
Yemayá
Yemayá is the deity of the ocean, mother of the world and of most ofthe other orisha. This road depicts the sea in all her aspects, from calm waters to raging storm. It begins with Zenaida calling in Yemayá Asesu,one of the most beautiful Lucumí songs of all time. Her voice radiates grace and power. Asesu is the aspect of Yemayá at the ocean’s surface. She is very serious and is slow in helping her faithful. The song says “You are the owner of the rivers. Why are you crying? Continue to speak of luck.” In the accompanying dance, women move in a circle, swooshing their blue and white skirtsin a wave-like motion. The tempo picks up as Lázaro calls in a new song. The men’s and women’s choruses alternate parts, finally coming back to sing together. The piece climaxes with the fast tempo section depicting the fury ofthe storm.
Changó
Changó is the orisha of thunder and lighting, male virility and the owner of the batá drums. The first akpón is Felipe. According to Felipe, this song is a puya. It says: “One time when you were strong, you ate a dove.” A dove is a sacrifice that would not be suitable for Changó. When the fast-paced meta section comes in, Lázaro takes over lead. For the finale, Felipe returns for an elaborate call, an example of brilliant improvisation within this traditional context.
Oyá
Oyá is the orisha of wind and the cemetery. She is also the river Niger in west Africa and a wife of Changó. Lázaro begins calling this a cappella prayer, which is an excellent example of an akpón talking to Oyá about her various characteristics. She is the gardener and carries people to the cemetery. She is afefe , which means the first and last breath. Zenaida finishes the piece with the song “Oyá de(Oyá with your crown), mariwo (you rustle the reeds) omesa(you make quick and violent changes) loro (you who speak) yokoro(sit and speak).
Orula
Orula (or Orumila), possesses the table of Ifá, the highest Yorubasystem of divination. Some of the materials used in this system include cowry shells and kola nuts. Orula traded the ability to dance with Changó forthe table of Ifá . Akpón duties are shared by Lázaro and Felipe. The first words sung are: “Ifá yoko bi obo obi I yalawo”,which means “Ifá, sit and divine with the kola nuts, mysteries of the world”.
Oddudua
According to some, Oddudua is the wife of Obatalá. One myth tells of how the supreme being Oludomare sent Obatalá down to earth to create people. When Obatalá arrived on earth, he landed on a palm tree. There in the tree he drank some fermented palm juice and got drunk. In his altered state Obatalá created deformed people and then fell asleep in the palm tree. Seeing this from heaven, Oludomare was displeased and sent down Oddudua to do Obatalá’s job. Oddudua created people, but when Obatalá awoke, he was upset that Oddudua had done his job and wanted credit for what Oddudua had done. Lázaro exquisitely sings this song for Oddudua.
Babalú Ayé
Babalú Ayé is the orisha of infectious diseases. Felipe is the first akpón. Listen to how the drums “speak” in unison with the singers.The first song says: “Bariba ogede ma, mole Yansa mole ya” (”Bariba [anAfrican ethnic group], present an opportunity, bargain with Oyá, bargain to give way”) The tempo picks up when Zenaida calls in the next road which is borrowed from the Arara system. Lázaro is the third akpón, with the lead vocal duties again returning to Felipe .
Elegguá
All bembés end with a salute to Elegguá. Lázaro and Felipe are the akpóns. Dancing Call and response singing is a consistent element found through out sub-Saharan Africa. This formula is definitely one of the attractive aspects of Lucumi orisha songs. Another delightful element of these songs is their subtle influence from the European tonal sensibility. The introduction of European harmonies makes Lucumi songs a type of musical hybrid.
The lead singer of the bembé is called the akpón. The akpón directs the ceremony, ending songs and initiating new ones when appropriate. The songs refer to the myths about the orisha (called patakins), sing praise to the orisha, or actually insult them. These insulting songs, called puyás, are used when the initiates are unsuccessful in calling the orisha down to earth. Puyas are used to make the angry so they will appear. Traditionally, akpóns have known the meanings of the songs they sing. Some have actually had the ability to speak Lucumi fluently. However, as elders pass away, the meanings of these Lucumi songs are slowly being lost.
The Yoruba have a tradition of playfulness with words. A word can have several meanings, and this fact is utilized in many creative ways. When translating Lucumi songs into Spanish or English, it is important to keep in mind that the translations are approximations. Because Lucumi is a creolized version of early 19th century Yoruba, it is impossible to find an exact translation.
The medley of songs sung for each of the orisha are known as roads. A road often starts slowly with elaborately melodic songs, gradually increasing tempo until finally the songs are very short, consisting of only a few words. It is frequently in that climactic moment of the rapid, short call and response songs that the orisha will possess the mediums.


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