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Rumbas of Cuba and Congo twinned in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Ray Lema in a UNESCO Associated Cuban School |
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26 January 2022/UNESCO Havana
Renowned Franco-Congolese musician Ray Lema, who was in Cuba invited by the French Embassy for the celebration of the 37th Jazz Plaza International Festival, visited “Guillermo Tomás” Music Conservatory in Guanabacoa, Havana, a UNESCO Associated School, together with the President of the Cuban National Commission for UNESCO (CNCU), Dulce María Buergo, and the Specialist of the Culture Program of UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Tatiana Villegas.
“This visit is very special, precisely with the purpose of sharing Cuban-African intangible heritage, particularly of Congo, since we are celebrating the inscription, last December, of the Congolese rumba in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), which from now on Cuba and Congo share.”, the President of the CNCU, Dulce María Buergo, expressed when referring to this event with which, she announced, the celebrations were opened for the 75th anniversary of Cuba's entry into UNESCO and the creation of the CNCU, which will take place at the end of 2022.
The meeting began with a warm musical welcome from the students, whose closing included a jazz jam session by the visiting artist together with the young bassoon student David Marcus Perdomo.
Maestro Lema toured the Conservatory with its Director, Mónica Vega Maestri, who offered him details about the history and particularities of teaching at this center, which is part of the Cuban art education system and provides training to children and young people at the elementary and middle levels, in 20 specialties.
"Take care of your traditions"
This is how the Franco-Congolese pianist and composer exhorted a group of 4th grade boys and girls with whom he talked and to whom he expressed with pain how the rich traditional musical heritage of various countries is lost, since many students and artists prefer to cultivate classical or modern music, and they forget to rescue, promote or preserve the expressions that are part of the living heritage of their homeland.
A master class by the prestigious artist, together with the Cuban musicologist Cary Diez, was the core of the visit.
When introducing him to the students gathered in the theater of the Conservatory, Dulce María Buergo recalled that Lema enjoys wide prestige and recognition among Cuban musicians and highlighted his work as part of the International Coalition of Artists for the General History of Africa. She also emphasized on his previous visits to Cuba in 2017 and 2018, and that he is returning to the island this year for the celebration of the 37th International Jazz Plaza Festival, this time thanks to the support of the French Embassy in Havana.
Cuba and Congo, twinned also by music
Cary Diez, one of the most knowledgeable personalities of Cuban rumba and its origins, recalled the presence of this manifestation, and of Cuban music in general, in Congo since the 1940s. She also highlighted the relevance of cultural traditions of Congo-Bantu origin in Cuba. Her presentation was supported by performances at the piano by students of the Conservatory.
Her dissertation was also accompanied by the interpretations of rumba practitioners Justo Pelladito and Juan Enrique Chacón and the five-year-old boy Leduán Halil Barbosa, who made a demonstration of virtuosity by playing the drums in a ritual song dedicated to the oricha Elegguá.
The presentations of the practitioners, from different generations and communities, and the response of the public to them, is a sample of some of the reasons "that made Cuban rumba worthy of being included in the Representative List of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016", as Cary Diez reminisced.
"I prefer to speak from music": Ray Lema
This is how the Franco-Congolese musician began his master class, in which he spoke briefly about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): "I see that all these young people know that they have roots there, that is why I feel duty bound to speak to them a little of that country".
He recalled an experience that made him change his life: the creation, from a presidential commission, of the National Ballet of the Congo, a huge country, with an area 4 and a half times that of France, and about 450 ethnic groups and different languages. This difficult task, he underlined, brought him closer to all the music of Congo, from traditional rhythms to the most modern ones, including the Congolese rumba, a musical genre and popular dance of urban areas, recently included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Maestro Lema performed two pieces: a rumba as it is performed today in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and a ritual, which he indicated he wanted the students to listen to because it bears a very complex rhythm, "a rhythm that cannot be played by a child, and thus they will be able to appreciate the complexity of its roots".
"I am going to play the piano and also sing, because I want you to hear my language"
The renowned Franco-Congolese jazz player performed the key of the Congolese rumba and proposed that it be taught to Cuban students, not only because it is part of their heritage, but also to contribute to its preservation.
"I trust that in Cuba they will be able to preserve it," he assured.
Several student girls from the Conservatory joined Maestro Lema in the execution of the difficult piece, in a sample of the level achieved by the young people who are trained in this center.
To the rhythm of music, and with little Leduán in the arms of Ray Lema, the emotional meeting concluded, as a symbol of the roots that are intertwined between Cuba and Africa and the rich musical heritage they share.
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Related Link(s): Cultural Industries, Art, The Slave Route, Cultural Policies, Intangible Heritage, Cultural Diversity, Intercultural Dialogue, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
, Culture and Development |
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