Pabexbo 2023: youth does ring a bell

Friday, April 7th

At nine o'clock at night, Pabexpo, a multipurpose center located in the western area of the Cuban capital, is one of the coldest places in this city in the middle of summer. Not only because of its climate. There is a feeling of isolation in the air that invades and chokes you. It seems that this is not your place, nor yours, nor that of any of us here. 

The few attendees who have arrived are scattered. No one seems focused on what needs to happen. Perhaps it is too early and only the naive arrive tonight at this hour.

It is April 2023 and in the 20 years that I have, for the first time, I feel that in the same line and place fit timba, reggaeton, electronic and cast. There, in that syntagma, they all are and read the same. The order matters little. To have them together is lucky.

***

- Good evening, do you have an invitation?

- No, we just paid the entrance fee at the gate," I explain to the security guard blocking my way. 

Pabexpo's capacity is designed for five thousand people. From my position, right at the entrance, I am more than 200 meters away from the stage. At such a distance I hear nothing, nor can I even see. Absolutely nothing.

- You can't continue, because all the tables are reserved," he refutes me.

Reserved? What do you mean, reserved? This place can hold five thousand people -I repeat- and there are barely 100. When was it informed that reservations were mandatory if an event of this magnitude was not promoted enough? Not even the artists announced on the poster did it.

The guy smiles, as if he wants to help me (us). In this country the alternatives for the bisne never end. 

- Let's see, we are here to help each other," he repeats the programmed speech, "how much do you have," he finally asks.

- Between the two of us we do not exceed two thousand pesos.

He walks around, talks and coordinates with the rest of the partners. Enough time to put together a movie. 

Return. Four thousand is your only option and final price. 

I tell him that we do not have that money, that I am a student. I also tell him why I am there, that I even paid with the FEU card discount. He then suggests going to the cashier. He explains, in a tone that must sound kind to him, the coordinates to get there, we don't even have to leave Pabexpo.

I continue with my insistence, and his answer is of an overwhelming "logic": 

- How are you going to come to an "event" without money? 

The ATM is the only option.

***

One gets tired of breathing corruption. Of trying to justify and understand it. It suffocates us.

But I abstain, because in a couple of hours Pauza, Divan, Alex Duvall, July Roby and Los 4 should be on stage. I can't let anything ruin (more) tonight.

Every 15 minutes a clerk comes by to offer us an "exclusive" cocktail service; that's what she calls it. 

"We can't ask for anything, because this hasn't even started and we don't have a peso left already," I think. She is not to blame, so I reserve it. 

- No thanks, we don't want anything for now," I answer. 

In Pabexpo 2023 there was never an exclusive customer service -I found out about this two days later-; neither were there any four thousand pesos tables. There were some very good actors, though. 

If by any chance that night you wanted to be one of the veriimportanperson (VIP) and to be located in the surroundings of the stage, with the 700 CUP entrance fee plus a bonus of 1000 CUP, you could get it. 

The rest of the tables and space were completely free and available to us not-so-important people. 

This is no place for naive people. I am convinced.

***

The day is almost over and the night at Pabexpo, what a paradox, has not yet begun. 

Half an hour to 12 o'clock, finally, Pauza opens. Today only Zahira is there and maybe it's the absence of Paula, the acoustics, or the repeated problems with the sound... I don't know, but the enjoyment remains half-hearted. The audience remains as inert as at the beginning. Now even more so. 

The lucky thing is that Zahira doesn't need someone to unload on her, because she does it all by herself and, in the end, there will always be someone to join her. For the next 30 minutes people seem to be more aware of the Havana Club bottles on the privileged tables than of Pauza. The presentation ends and few hear about it.

Divan concert at the Pabexpo 2023 event on April 8, 2023. Photo: Carlos Daniel Ferrer Pérez / Follow me and I'll follow you project.

Diván is a talented, commercial guy and the second to take the stage. His presence here does not surprise me, he is one of the few who never misses a big event. In September 2022 I saw him play at FAC with Wampi, both as guests of Brenda Navarrete. For the first time I enjoyed exponents of the urban genre in Fábrica, warming up that space, usually reluctant to this type of artists.

Today Diván viene al seguro, performs some of the hottest new releases from his new album Feeling: Fruit Cocktail (ft. Bebeshito), The Motorcycle Remix (ft. Wow Popy)... All collaborations with "repas" artists.

His music is the living example of the fact that, contrary to what is said, sometimes the commercial endures. That is why today he sings Your perfume in the air (2013), I was wrong (2016), He learned it with me (2018)... tracks that have been on the street for more than five years and that everyone hums along to without mistake. 

His shift ends and it is time for the showman of the night. Alex Duvall manages to put on a show all by himself. He's been doing it since he was a member of Yuly & Havana C. The Datway don't accompany him on stage, but he blends in with them. He opens at 1:50 a.m. with The bombshell. But the bombshell that the fresboy It could be, because all the skills he has, he never gets to explode. He stays there, halfway between the stage and the audience.

He is followed later by July Roby, whom I made the mistake of underestimating before hearing him live. He has a metal voice that is surprising up close, but he exploits it so much that I can't understand some of what he's saying. The audio doesn't help either. 

***

Who is behind the whole production of this show? How many strings must have had to be pulled to pull it off? Why, once it is organized, do they not give it enough promotion to have even half the capacity covered? There are no more than 500 people here. 

In the time that elapses between presentations, I wonder (and reproach, moreover), why "Pabexpo 2023 Youth Sounds".? More than half of my friends -young people- could not be here, because the cover for students is 500 pesos and our monthly stipend is 300 pesos. 

Why so much incoherence? Has anyone thought about the cost of transportation to Pabexpo and back at 4:00 a.m.?

Did they even care to think about it? What quota or commitment does this activity fulfill? Who scores the points?

There is an audience that is not the cuban show business. Humble people, who do not live in Playa or near Pabexpo, who want to hear their artists and that is why they would be here, if they knew about it, if they could afford it. People who probably would not have the means to return home. But who would be satisfied to be here, and see the sunrise on foot and happy.  

Art sometimes comes at a very high price.

July Roby concert at the Pabexpo 2023 event on April 8, 2023. Photo: Nandito Escobar Gamboa.

The flurry of thoughts is interrupted by the brass of Los 4. It's ironic, because tonight it's just one: Batule DJ. From the background, Jorge Junior sometimes shouts unintelligible words and phrases. The concert is defended by the band of musicians that accompanies them and Batule who, literally, carries the baton.

However, timba is timba and Los 4, Los 4. That is why they have been making music for 15 years, continue to close events, and are the main course wherever they stop. Today is no exception.

At 4:00 a.m. very important people look more like normal people. With timba, class differences are almost imperceptible. We leave through the same door and in the same tune. 

***

Saturday, April 8th

The queue to enter exceeds 40 minutes of waiting time. This is not Pabexpo 2023, not yesterday. Today it is the most suffocating place in the city. The structure and organization of the space is even different. No one asks, but all the faces say it: Pabexpo is full, and it's because of Fixty Ordara and Ja Rulay.

The majority of the audience is made up of teenagers between 15 and 18 years of age with an innocence that gives them away. The fear of not entering floods us. 

It's Rami Records' night. Also Yulien Oviedo and Havana D' Primera.

Once most access the facility, Yulien breaks down. He has always struck me as a down to earth guy with a talent through the roof as a singer and percussionist. 

He appears with a black mesh pullover, charanguero style, because there are things with which he carries all his life. He starts with Mama, featuring  Wow Popy. He continues with his most recent repertoire: Agua Noche Remixwith Fifty and Ja, and Rich youalso with Bebeshito.

Where are the people who feel good. Where are the people who feel happy. A noise for my people. Hand up the Capri.

From the average Yulien Oviedo repa who plays and adapts to new sonorities, he returns to the times of The best pen in the Republic with The Small talent machine.

Those of us present, most of us no older than 25, chanted that at the top of our lungs. We chanted a song that came out when we were probably 10.

Where are the people who feel good. Where are the people who feel happy -He repeats, "and so, on high, he withdraws.

At 2:00 a.m. Havana D' Primera kicks off.

-How great these people are! -I say to myself as soon as I hear the first trumpet and Alexander's voice. But it's the same as with Pauza, his followers are not here today. They are not the majority among the almost four thousand people gathered at Pabexpo.

At some point during the 40 minutes that the group was on stage, Manolín, the Salsa Doctor, accompanied them.

However, Alexander could have invited the best of timba and Cuban salsa, which still would have done him little good. To connect with the audience tonight he would have to have a repa artist among his guests. I don't know what to make of that.

While singing They call me Cuba, someone next to me yells "Fixty, Fixty!!!". 

In an Instagram story, Raymel Perez (founder of the Rami Records label) thanked Alexander Abreu: "The horse, this was thanks to you," his post read.

If so, it is to thank him and all those involved, because creators, artists and public need this "face-to-face" in large-format spaces. Beyond the acoustics, the corruption of some of the staff, the deficiencies in the organization, Pabexpo 2023 was an agglomerating event; a meeting to understand how and what Cuba sounds like in the middle of 2023. An opportunity for Cuban reggaeton and the cast to have their space in venues like this one; a lesson for those who still doubt its impact. 

When did Los 4 stop closing for capacity? When did a group of Havana D' Primera's stature not put an end to a massive event? Was it foreseen that a duo would make it? 

The cast is here to stay, that's the only certainty I come away from this couple of nights with. 

             ***

"Fixty Ordara and Ja Rulay! Fixty Ordara and Ja Rulay!" is all you hear. They echo each other. The organizers of the event know exactly what the main course of the night is and how long their fans are willing to wait. People didn't come here to listen to the cast, they came to live it. 

Fixty Ordara & Ja Rulay concert at Pabexpo 2023, April 9, 2023. Photo: Taken from Fixty Ordara's social media.

That's why my combo gets you in. Ratatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatataaaa. Aceleraaa, anyone, that the piece is not anyoneaaaaa.

This is reset. 

Suddenly, 3:15 a.m. is nine o'clock at night. Fixty Ordara and Ja Rulay on stage, after six hours.

There are people on top of the tables. Two or three on another. Some prefer the railings. The luckiest are those who are on the shoulders of the companion. 

For 45 minutes, Pabexpo is a neighborhood where families live together, some of them dysfunctional. No one really knows each other, but if you know any repa corridor and any refrain, we are already on the same side. We are already on the same team.  

The happiness is evident in the faces, in those of each artist who takes the stage and in those of us on the other side. We could have waited six hours longer. It would be unfair, but realistic.

Ja Rulay, at the Fixty Ordara & Ja Rulay concert at the Pabexpo 2023 event on April 9, 2023. Photo: Taken from Ja Rulay's social media.

After Ratata followed by No decrease, Pussy Waist, Take, Desaparta, La jeva del amigo mío, Abduction, For Us, For You and By All. They perform a good part of their repertoire. Wow Popy accompanies them. 

At 4:15 they turn on the lights. This sign is the most polite "it's over" ever invented. These people on stage still have a lot to let loose. We, a lot to receive.

They have to finish, but they want to burst the meeting. Nobody knows when, from the institutional framework, they will be given another space like this one. 

You can hear the piano of the intro of Everything is okBut with that clarity, the night loses its magic. It goes in decadence.

They put an end to their hymn and to Pabexpo 2023. But it doesn't matter: ta' to rico, to' está ok. The party continues outside. The night is just beginning.