Javier Ruibal in the theater of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Cuban Art Building. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez. Freezing time
I will never be able to get music out of an instrument, nor sing in a concert, but for 13 years I worked closely linked to the world of music in Cuba, especially to the Nueva Trova, thanks to my role as a photographer at the Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau. Those were unforgettable times where I enjoyed and saw the birth of some songs that today are essential for the history of contemporary Cuban music.
For me the staging of a concert was the main course, but what happened before, during and after each concert off stage was the garnish that defined the dynamic between the musicians and that would leave in my archives that less seen part of the music before it became a show. Those little things, those simple details or actions that will help us tell a story when time goes by, remain in an image and become memory.
I was once asked what my super power was, and without hesitation I answered: I can freeze time.
Kelvis Ochoa and Residente at the Calle 13 concert at the Tribuna Antimperialista in Havana, Cuba, in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutierrez.
Residente and iLe at Calle 13's concert at the Tribuna Antimperialista in Havana, Cuba, in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Javier Ruibal and Luis Alberto Barbería at the theater of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Cuban Art Building. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Javier Ruibal and Santiago Feliú at the theater of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Cuban Art Building. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Presentation concert of Interactivo's album Cubanos por el mundo at the Karl Marx Theater in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Presentation concert of Interactivo's album Cubanos por el mundo at the Karl Marx Theater in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Presentation concert of Interactivo's album Cubanos por el mundo at the Karl Marx Theater in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Vicente and Aurora de los Andes Feliú in concert of the Feliú family at the Canto para todos space, at Casa del Alba, in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Vicente and Santiago Feliú at the Feliú family concert at the Canto para todos space, at Casa del Alba, in 2010. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Chucho Valdés in concert. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Frank Fernández among the audience attending a Chucho Valdés concert. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Habana Abierta concert at La Tropical's Salón Rosado, in 2012. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Habana Abierta concert at La Tropical's Salón Rosado, in 2012. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Concert La máquina del Siglo XXI, at Maxim Rock, in 2012. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
Concert La máquina del Siglo XXI, at Maxim Rock, in 2012. Photo: Alain Gutiérrez.
