Changüí, a genre among hills

What is it about this genre, born in the eastern highlands more than a century and a half ago, that remains lively despite the passing of time and people? This is a question asked by everyone who was in Guantánamo between June 27 and 30, when the 11th edition of the Changüí Festival took center stage in the local cultural scene.

Origin

According to ethnomusicologists, this genre originated in the region of Yateras, Guantanamo municipality, between 1850 and 1860. At the beginning, the groups were not structured as they are today., Nor did they get together for rehearsals or premeditated performances, but would wait for a party or birthday party until the treseros, guayeros, marimbuleros and bongoseros arrived. It is not that from the beginning the line-up was not what we call traditional today.

The changüí is a precursor of the son, and its initiating figure is Nené Manfugás, a bohemian from Baracoa who took it from the mountains to the carnivals of Santiago, where he stood out for the interpretation of his mythical rustic tres with trolling strings. The genre stands out for its syncopated singing, 2/4 measures, witty lyrics where the themes of women, anecdotes, the homeland, the countryside, politics and also as a space for improvisation where even the dancing public itself is invited.

Currently there are groups that have contributed variety and richness without losing the key elements with which it was founded. Such is the case of Síncopa Uno, El Guajiro y su Changüí, Las Flores del Guaso and Changüí Guantánamo itself, which have managed to create something new and original by mixing genres such as guaracha, son montuno, salsa and merengue.

Photos by: Olaph Johe Quiala.

The long-awaited festival

In the days leading up tohe I found out that Adela, a key character in these walks and who runs a place (her patio) aimed at safeguarding the culture of the area of traditions, would give a dance class. Presto, I went to the party and, as a lefty that I am and I presume, I was not able to learn.

The inaugural gala was held on the night of June 27. Groups such as Nengón Imías, which celebrated its 70th anniversary; El Guajiro y su Changüí; the Puerto Ricans Jíbaro and the Americans Kayumbo y sus Yumberos, enhanced the evening with their presentations full of euphoria, rhythm and tropical flavor.

Emiliano Sardiñas, the backpack poet and bearer of the Cuban point, improvised some verses in homage to Elio Revé Matos, and toasted for the continuity of this kind of events. In later words to the journalist, he regretted not being able to stay longer, since in the early morning he was leaving for the Jornada Cucalambeana that was being held in Camagüey, on the same dates as the festival. 

There are carnival airs; there are kiosks set up in the areas that comprise the festival. If it used to be held every other year, starting with this edition it will be held annually. The epicenter of the musical movement is the Loma del Chivo neighborhood, home to places such as the Patio de Adela, La Tumba Francesa Pompadour and the Casa del Changüí itself. Despite its violent reputation, the public attends and shuffles to the rhythm of a marimbula, a guayo, a tres.

During the mornings there were spaces for thought and debate, with lectures and conferences on topics such as the historicity of the genre, the imprint of Pedro Speck, an iconic figure of the movement, and the traditional pilgrimage to the San Rafael Cemetery, led by the changüiseros themselves and with a ceremonial character, as a tribute to the deceased musicians and their memory.

The concert of Manolito Simonet and his Trabuco, regular visitors to our homeland, on the night of the 28th, summoned many Guantanameros. It was common to meet up with someone you knew and exchange dance steps. Friends, relatives, co-workers... all together in a mass emanating warmth, idiosyncrasy, identity. There is a reason why this city aspires to become a creative reference for dance.

Of the Homeland, and the rest...

You always know when a Changüí begins, but never when it ends...

It is twelve o'clock at night. People dance with the Puerto Rican group Jibaro at the Casa de la Trova Benito Odio. Undoubtedly they turned out to be the most remarkable of the event for the reception, comments of the public and rhythm to dance, not so much for the local groups. It is hard to accept, but let's not be arrogant. More foreign than local interest has been shown in preserving cultural identity elements. Should we stand idly by and do nothing? It seems to be the reality. 

I come from the mountains/ from my Borincan land/ and I bring with joy/ the changüí for this Homeland. 

Gianluca Tramontana -Italian journalist and producer who in his wanderings in Cuba, specifically in Manzanillo, became acquainted with the genre through the song Pastora's guarareyby Roberto Baute Sagarra, interpreted by the Original orchestra-, and he felt so committed to documenting the history and trajectory of Changüí that he left it on his album and photobook The sound of Guantánamowhere he compiles field recordings and photographs he took of rural musicians in the towns of Manuel Tames, Imías, Yateras and Baracoa. He remembers with affection the welcome of the people of the countryside, and especially old Yu, a renowned tres player who died recently. He also recalls the difficulties he went through to reach places that are only 20 kilometers from the city. "Sometimes I would spend half a day between tractors, pickup trucks and horse-drawn carriages to reach my destination," he says.

Photos by: Olaph Johe Quiala.

Kayumbo y sus Yumberos was another of the foreign groups that performed. Led by Kai Lyons, a jazzman based in San Francisco, California, United States, they have experimented with the changüí in an attractive way without losing the essence, the core of the genre, which is the tres. He says that, during a jazz festival in Havana, he learned of a music anchored in time, rural and modern at the same time, and did not waste a minute. The next day he would embark on a 28-hour trip to Baracoa to nourish himself with its elements. "When I returned to San Francisco, I got in touch with several Cuban musicians, there are many, to continue learning, until I decided to form my own group," he tells me. 

Elito Revé and his Charangón...

Son and executor of Elio Revé Matos, catalogued as "Father of Changüí", Elito returns in each edition of the festival as honorary president. "La Aplanadora de Cuba", undoubtedly, is the group that enjoys the greatest prestige, history and relationship with our village.

With his orchestra, forge of transcendental artists such as Chucho Valdés and Juan Formell, founded in 1956 by his father, he is able to drag crowds and "heat up the dance floor" with songs already impregnated in the Cuban song dictionary: "Tamara la del edificio conmigo ha soñar/ que este año lograré lo que tanto he anhelado/ Sólo tengo que buscar tener siete caracoles/ con una pucha de flores y llevársela al mar... Agua pa' Yemayá" (Tamara from the building with me has dreamed/ that this year I will achieve what I have longed for/ I only have to look for seven snails/ with a bunch of flowers and take it to the sea... Agua pa' Yemayá).

Despite the downloads and the usual matinee held in the park of the same name located in the neighborhood of La Loma del Chivo, it did not feel the same heat of past editions. It turns out that the concerts scheduled at one hour, took place two or three hours later. Guantánamo is not a city that can boast of a remarkable nightlife. Street lighting and transportation are something of which there is almost no memory, hence the scarcity of public at the concerts.

Photos by: Olaph Johe Quiala.

For later editions it is expected to implement a better organizational strategy in terms of the program of the event. The invitation of external figures is excellent, but that it exceeds the presence of local musicians is not optimal; in short, these are the ones who defend their tradition and history from here based on improvised instruments, rain or shine, with or without an audience, but with the desire to play and give their lives for it.

***

The festival culminated with a parade of various groups and the performance of the "Longest Changüí", which currently holds the record of 31 hours without stopping dancing or playing.

When talking about Changüí, Nengón, Kiribá, the mind goes back to Guantánamo - "land between rivers"-; to its warm and charismatic people who dress up in rumba and conga during carnivals; to the French coffee plantations; to a naval base less than 20 kilometers away; to the poet Regino Eladio Boti; to Elio Revé Matos and his Charangón.

We are left with a mixture of sweet and bitter flavors. This festival showed that the Guantanamero public is capable of defending its traditions to the hilt. However, it is necessary to encourage the public from an early age our culture and idiosyncrasy, key elements to continue creating, from our village, the magic of authenticity.