“A good Cuban manager is a multitasker”

They say that José Luis González is very active and focused. Almost by chance, he has discovered his skills as a manager for just over a year with Green Lights, Misifuz and Rapzodia, three new bands from the alternative scene in Cuba. 

He graduated from Medicine and was practicing until 2018, when he began working as a self-employed person in a courier agency. The following year, Luces Verdes recorded an album at a live concert, and when he heard them, he loved it. 

I already personally knew Javier Luis San Juan, singer of the group; one day they met at a place and he directly asked if they were looking for a representative. As an endorsement, he counted having played guitar since high school and coming from a family with a musical tradition. And it worked. 

“Basically, it was a fortuitous encounter and a bit of 'chutzpah' on my part,” recalls José Luis. “At some point I wanted to be a musician, but life took me down other paths. So that was the way I had to bond, try to live from music”.

In a work session with Misifuz. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.

In this profession, practice makes perfect, although certain preconditions probably become necessary. “Being a doctor and dealing with patients helped me a lot. I think I developed quite the ability to listen, patience…”. The list includes, of course, communication skills, knowledge about music, studying how the industry is doing, new forms of consumption and distribution.  

“It is important to sometimes be the critical or divergent voice, which brings a different perspective; don't be afraid to make a strong criticism or have a different opinion. The contacts... that already comes with time. Fundamental is also the sense of belonging that one has with the musicians: falling in love with what one does without blurring one's vision... Falling in love objectively, if that is possible”. 

Brought to the national context, the set of tools needs to incorporate other super powers. For example, knowing how to walk through the thousand doors and corridors of the bureaucracy, soaking up its operation as long as a procedure is carried out as expeditiously as possible and does not become an obstacle. 

“I have some references to how work is done in other parts of the world, and I think that here the function, essentially, remains the same: to defend the interests of the artist. What changes is the framework in which we develop, in a music industry that still has its particularities”. 

José Luis González with Rapzodia in the República Records studio. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.

The revolution that the Internet meant for the sector is just beginning in Cuba. The artist's creation must be grounded in our objective reality —says José Luis—. "Ground it down and make it possible in terms of resources, deadlines, economy... without taking the heart out of the work." 

In these parts, the figure of the manager can still be taboo, “because many times they see us as unnecessary; people who, far from stimulating contact, are going to be a useless intermediary. It has happened to me with several institutions that when I approach the first reaction is to avoid and say that they will speak directly with the band or with the director”. 

Daily work imposes knowledge about production, marketing strategies, social networks, accounting, “at least basic, to effectively manage the band's economy, and that there is a balance between income and expenses. Here we are more versatile: having a complete team is difficult, especially when the groups start, so the manager has to do a bit of everything. I believe that a good Cuban manager is a total multitasker”.

But José Luis understood that he was not alone in the world when in December 2019, in the context of British Culture Week, he attended the workshop on creative industries —dedicated to event curatorship and management of artists—who organized Magazine AM:PM next to the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Cuba. “There all the managers said something that made me feel protected: at the beginning it is normal that one should carry all the functions. Then, little by little, the team takes shape”.  

It was in that meeting where he met three of the managers who would come to form his pantheon of references. Before, José Luis had two international examples to follow: Brian Epstein and Brian Eno, each responsible for the change of course in the career of two bands he admires: The Beatles and Coldplay, respectively. From that workshop, Collin Laverty, Yoana Grass and Darsi Fernández joined the list. 

“It was interesting to me how Collin, who did not come from the music world because he is an entrepreneur, was able to position Cimafunk in the United States; while Yoana and Darsi are the only Cuban managers I know so far. And look how good they are, they are women, and they have tremendous strength”, emphasizes José Luis, who seems to drink from that drive to complete, day by day, his training as a manager on the Island. 

Because, in that sense and to be fair, that training most of the time occurs empirically. For this reason, just as there are directing, editing or sound studies, and institutions that teach them —he points out—, it would also be necessary to add this specialty to the art faculties in the country.

At the Blen Blen studios, together with Edesio Alejandro, Beatriz Márquez, Miguel Ángel Céspedes and Luces Verdes. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.

“Studying becomes very necessary because we work in an industry, and there are countless aspects that we have to master: the legal part, how contracts work, copyright, digital distribution, now that media platforms are on the rise. streaming, the rights to that distribution…”. 

With a view to positioning their music abroad, the bands it represents have uploaded their songs to the main platforms, including payment options, to achieve greater visibility. “If a producer approaches, if we are going to participate in a festival, or someone from outside wants a reference, or wants to know where to find your music, what they always ask for is Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music…”, says José Luis. 

Even at home, achieving a space in the programming demands tenacity. Beforehand, José Luis knows that he will have to go several times to talk to the manager or the owner of the place, that he will have to talk a lot and, probably, the first time he will not be able to present the group there; and once you start, keeping attracting audiences also becomes difficult. 

“And everything, of course, is by our means, because as we know, artistic representation agencies hardly ever look for work; that's why we exist. Our primary function right now is to get introductions.” 

Meanwhile, the current projects do not stop. The most ambitious is called Contratiempo, and it seeks to become a platform that brings together several of the youngest alternative bands.  

The first thing will be to record a tribute album to Cuban music, where 11 groups —each with a song— will pay tribute to Benny Moré, Santiago Feliú, Los Van Van… and all together they will play theme 12: when i say futureSilvio Rodriguez. 

Although the initiative includes more than 20 groups, Green Lights, Rapzodia, White Noise, Misifuz, Boomerang, De Grises, Bocarriba, New World, Palo de agua, Quadrigales and Flor de Loto will participate in this initial installment. Republika Records will assume the musical production, and La Tiza Films for the audiovisual part.

Work sessions with #TuBandaAlternativa. Collage: Courtesy of the interviewee.

“We want that to be the gateway to everything that we are going to propose.” Contratiempo aspires to have the support of young entrepreneurs and institutions such as the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS) and the Cuban Institute of Music, to become a festival, and more than that, a generational artistic movement.

Taking advantage of the potential of social networks arises #TuBandAlternative, a series of videos where the manager talks about those same groups, and at the end he recommends a topic to the people. What started as homemade capsules, intends to evolve into a program with hosts, writer, different locations and sponsors. 

Although his journey in the world of music is still short, José Luis offers a diagnosis of the current scenario, and imagines better futures.

“I think that this profession is quite depressed in Cuba: it is not given as much interest as it could by the institutions; many artists choose to be their own representatives, not only when they start, which is normal, but also when they grow as artists; And they do it out of ignorance. 

Speaking of shortcomings that make day-to-day difficult, the need for an established legal figure to be able to exercise stands out. “I wish there was a guild, a point of contact between managers, to exchange, grow. A change that matches us with this industry in the world is essential; so as not to be left behind and repeat old formulas. 

“That is going to help boost the role of the manager, and not be seen as an appendage or someone who is going to take what you sweat. For a musician to be able to concentrate on creating, they need a person with skills, experience and resources, who can put their work in view of as many people as possible”.