Entry Question
How would you describe the Cuba-US relationships through time?
US Cuba-US Relationship: Historical Context
.Pro-US corporation governments and dictatorship during the early XX century
.Cuban revolution (socialist/communist government)
.Pro-capitalism upper and middle classes fled. They receive refugee status in the U.S.
.The US imposed a blockade
.Mariel Boatlift 1980 (black and poor Cubans discontented with the revolution arrive in Miami)
.Cubans rebuild Miami as a thriving Spanish-speaking city and diasporic center.
. After a number of years of negotiation in 2016 (under the Obama administration) Cuba and the US re-start a more direct political relationship and some sanctions are eliminated in favor of increasing negotiations and access. These fell through during the Trump administration.
Chico and Rita and the pre-Cold War, pre-Revolution Cuban migration
As the film, Chico and Rita demonstrates before the Cold War Cuban migration to the US was very connected with the manufacturing industries and the Afro-diasporic cultural explosion in NYC. Many Cubans musicians like Mario Bauzá or Chano Pozo migrated to NY to engage with the thriving Afro-musical world of the times. These pioneer musicians transformed jazz and created an inter and transcultural musical path that continues to this day (mambo; bugalú; salsa; Latin jazz; merengue; hip hop; bachata; reggaetón).
The animated film (see Chano Pozo’s description of NY and the US and Rita’s speech at Las Vegas) and Jairo Moreno’s essay depict how for Afro-Cubans the US represented a space of musical evolution but also of deep racial oppression, segregation, and coloniality (the legacy of everyday colonial practices and mentalities even when the official colonial relationship is over).
See pages: 179-180
Class Presentation
Recovering Africanness
Bauzá-Guillespie-Latin Jazz- J Moreno
Moreno quotes Gillespie’s reflection on the loss of African musical traditions, polyrhythms, in favor of European metrics, and monorhythm. His encounter and collaboration with Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo allowed him to reclaim Africanness in his music via the influences of Caribbean rhythmic organization, arrangements, and Pozo’s (Afro-spiritual) musicianship.
See pages: 183-185
Interestingly, his relationship with Pozo showcases- just like Bauzá experienced or the characters in Chico and Rita- elements of US exceptionalism, colonialism, exoticism, and imposed subordination.
Film Aesthetics
The curvaceous and floating animation style in Chico and Rita could be interpreted as a “translation” of the fluidity, and transnational reach of Afro-Cuban music in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the US.
In his essay, Moreno precisely highlights Mario Bauzá’s transcultural approach to music. He features the dominant musical culture (orchestra and harmony) alongside the rhythms of his native (subaltern) Cuba.
Option3:
New York being an obligatory destination of sorts for musical pilgrims and also for those interested in incorporating themselves into a rapidly emerging international market centered in and around the United States mass culture” is displayed throughout the film. Rita is a sensational singer but due to her race she faces some obstacles. When she finds out she can go to New York, she realizes she will gain a lot of awareness and a fan base due to the population there. In “Bauza-Gillespie-Latin Jazz: Difference, Mkdernity, and the Black Caribbean” by Jairo M. They mention New York being a sacred place for jazz. In the film they show multiple scenes of night clubs and lounges in which jazz music is being performed and the crowd loves it. The dance moves combine Afroamerican and Latin styles. I believe the reason that New York is considered to be the spot to make it big in Jazz is because of its authenticity. The people are unique and express themselves more openly than other places or countries, and the people are more open to new forms of entertainment or art. No one is afraid of being different. When Rita’s manager tells her she’s going to New York, she’s so happy because she understands how valuable the diversity could be for her career.