Musical Bridge

A chronicler of his times, Raul Torres was born in Bayamo, Cuba, but he became known in Matanzas Province. From folk “trova” roots, he has researched the music of diverse regions of the world to incorporate sonorities and melodic elements of jazz as well as Brazilian, African and lately Anglo-Saxon music.

His evolution as an artist has allowed him to extend from a very particular intimate quality to reach positions of social criticism and challenge according to the degree of commitment that he has gradually acquired over the passing years, though without ceasing to uphold poetry and the beauty of life.

One of the icons of the Nueva Trova movement, Pablo Milanes is known for maintaining a critical position toward what he considers errors committed by the leadership of the Cuban Revolution, though without ceasing to defend that revolution despite its mistakes.

Although he has not achieved the same level of acclaim as that of his contemporaries Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes, some of his songs appear within the most beautiful of Cuban trova.

His lyrics have assured him a place in the hearts of all Cubans, just as his fusion work has won him high marks among specialized critics. His songs incorporate elements of Latin American music —basically Brazilian and Caribbean.

Someone once called him “a hippie of communism,” and I believe one could find no better way to define his spirit. From melancholy to hope, discovering poetry in what surrounds him, he is usually heard by those who want him to speak to them – people who share his existential pain and the weight implied by understanding history.

The idea that moves through this theme from one end to the other is that all of us, at some moment, have been fallen angels, souls that come to us from another dimension. With pure souls, we fall into this world built by the greed of other angels who lost their wings a long time ago, but who adapted.

Silvio Rodriguez’s songs reflect, they question and enter into dialogue with the most immediate realities. They reach soaring poetic flight and are able to transmit feelings with a tremendous intensity.

“Two lovers in a pink convertible went to an abandoned drive-in theater. There, they got undressed; mutually surrendering their souls, in silence. The moon, observed them, serenely.”