With the many different forms of media available today, audiences have the opportunity to learn and be influenced on the ideas and beliefs of other in many different ways. One example of an effective form of media is visual media as we find in videos or movies. It has been said that “the eyes are the window to the soul” and therefore what we look at or watch can have a profound influence on us. For me, Cuba has always seemed like a very interesting and mysterious place. We are always told that the government of Cuba treats its people badly and that this poverty stricken nation is the enemy. While we can say that the governments of the United States and Cuba don’t agree on much, the people of both nations have certain basic needs and desires that all human beings share. The love of music and the influence it can have on people is something that transcends national borders and ethnicities. After watching the video by Wim Wenders “Buena Vista Social Club” I was able to see how the music of Son influenced the people of Cuba and how that music was used to help establish a national identity for many Cubans. This film is a documentary about American Guitarist Ry Cooder assembling a group of famous Cuban musicians to reassemble and play again for a couple of shows. It showed many scenes of these famous musicians walking around the streets of Havana and going about their daily lives in their neighborhoods. They also expressed how the music influenced them during their younger days and many interesting stories about the evolution of this musical genre. However this documentary and the sound of Son as a whole represent something more important than just music. This also represented the people of Cuba and the definition of what it meant to be “Cuban” and how white people and black people of Cuba had different points of views about this. The privileged white Europeans of that time looked to Europe to determine what “real culture” was and therefore the music and dance that was popular among them had its roots from Europe. However, in the especially African part of western Cuba, the influence of African beats and sounds developed the Son style which eventually made its way to Havana (Chambers).
At first, the whites of Havana looked down on this new musical style and in a way viewed it as a counter culture style of art. The heavy drum beats that was common in African music differed greatly to the European style they were used to. However, this music was truly “Cuban” which caused many to wonder if this genre of music was truly representative of the majority of Cubans rather than a small group of elites (Chambers). No longer content with being subjugated to an inferior position, the poor Black Cuban was redefining what it meant to be Cuban and what they wanted their society to be like. Therefore, once this music was accepted by all Cubans, for the first time it really didn’t matter what color a person’s skin was, but rather if he was Cuban or not.
The author of the documentary films the American guitarist Ry Cooder in many different situations throughout Cuba and playing with the Cuban musicians. Cooder is considered by many to be a guitar legend and the movie could have focused primarily on him. However I think the director did a fine job of emphasizing the truly important story behind Son and the important role it has played for Cubans and those men that were so influential in creating the music. We get to see Cuba as it really is and hear the stories of how these men saw the changes in their lives and in their country. All along, Son was a part of their lives and a kind of “soundtrack” to the social and political changes that happened in Cuba during the 20th century. However, since this is produced by an American and is primarily a story about the music, we could say that the small nuances of how this music is interwoven into the social and political culture of Cuba are left out. Only after I read the article of the history and influence of Son in Cuba did I really appreciate the stories and lives of those Cuban musicians in the documentary.
When I think about the struggle of black versus white, I often think primarily in the South in the United States. Also, the stories of apartheid in South Africa are very well know and are a part of our modern history. However, I didn’t fully appreciate this same struggle that took place in Cuba and other parts of Latin America. That same struggle took place in Brazil as well and it’s interesting to see how Samba and Bossa Nova played a similar role in the history of Brazil.
It is easy for a white American like me to think the word “Latino” represents that same group of people. The truth is however that this is so far from the truth and there is so much variety within Latinos. The different origins and histories of Latin America make studying their culture very interesting and practical for people today. While watching this documentary, not only was I able to learn something about Cuba and its people, but I also got some new music to add to my selection.
References
Buena Vista Social Club. Dir. Wim Wenders. 1999.
Chambers, Glenn A. "THE RISE OF SON AND THE LEGITIMIZATION OF AFRICAN-DERIVED CULTURE IN CUBA, 1908-1940." John Hopkins University Press, Spring 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.