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From the Casa de la Trova Santiaguera.
Luisa Blanco: The Godmother of the Trovadores from
Santiago de Cuba

La Casa de la Trova Santiaguera

By:
Translated to English by:
Santiago, Cuba

• Thirty years promoting the "Trovadores"
• Her special friendship with Compay Segundo
• Exceptional witness to the growth of this temple of Traditional Cuban Music

Following a tour of the picturesque and beautiful scenery around this city, walled in by the green-blue mountains under a blazing sun which reflects off the red roofs, with the windows and the iron gates that look like lace, we meander over to the historical center of town, to Heredia Street, on the corner with San Félix and we go up to the Salón de los Grandes in the Casa de la Trova Santiaguera. It is here, on the right that we find Luisa Blanco in her office. This is the woman who I can say, without a doubt, took care of many of the most emblematic Trovadores in Santiago as if she was their mother.

Luisa Blanco, in front of Santiago bay and the Cathedral.

Among them was Emiliano Blez, Daniel Castillo, Pablo Armiñan, Ramón Márquez, Las hermanas Reyes and many more who in the 70's were the oldest Trovadores that the city had.

Dynamic, hard-working and loving, Luisa has an enviable job. She kept track of their names, where they lived, their needs, and even worried about their health. Still today she continues to be like a godmother to all of those wonderful musicians who were the original Santiago Trovadores.

She spent several years trying to rescue those Trovadores, as well as being the Director of the Casa de la Trova, a job which she held until 1996 when they began restauration project on the old house. At that time she became the manager of ARTEX.

From that position she continued to take care of the Trovadores until 2000 when the Agencia Son de Cuba was founded and she became an Artist Representative of that agency, and continues in that position until this very day. This agency is in charge of preserving the Cuban musical tradition and promoting it around the world.

Inside the Casa de la Trova Santiaguera

As a result of Luisa's initiative, the Club de Amigos de la Trova was founded. They have various activities, among which is restoring historic photographs, rescuing musical traditions and the celebration of collective birthdays for their members. They also give economic support to those members who are sick or to the families of those who pass away.

Luisa also created the Quinteto de la Vieja Trova Santiaguera, made up of Francisco Creach, Aristóteles Limonta, Aristónico Nápoles (Coty), Reynaldo Hierrezuelo La ' Ó, Amado Machado Hechavarría and others.

Luisa is seated before us with her desk piled high with files and documents, handling an infinite number of phone calls, attending to her clientele, but she is always willing to answer questions from journalists.

Nereyda - Which have been the most memorable moments that you have had since working at the Casa de la Trova Santiaguera "Pepe Sánchez"?

Luisa Blanco, with the emblematic Trobador, Rigoberto Hechavarría (Maduro) on the left and with Alfredo Rodríguez, a popular singer and host of Cuban Television.

Luisa - I can recall many such memorable moments, such as when Harry Belafonte visited, meetings with similar institutions from other provinces, celebrating the birthdays of the great Trovadores from yesteryear. Paul McCartney visiting. Being able to take care of my unforgettable friend, Compay Segundo each time he came to Santiago de Cuba. He would tell everyone that I was his daughter! Having taken care of Alfredo Rodríguez, the popular Cuban singer and television announcer ...attending to Víctor Jara ... frankly there are so many emotions I have lived through here!

Nereyda - Promotions and trips?

Luisa - As a cultural promoter I have participated in events in Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Spain.

But from right here I take care of public relations for our artists and the diffusion of their works of art.

Our music has travelled around the world, causing a constant flow of correspondence from hundreds of people who have met them, gotten to know their work and have sent them pictures, post cards and letters. I collaborate on the TV program Calle Heredia, which is directed by Carlos Elías on the radio station Gladys Palmera in Barcelona, Spain.

Nereyda - Luisa, you are the National Vanguard of the Cultural Worker's Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Cultura) since 1997 and you enjoy quite a bit of prestige in the Santiago cultural world. The old Trovadores who are still alive call you La Madrina de los Trovadores Santiagueros (The Godmother of the Santiago Trovadores). How do you feel when they call you that?

Luisa - Very proud, because I do it without any personal interest, only out of the love that I feel for them and for traditional Cuban music.

Luisa Blanco, with Trovador René Urquijo

Nereyda - Which Trovador has motivated you the most through the years?

Luisa - Well, that's a hard one to answer. Perhaps Rigoberto Hechavarría (Maduro), Los Matamoros, Sindo Garay and also Compay Segundo, but I feel great admiration and love for all of them.

Nereyda - If you could choose any job, what would you have chosen?

Luisa - The same job I have now: to direct and tend to the needs of the most glorious of Cuba.

Nereyda - What do you think of the young Trovadores? Are they legitimate heirs of the old Trova?

Do you think the next generation is capable of keeping the Trovador tradition?

What would you recommend to the Trovadores who are just starting out so they can be successful?

Luisa - Each Trovador has had to live in his own time. The old timers sang about love, their country, their women ... human values. "La Trova" is still the same, only now they sing about things in their daily lives.

I would recommend that they not lose sight of what their predecesors have left them. They should also continue to carry the flag of our Trovador tradition.

Nereyda - Tell us some anecdotes about Ñico Saquito, Ibrahím Ferrer and Compay Segundo.

Luisa - About Ñico Saquito I remember that about a week before he died they paid him homage and he sang with Elíades Ochoa with what was then the Cuarteto Patria and with the Dúo Cubano, directed by Caledonio Elizabet (Chelito) and La Rosa. They called it "El Sopón" and it was held at the Hotel Las Américas. He sang with all his heart and it was the last time …it was tremendously emotional and unforgettable for those of us who were there.

And about Compay Segundo, as I already told you, he was like a father to me, and his last visit to this city was about 3 years ago during the month of July, during the time of Carnaval. He was already in poor health but he still had a lot of enthusiasm and energy. He said he had come to fulfill a promise, a promise he had made to bathe nude at the Siboney Beach where he was born and to visit his paternal home, "La Rueda" as well as all of his family members here. That night he held a feast at the restaurant known as La Casa de Pedro el Cojo (The House of Peter the Gimp). That evening he was seated in the Jury area, watching the people passing by and the comparsas of the Santiago Carnaval, and he was there with all of his family. This caused quite a commotion among the public, and they acclaimed him for the great artist that he was.

The next morning he came to the Casa de la Trova, and he gave away a lot of money to every Trovador who was there. He gave hundreds of $100.00 bills to each person. It was amazing and showed just how much he was not interested in the money, but rather it highlighted his generosity, modesty and love for his beloved Santiago de Cuba. When he left he said to me, "Luisa, take good care of my house (La Casa de la Trova)," and that was the last time I saw him. Even though I spoke often with him on the telephone, his death was a very hard thing for me to accept.

As for Ibrahím Ferrer, I met him when he was one of the singers in the Orquesta de Chepín Choven. We had a close friendship, he was a very honest person with a beautiful voice. He later relocated to Havana, and there was a time period when I didn't hear from him, until his success with the Buena Vista Social Club. Ever since then, he has come to Santiago a few times and we always get together. He still has his golden voice. I have always admired him and I still do today.

Luisa Blanco, with some of the members of the Estudiantina Invasora, the singer, Zaida Reite, and the singer Aracely Romero (Chely), María Cristina Salazar, vocalist of the Trova from the 70's and Marilus, an employee at the Casa de la Trova.

Nereyda - What does the Casa de la Trova Santiaguera "Pepe Sánchez" with its Trovadores, both young and old, mean to you?

Luisa - It's as if it were my second home. I love it and I suffer because of it. Why? Because I don't agree with the remodeling they did in the mid-90's. They transformed it and they should have rebuilt it instead. I still hope that the Casa de la Trova can return to what it once was: a Temple for Traditional Music.

Nereyda - How do you remember the most beloved person who is no longer with us?

Luisa - I remember Rigoberto Hechavarría (Maduro) for his interpretations using the cuatro (a 4-stringed Cuban instrument), because he was the best Cuatrista of Cuba. He made it sound like a piano and the tourists would go wild when they heard it. They would delight in his musical creations. But he also taught the younger Trovadores and he had a great heart. He was a good companion, a good friend and a good teacher. There are really so many who are no longer with us who have a permanent place in our hearts.

Nereyda - If you had to chose a miracle, what would it be?

Luisa - To be able to see La Casa de la Trova as it once was…

Nereyda - Are you satisfied with your work and the work of the Casa de la Trova Santiaguera, the first Casa de la Trova in Cuba?

Luisa– Very satisfied, because we have been able to see the results of this work and the whole world has enjoyed the success of the interpretations by our groups of traditional Cuban music.

Luisa Blanco does not forget all that she has seen during one of the most prolific time periods in popular music from this eastern region of the country. Santiago, Cuba, the birthplace of the bolero and the son. Many of the original founders of the Trova Santiaguera are still alive today and they get together in the former Bodeguita de Virgilio.

Today it is one of the most touristical spots, and one of the most visited because the emblematic Casa de la Trova Santiaguera is truly a temple to traditional Cuban Music. So we say our farewells… saturated with the contagious chords of the Estudiantina Invasora, one of the musical institutions that graces this venue, directed by the popular trumpet player, Inaudy Paisán.

Luisa Blanco with one of the most well-known trumpet players in this city. Inaudy Paisán standing and Faustino Oramas (El Guayabero) a famous Trovador from Holguín (seated).

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Esta página fue actualizada el día / This page last updated on:  31-Dec-2007