Santiago De Cuba Was The Beginning

The seeds of my Irie Latino concept started in 2000 on the streets of Santiago de Cuba, a city still reminiscent in many ways of the 1950's. I was there on vacation having won a free trip to this Cuban city in a raffle of all things. I remember descending to Santiago looking out the window of my Air Jamaica Express plane and feeling a degree of trepidation. The city looked nothing like what I expected. I thought it looked decidedly unattractive from the air. Where the hell was I going?

But Santiago de Cuba turned out to be anything but unattractive. It was a fascinating place where old Spanish architecture mingled with the modern. Some neighbourhoods I saw were exactly as they looked a few decades ago, my guides explained to me. Cars from the 1950's shared the roads with the latest models from Europe and you were never quite sure what time period you were in. I often felt like I was walking around in an old fifties movie and longed for white shoes, a white suit and white fedora to play the part of the star.

Poverty was everywhere but it could not suppress what I realized was a wealth of human spirit and love for living. My tour guide boasted about their poorest communities like she did of a cathedral or famous monument. She pointed out to me that everybody in the community had easy access to a doctor. Cuban medicine and its innovations are indeed world renowned.

One day I traveled out of town to the Sierra Maestra mountain range and we passed many milestones along the way. Each milestone had the name of three or four people who died in the revolution. Despite my political differences with Cuba I could not help but marvel at this patriotism and appreciation for history that was palpable everywhere. It was a spirit of patriotism that I would continue to feel through Cubans I would meet later in Jamaica no matter what their views of their government. It was a spirit I would continue to feel through the Cuban music at my Latin Nights.

At night the Cuban women in Santiago looked ready for the pages of a fashion magazine despite a lack of the latest and more expensive designer clothes. "We are poor" one girl told me "but we like to dress." And clearly they knew how to dress. At night I saw women looking like Hollywood stars. And women everywhere greeted their male friends with a kiss whether it was on the streets, in the hotel or at a bar. It was definitely my kind of place.

As I walked the streets I would hear Cuban salsa blaring from radios somewhere near the sidewalk adding music to the already rich atmosphere. One night at a bar, a salsa singer took to the stage in a dark suit and polished black shoes. The music and his singing had an electrifying quality that I had never experienced in past live musical performances I had seen. This music that was everywhere mingled with my fascination for this inspiring and exotic country and an interest for Latin music was born.

That's all it was. It did not start with a Bang. There was no seductive salsera that taught me to dance on a beach at night...sorry to disappoint you:) It was just the introduction to this magnificent place that sowed a powerful seed. It would be a couple years before I started actively pursuing the music and promoting Irie Latino and there were other influences that led to that...but that's another story.

But thank you Santiago for opening the door to a whole new world that added a wonderful new dimension to my life.