Posted on 08/24/2011 2:22:09 PM PDT by The Bronze Titan
Arturo Sandoval with be performing along with singer Omara Portuondo and other members of the Buena Vista Social Club this Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. However, the trumpet player emphatically rejected any possibility of performing together with the artists from the island because of ideological differences.
"Since I left Cuba, I do not present myself as artist who represents Cuba," Sandoval said in an interview with the AP. "We may be in the same program, but we are not together. Period. I will do my show in my own way, and they will do theirs."
When asked if he would perform at least one song with Buena Vista, Sandoval replied: "Absolutely not. We represent two completely different things... I advocate and defend human rights, total liberty for everyone, and above all, democracy. Omara and the band that is coming, and above all Omara -- we worked together for many years in Cuba and I know her very well -- represent the government of Cuba."
Sandoval and Portuondo have shared a stage in the past. "We did many things together in Cuba," the trumpet player said. "Remember that I started playing in Cuba when I was 11 years old, and I left when I was 40," he said in the interview without giving any more details.
The musician, who is 61, has been living in the U.S. since 1990 after defecting in Greece during a tour with his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie.
I recommend the movie to everyone, it's a great picture.
Viva Arturo!
Cuba si! Castro no!
Great movie.
Andy Garcia was also in “The Lost City” which is another excellent movie.
I love Andy Garcia, and so forgive him for being in Godfather III.
That movie showed that essentially Cuba was like Thereisienstadt, when American celebrities came to visit. They would trot out their musicians and show them how happy they were, and how free they were to play their music....but the moment they left...the government put the clamps down and forced them to play only the government sanctioned music.
I bet commie Harry Belafonte was lead in the group.
Layton outlived Guevara chronologically by 43 years and agewise by 22 years.
That's the only way the Commie / Socialist system can exist. Everybody plays from the scores that concertmaster hands out. There is no id lib, improvisation or jammin' allowed. That kind of stuff makes the Conductor obsolete.
I once got to meet Arturo at a Jazz concert at Western Illinois University and he IS a stand-up guy. God Bless you Arturo.
What sin did he commit by doing this?
newsflash: Sandoval was a member of the communist party in Cuba, as was his wife and his parents. He was one of the elite, living in a huge house in a choice neighborhood, with a car...
A great musician. I liked him then and I still like him, but hard to take his number seriously.
He and Joe Mantegna were ok in Godfather III, Sofia Coppola.....uhhhhhhh, not so much.
Actually, Cuban music is full of improvisation, and always has been. The control isn’t over how you play but more who gets to play it.
But if you had seen him all over Europe prior to 1990, you would have beard him making propaganda for Castro, constantly.
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