On a rainy Saturday morning in Victoria's Fernwood community, I'm sitting with Alexis Puentes, twin brother of Adonis, of the Puentes Brothers. Born 26 years ago in Havana, Cuba, each brother is now married and living in Victoria.
Alexis proudly told me that they are the only Latin band in Canada with a video on MuchMusic, Bravo and TLN. Their first CD for Alma Records is called "Morumba Cubana" and sold a few thousand copies last year. They'll be recording another CD in September.
Knowing little about Cuban music, I asked Alexis about its origins.
"The name of this music is "Son" and it is the essence and root of a tradition which assimilates Spanish, African and Caribbean elements. It combines circular rhythmic patterns, repetition of refrain and is well-suited to dancing. All the major record labels had made Cuban music famous round the world up until the revolution in 1959, marketing it as "Salsa". But it is "Son" that is the origin.
"The instruments played are the "Tres"... which looks like a guitar with three pairs of strings... bongos, claves and maracas.
OM: "You started playing music at an early age?"
AP: "Everything seemed perfect for us in terms of music becasue we lived just across the street fom a cultural centre where my dad, Valentin, was a music teacher. Music lessons were free for everybody and there were different bands playing every day. Our CD is enhanced with pictures of me when I was four years old, playing clave with my dad. At age six, we began guitar and I started bass at age fourteen.
"We often toured Cuba and played with people you would recognize from The Bueno Vista Social Club like Ibrahim Ferrar. I was so busy playing music that I never finished school, though I had to do my mandatory military service.
OM: "What brought you to Canada?"
AP: "In 1995 we toured with my father's band from Victoria to Halifax in 75 days. We also toured Europe, but I fell in love and married Sarah, who, by the way, translated all the Spanish lyrics into English on the CD insert.
"We live here because we also want to develop a contemporary flavour to our sound and to be frank, the competition in Cuba is really stiff. We want to cross the line from the Latin market to approach a larger audience, and we are now nominees for the "Worldbeat" category at this year's Junos. (Note: last year, The Puentes Brothers were voted Best Band at The Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto)
OM: "How often do you write songs?"
AP: "I usually work on a new song every week. I wrote seven of the songs on the CD, two in collaboration with Adonis, one he wrote, and two are public domain. The video single for MuchMusic was track #2, a traditional Cuban tune.
OM: "With Adonis' great voice and congas, and your songs and fine bass playing, you also have other amazing musicians working with you."
AP: "Oh yes, we are so fortunate to have Hilario Duran, a great piano player from Cuba living in Toronto... listen to the jazzy break he creates on track #9. Also, Horacio (El Negro) Hernandez, an extraordinary drummer who played with Santana, Sting, Bonnie Raitt and Tito Puente, who, by the way, is not related to us. And the beautiful flute of Jane Bunnett, whom I respect so much for her knowledge of Cuban music.
"In our Victoria lineup for the band, we have José Sanchez on timbales (which is a couple of toms with a cowbell on a stand), and Miles Bigelow, a great Canadian bongo player, now living in Vancouver. He's only nineteen and is really immersed in Cuban and African rhythms and is such a gifted player.
OM: "Who else do you play with locally?"
AP: "We recently played at Vertigo which was the busiest night of the year, and our guest was Daniel Lapp on fiddle and cornet. He is so much fun and has a really good taste for music, no matter what the style. And I must say my four-year-old son Daniel did some good percussion at the Folk Fest with us.
"I'd like Marc Atkinson to play guitar on our next CD... he is fantastic! Another friend is Jobi Baker... not only a great musician, but a great producer too. I enjoy playing with guitarist Paul Pigat and with Bill Johnson at his blues jams. I like to play funk and swing, and I'm going to more blues jams because I believe in sharing and find it interesting to meet Canadian musicians and to play spontaneously.
OM: "How do you see your own sound developing?"
AP: "More jazz fusion, more songs in English and elements of Timba... which is a mix of Cuban Son and Rhumba (drums and singers from Africa). I'd describe it as a strong climax kind of music... strong, funky features... and very exciting in the amount of improvisational freedom. Being so close to the U.S., Cuba loves the blues too, which Timba includes.
OM: "What gigs are coming up for you?"
AP: "In February we will record with Herbie Hancock in Toronto, which I am really pleased about. And we will play at the Folk Alliance at the Commodore on Valentine's Day. On March 2, we do a show at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. We'll be playing a big party at Legends on April 15 and opening for Barrage somewhere soon. Also, the Kaslo Jazz Festival on August 4th and we'll be at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
OM: "Last year you played every Sunday at Hugo's, where the dancefloor was always packed. People want your music, so why no regular gig?"
AP: "Our agent, Feldman & Associates figure that to promote our career, we should do less local gigs, so that people will flock to see us at larger ticketed venues. I think Victoria and the Island does not have enough entertainment, and that the audience wants variety.
OM: "Do you give bass lessons?"
AP: "Yes indeed. Check out my website where you can get some tips on funky Cuban bass: www.puentesbrothers.com
If you want private lessons, please call 386-1735. Also, we recommend Picadillo as a web store.
OM: "Thanks for the interview."
AP: "It is a pleasure and I want to say thanks to Canadians for supporting our music. In Cuba, musicians are well-respected, no matter what style they play; they are considered artists and music is one of the busiest industries there. Sometimes, when I tell a person that my only income is from music, their eyes get wide. Occasionally, it is hard to pay the rent, but I believe that if there is something you really want to do, to just go for it. And if you believe in yourself, you succeed.
To all our fans, my father will be coming to visit in the spring, so keep in touch on our website.
On a rainy Saturday morning in Victoria's Fernwood community, I'm sitting with Alexis Puentes, twin brother of Adonis, of the Puentes Brothers. Born 26 years ago in Havana, Cuba, each brother is now married and living in Victoria.