Afro-Cuba meets Afro-Haiti in Holyoke, MA

Photos and videos by Banning Eyre

It’s become a reliable Juneteenth tradition. Professors Ivor Miller and Gloria Caballero organize a musical gathering centered around some of the most esteemed Afro-Cuban musicians in the United States for a series of events in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Old Lyme, Connecticut. There are workshops, ceremonies and public performances, such as the one we attended in Holyoke on Saturday, June 20. By coincidence, that night Afropop Worldwide aired “Voice of the Leopard,” a Hip Deep program featuring Dr. Miller. If you listen to that program, you will understand just how deep (hip deep!), Miller is immersed in the legacies of Afro-Caribbean cultural exchange. For the third consecutive year, he and Dr. Cabellero brought together an outstanding collective of artists, and a most distinguished audience as well, largely consisting of people with a passion for the most exquisite folkloric music the Caribbean has to offer.

As in past years, the performances center around The Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble, directed by Danys “La Mora” Pérez Prades, accompanied by superb musicians, notably 'Sandy' Perez (percussion), Lazaro Galarraga (voice). This year celebrated a broader Afro-Caribbean heritage with ensembles from Puerto Rico and Haiti in the mix. The night we attended at the Holyoke Media Center began with a set by Azaka, a Haitian cultural group composed of three brothers, Azouke, Ayizan and Yatande. Their sound is distinguished by the use of an unusual water drum called Granmel, consisting of three small, overturned calabashes in a vessel of water, and a warm-toned, clay pot drum called Kanari, which the player sounds by slapping a soft flap over the opening forcing air into the chamber and producing a surprisingly strong resonance. Haitian folkloric vocals are characteristically searing, and the effect was both haunting and beautiful.

Then came the Cubans with their elegant polyrhythms and elliptical vocal melodies. A segment featuring the three drums of the Bata tradition was particularly impressive from a musical standpoint. Bata drumming is extremely complex and exacting, and this ensemble has mastered the art. And of course, the stunning pageantry of the Oyu Oro Dance ensemble never fails to dazzle.

Dr. Miller began the evening with a brief presentation on the historic relationship between Haiti and Cuba, including audio clips of pioneering Haitian singer Martha Jean Claude and a 1958 track in which Katherine Dunham brought together Haitian and Cuban musicians in a landmark recording. Miller’s talk set the stage perfectly for the spectacle to follow. The evening concluded with the two groups playing together and most of the audience on their feet and dancing with the performers.

Words fail to express the power of the evening’s presentation, but these images will give you a sense. Plan on a visit next Juneteenth. There’s nothing like it!