Havana, Cuba. - “Eight young troubadours tell things to Orlando Castellanos, the God phonograph of time.” Such are the suggestive words that singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez has written to present the readers with a book that may be described as suggestive.
A work that, through its pages, invites to know anecdotes, memories and remembrances of some key players of a phenomenon that marked the evolution of music created in Cuba during the last century.
The title “Tras la guitarra la voz” (Ediciones “La Memoria”, Pablo de la Torriente Brau Cultural Center, “A Guitarra Limpia Collection”, 2012, 256 pp), collects interviews made by Orlando Castellanos, between 1975 and 1997 to eight members of Cuban Nueva Trova Movement.
In these conversations, originally conceived for the radio and broadcasted by several programs of Cuban radio and TV broadcasting system, the experienced journalist’s smart questionnaires are answered by Silvio Rodriguez, Noel Nicola, Vicente Feliu, Alberto Faya, Augusto Blanca, Amaury Perez, Sara Gonzalez and Pablo Milanes.
“Tras la guitarra la voz” joins other books - such as “Formalmente informal”, “Palabras grabadas”, “Mas palabras grabadas” and “Yo también amo el cine” - in which some of the interviews made by Orlando Castellanos over several decades of fruitful professional exercise are published.
Attached to the radio since 1945, founder of Radio Habana Cuba and creator of the emblematic show “Formalmente informal”, Orlando Castellanos (Ciego de Avila, 1930-Havana, 1998) was conferred several prizes, including the “Jose Marti National Journalism Award”, for his lifetime work.
“Tras la guitarra la voz” is described by Virgen Gutierrez - in charge of choosing the interviews reproduced - as a small tribute to Orlando Castellanos. In the opinion of this narrator and researcher, partner in life of the creator, this book reveals:
“That maker with a fine memory; who, with these printed recordings, will be present in the new century, consubstantially helping the new generations to nurture from his wise intelligence and tenacious intellectual capacity. The eloquent dialogue that he managed to sustain with his interlocutors allowed him to achieve joy, while acquiring knowledge about the rich cultural legacy of our country.”
The genesis, development and splendor of Cuban Nueva Trova is a chapter of the Island’s music that still deserves to be studied in more depth, researched and assessed, in order to enrich its own history and, of course, the history of such as fertile and prolific cultural expression.
The testimonies that Orlando Castellanos collected and treasured for a quarter of a century contribute to such a necessary and noble endeavor. Hence, “Tras la guitarra la voz” comes to save, from the memory and towards the future, the voices of those who wrote part of that history with their guitars and their songs, out of passion and reason.
Translated by Pedro A. Fanego
