Rafael Lam: “I was born in Havana in 1946, son of an immigrant Chinese businessman, with a mother of Catalonian ancestry. Because of those weird things in life, my father always took his eight children - who are still alive - to all the cultural activities of the Chinese society and to the local theaters. We were regulars in Marianao Beach area, where the Coney Island used to be, in which orchestras played for dancers, and across the street were the famous nightclubs where El Chori used to play.
I tried to be an instrumentalist. I studied at the National School of Art Instructors (ENIA), from 1976 to 1980. Eventually, I understood that I would not be a great musician and began to tell the stories of Cuban great singers, musicians and bands.
My professional life began in 1978, simultaneously at Radio Liberacion (Oiga show), El Caiman Barbudo youth magazine; and on TV shows “Todo el mundo canta” and “Juntos a las 9.” Leonardo Acosta, Helio Orovio and I were the trilogy of Cuban musicologists of that time.
Seeking to achieve my goals, I approached all the knowledgeable about music, from Alejo Carpentier and Leo Brouwer, to those who "cooked” Cuban music from below. I attended every conference, event, concert and music festival there was, from Benny More to the latest, and as the king of Salsa and Timba, José Luis Cortes, said: "This was just beginning."
I wrote for newspapers and magazines: Granma, Granma International, Cuba Internacional, Prensa Latina, Bohemia, Tribuna de La Habana, and El Habanero. Lately, I have been writing for websites: Cubarte, UNEAC, La Jiribilla, Cubanow, Cubasi, Cubahora, and Radio Cadena Habana. All in all, I have published about a thousand works, including chronicles, interviews, articles, and essays.
My works were first published since 1994: La Bodeguita del Medio, Tropicana. El primer libro de musica, Esta es la musica cubana (2007); Polvo de Estrellas (Cuban Singers) (2008); Los reyes de la salsa (2011); El imperio de la musica cubana (2014); Buena Vista Social Club y el Son cubano (2016); La Habana Bohemia (2017). The volumes "Benny More, el simbolo de la musica cubana", "La historia de la cancion y las canciones cubanas", "Wifredo Lam y los chinos en Cuba", "Las charangas", "El Libro de la Rumba", and "Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza” are currently in the editing process. The summary book will be "Historia de la Musica Popular Cubana”, of a new kind.
All the musical work that I have ever done deals with the history of Cuban popular music (the soul of Cuban culture, according to Professor Guillermo R. Rivera), without white wigs, authentic, with the concept of anti-Euro-centrism (Cuba it's not Europe). I advocate the music made, generally, through the most disadvantaged. The most sincere and authentic are not always the most acclaimed. Yehudi Menihi said: ‹‹Popular music does not lie; it is the celebration of life». That has been the mission I set for myself.”
NOTE: Fragment of the interview conducted by Mayra A. Martinez for her book under preparation dedicated to researchers on Cuban popular music.
Translated by Pedro A. Fanego
