A celebrated Cuban trovador and composer, Pedro Luis Ferrer is a master of the guaracha musical form. Ferrer’s work spans the classical as well as popular genres of Cuban music with fully charged lyrics reflecting the psychological and spiritual nuances of Cuban society today. Ferrer cleverly uses satire as he brilliantly expresses the daily trials of everyday life.
Born in Yanguaji, a small town in the Cuban province of Las Villas, Ferrer’s strong traditional family atmosphere and exposure to the indigenous music, helped provide the solid foundation that would eventually become the cornerstone of his artistic expression. “I always try to achieve an aesthetic form without compromising the integrity of my expression…I strive to make it transcend the circumstances with which it deals.” Although his instrument of choice is the guitar, he also plays the tres, a Cuban guitar, and studies the lute for which he has composed several symphonic pieces.
Ferrer abandoned the orthodox route of a musical school or conservatory. “I am a self-taught musician,” clarifies Ferrer. “I must admit, though, that I’ve had friends – musicians, teachers, professors – who imparted some teachings and advised me, but never in an academic situation.”
Arriving in Havana as an amateur musician in 1965, Ferrer joined several bands where he met fellow musicians who have since become celebrated figures in the Cuban musical movement. Jamming with the likes of Carlos Alfonso (founder and leader of Grupo Sintesis – in a quartet that collaborated with the Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinematography’s (ICAIC) experimental sound group). Later, he and fellow troubadour Mike Porcell – a Cuban expatriate now living in Miami – became members of Los Dada, an experimental group in search of a fusion of national musical elements and modern rock. This fortuitous liaison, according to Ferrer, caused him to reconciliate with his own forgotten country roots.
In 1974 he traveled to Europe, for the first time, to appear on radio and television in Poland. Since then, he has visited Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. He also has performed in Mexico, Peru and the USA. “I consider my performances in Miami to be a very significant achievement, in light of the existing political climate…and I am honored and feel greatly rewarded when the likes of figures such as Papo Luca, Danny Rivera, Willy Chirino and especially Celia Cruz, include my compositions in their respective productions.”
On his 2005 album, Rustico, Ferrer draws upon his country?s rich musical traditions and transforms them to create new meaning. So transformed is his music on Rustico, that he invented a new word, changuisa, to describe the style. Ferrer takes Changüí from the mountains of Guantánamo, in Cuba’s East, and mixes it with related genres that have not received much attention, such as trova espirituana (from Santi Spiritus) and coros de claves, two styles from Central Cuba where Ferrer was born.
By transforming the word itself from masculine to feminine, Ferrer simultaneously creates a musical concept that is more receptive and which can integrate more diverse elements, and pokes fun at the macho way in which music from the Eastern part of Cuba is often played. “In Western Cuba, they sometimes play in a mocking way,” explains Ferrer. “They play the son, from which salsa originated, with a special beat, with a female touch. I am trying to recreate that in my word. This new term I use frees me from any kind of conventions, in terms of the Changüí per se, and allows me a lot of freedom in creating music.”
This freedom is further emphasized since Ferrer gave up on having a band, instead forming what he calls a bunga, an old word from the countryside that refers to a small, improvised music group. “A bunga is simply people getting together in small groups playing for the sake of playing,” Ferrer explains. “It didn’t have an established format. Anyone could bring any instrument: an accordion; a drum; you could have a bottle with a clink-clink sound! And that?s how we play: we rotate instruments, bring in new elements if we want.”
These new elements range from almost-lost Cuban traditions, instruments from elsewhere, and techniques from modern songwriting conventions. “I’m trying to get away from a nationalistic concept of music,” says Ferrer. “That’s why you hear different elements.”
“Traditionalists in Cuba might tell you my music is not as traditional as it might sound,” says Ferrer. “I use tradition, to reinvent it, to join pieces that were separated. To bring forward elements that were left behind. People use tradition as a means of communication. But after a while their traditions just get repeated and they get bored with it. By reinventing these traditions for an audience, the tradition becomes alive again.”
Discography:
Pedro Luis Ferrer (EGREM)
Debajo de mi voz (EGREM)
En espuma y arena (EGREM)
100% cubano (Carapacho Productions, 1994)
Pedro Luis Ferrer (Caliente Records, 1999)
Rústico (Escondida Records, 2005)
Natural (Escondida Records, 2006)
Tangible (Escondida Records, 2011)
Final (Escondida Records, 2014)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
