Pablo Milanés

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Pablo Milanés, 2015

Pablo Milanés Arias (called Pablito ; born February 24, 1943 in Bayamo , Cuba ) is a songwriter and singer, one of the central representatives of the Cuban music genre Nueva Trova .

Life

Youth and beginning of the musical career

As a child, Milanés successfully took part in singing competitions in his hometown of Bayamo. At the beginning of the 1950s, his family moved with him to Havana , where he came into contact with the particularly diverse music scene and received musical training over several years at the city conservatory . In 1956 he had his first television appearance on the talent show Estrellas Nacientes . From 1960 he worked as a professional musician, first as the singer of the Los Armónicos trio , with the Conjunto Típico Sensación and above all as the frontman of the band Cuarteto del Rey , which sang Afro-American spirituals . In 1963 he presented his first own composition - the song Tú, mi desengaño in the then popular, romantic music style Filin - and subsequently performed his own songs with his own guitar accompaniment in Havana's music clubs. In 1964 he belonged to the Los Bucaneros vocal group . His composition Mis 22 años from 1965, with its optimistic message and reference to Cuban musical traditions, is considered to be the transition from Filin to Nueva Trova .

UMAP Forced Labor Camp, Prison and Penalty Camp

From 1966 he was detained for 18 months without charge in one of the notorious military re-education camps (UMAP) in the central Cuban province of Camagüey , which he described in 2015 as a " Stalinist concentration camp ". Together with other young men, who mostly did not correspond to the ideal of the "new man" propagated by the revolutionary government because of their inappropriate lifestyle, religious convictions or sexual orientation , he was forced to do hard agricultural work until he fled the camp and went to Havana to point out the abuses that were experienced as inhumane. However, he was arrested, detained in La Cabaña fortress for two months and then transferred to a penal camp, the conditions of which Milanés later described as "worse than UMAP". He was only released when the UMAP system was abolished in late 1967 as a result of national and international pressure from public opinion.

Foundation of the "Nueva Trova" movement

In February 1968 he gave a concert with the songwriters Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola (1946–2005) in the Casa de las Américas cultural center , which is considered to be the founding event of this musical tradition. From 1969 on he belonged under Leo Brouwer to the "Group for Sound Experiments" (Grupo de Experimentación Sonora / GES) of the Cuban Film Institute ICAIC . There he worked with Rodríguez, Sara González (1951–2012) and other founders of the Nueva Trova . Both the haunting poetry of his songs and his political commitment are still well received in almost all Spanish-speaking countries outside of Cuba . The Latin American and Spanish youth of the 1970s to 1980s were enthusiastic about the songs of the Nueva Trova . The themes of the songs by Pablo Milanés are love, but also Cuban society and politics. The most famous songs are: Yolanda , Para Vivir , El breve espacio en que no estás , Yo me quedo , Amo a esta isla , Cuánto gané, cuánto perdí and Yo no te pido .

Establishment and closure of the Pablo Milanés Foundation

In June 1993, after a long period of preparation and with official approval, he founded the first non-governmental, self-financed and, according to Milanés' statement, “ideologically unbound” cultural foundation in Cuba, the Fundación Pablo Milanés, with start-up capital of 160,000 US dollars. She quickly developed a great reputation at home and abroad, maintained a youth symphony orchestra conducted by Leo Brouwer , and supported groups of young sculptors and poets as well as Camerata Romeu , a chamber orchestra of young musicians. In particular, the foundation promoted cultural exchange with Spain. Only two years later, Milanés was forced to close the foundation and there was an open break with the Ministry of Culture, headed by Armando Hart , to which, in addition to control over the initiated projects, all material funds were received and the Milanés systematic obstruction and the exclusion of ideas and actions and people of the foundation - which the Cuban media did not report.

Concerts in Cuba from 2008

In August 2008 he gave an open-air concert on Havana's largest stage, at which he brought together some popular musicians from various genres to perform together, including the Cuban women Omara Portuondo , Haila Mompié , his daughters Haydée, Lynn and Suilén and the Puerto Rican Andy Montañez . His decision to invite the Cuban rap duo Los Aldeanos , known for their lyrics critical of the government, to the stage, which was allowed to perform in front of several thousand spectators for the first time and sang: “Down with all the presidents of the planet” , was particularly remarkable ! "

After a long break, Milanés gave concerts on Cuban stages again for the first time in May 2013, the year of his 70th birthday, and performed as part of a mini-tour in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey in August .

Private

Pablo Milanés has nine children, seven of whom were born in Cuba and two later in Spain. His daughters Lynn (* 1970), Suylén (* 1971) and Haydée (* 1980) are also successful solo musicians. Milanés lives mainly in the north-western Spanish region of Galicia , the home of his fourth wife, Nancy Pérez. In June 2014, Milanés received a kidney transplant there that Pérez had donated, which cured his chronic kidney problems.

Political statements

Milanés is an avowed supporter of the socialist principles of the political system established by Fidel Castro in Cuba. His status as one of the most prominent artists in the country can be seen, for example, from the fact that President Castro received him and Silvio Rodríguez personally at Havana International Airport in 1985 when they returned from a major tour of Latin America. For a five-year legislative period he was a member of the National Assembly without party affiliation - but without taking part in the six-monthly parliamentary sessions. In later years Milanés made clear criticism of political grievances in his country on various occasions, which was published in interviews with foreign media.

Controversy about critical statements in 2011

In the late summer of 2011, a series of requests to speak sparked a controversy about himself and, in particular, his political stance, in which prominent Cuban intellectuals both inside and outside Cuba participated. In the run-up to his first concert in Miami in over 30 years, and on August 13 of all places (Fidel Castro's 85th birthday), the Miami daily El Nuevo Herald , the most important medium for Cubans in exile in the USA, published a detailed interview with Milanés , in which he criticized the restrictions on freedom and racial discrimination in Cuba. The singer also mentioned that in the spring of 2003 he was the only one of 27 prominent Cuban intellectuals who, despite government requests, refused to sign an open letter addressed to critical friends of Cuba abroad. The letter defended the wave of arrests, also known as the “ Black Spring ”, against around 80 human rights activists, independent journalists and opponents of the regime, as well as the execution of three young black Cubans who had been sentenced to death in an express trial after a bloodless attempt to kidnap a passenger ferry, and it was signed some of the most famous cultural workers living in Cuba such as Omara Portuondo, Alicia Alonso , Chucho Valdés and Silvio Rodríguez. In an interview with the US television station Univisión on August 26, 2011, Milanés said that he was no longer a supporter of Fidel Castro (“fidelista”), whom he admired for his historical achievements at the time. In addition, he is ready and has no reservation to sing for the (prominent opposition group) Damas de Blanco .

This was followed on August 29 by his well-respected open letter to Edmundo García, a journalist defending the Castro government in Miami, who attacked him as a hypocrite in a comment published on August 26 for his critical remarks. In this letter, Milanés defended his right to freedom of expression and complained that there was no room for dissenting opinions in the state-controlled media in Cuba. Furthermore, he described the frequent physical attacks by “hordes of so-called revolutionaries” ( Actos de Repudio ) on the Damas de Blanco as “cowardly, repulsive and shameful”, so that he felt solidarity with them, without completely changing their political views to have to share. Representatives of the opposition group then thanked him for his solidarity and asked him to maintain the same attitude within Cuba and to convey it to other Cuban artists and intellectuals.

The Cuban exiled musician Mike Porcel recalled on August 31 that Milanés himself had shown himself to be extremely intolerant of dissenting opinions in 1980 when he co-authored a letter to Porcel on behalf of the Nueva Trova movement , in which Porcel because of what he had just said earlier The departure application was accused of treason and the friendship was terminated. Milanés also took part in the subsequent week-long intimidation (actos de repudio) against Porcel's family, which resembled the attacks on the Damas de Blanco that he now denounced , without ever asking for an apology over the years or to have expressed regret. (Porcel was only allowed to leave Cuba nine years later.)

The following argument on the Internet between Pablo Milanés and his long-time companion and musician colleague of the Nueva Trova Silvio Rodríguez, who criticized him on his blog on September 5th for his statements in Miami and accused him of material motives: Milanés had " sold his soul to the devil ”. Milanés replied the following day that he would never forgive Rodríguez, who had once been his brother, for his “two-fold betrayal”. On September 15, compared to Rodríguez, the significantly less popular and less independent musician Vicente Feliú accused Pablo Milanés of having spoken to the "Batista supporters" in Miami and betrayed the fatherland. Milanés is sickly in love with himself and apparently not in a clear head. Feliú's contribution, like Rodríguez's criticism, was disseminated further on the state website Cubadebate , but not the original statements by Pablo Milanés to which it referred. On September 18, the popular actor Luis Alberto García was the first artist to live in Cuba to publicly express his solidarity with Pablo Milanés, who has meanwhile also been attacked by journalists on the website of the Ministry of Culture's magazine, La Jiribilla , in a message circulated on the Internet and praised him as a Cuban patriots.

A few days after Milanés' return to Cuba, state radio stations in several parts of the country are said to have received instructions from the ICRT broadcasting authority in Havana not to play any more pieces by him with immediate effect (with the exception of songs composed by him but recorded by other singers). An officially announced ban had not been issued. Milanés described corresponding reports of alleged censorship as "absolutely wrong".

See also

Web links

literature

  • Clara Díaz Pérez: Pablo Milanés: con luz propia. Txalaparta, Tafalla 1994 (Spanish), ISBN 84-8136-922-5

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biografía , on the Milanés' official website, accessed on February 16, 2015 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Clara Díaz Pérez: Pablo Milanés: con luz propia p. 48
  3. ^ Bert Hoffmann: Cuba. Beck, Munich 2009 (3rd edition), p. 176
  4. ^ Claudio Vergara: Pablo Milanés: "Tengo dudas del deseo de EE.UU. de penetrar en Cuba", in: La Tercera from January 13, 2015, accessed on January 14, 2015 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Joseph Tahbaz: Demystifying las UMAP: The Politics of Sugar, Gender, and Religion in 1960s Cuba, in: Delaware Review of Latin American Studies Vol. 14 No. 2 of December 31, 2013, accessed on February 16, 2015 (English)
  6. ↑ a b c Mauricio Vicent: “La apertura cubana es un maquillaje”, in: El País from February 14, 2015 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ Se cumplen 45 años del primer concierto de la Nueva Trova Cubana , in: Cancioneros of February 19, 2013, accessed on September 3, 2013 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ Pablo Milanés crea en Cuba la primera fundación cultural "sin fines ideológicos" in: El País from June 25, 1993, accessed on September 30, 2011 (Spanish)
  9. ↑ Milanés rompe con el Ministerio de Cultura de Cuba in: El País of June 11, 1995, accessed on September 30, 2011 (Spanish)
  10. ↑ Bert Hoffmann: Civil Society 2.0 ?: How the Internet Changes State-Society Relations in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Cuba ( Memento from March 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 338 kB), p. 12, accessed on March 2, 2013 September 2013 (English)
  11. ↑ No se aclara asunto de fundación de Milanés in: El Tiempo (Bogotá) of July 4, 1995, accessed on September 30, 2011 (Spanish)
  12. ↑ Milanés Foundation Closed By Cuban Gov't: Musician Publicly Lays Blame On Culture Ministry in: Billboard of July 1, 1995 ( via Google Books ) (English)
  13. ↑ Pablo Milanés: lo bello nace contigo in: Juventud Rebelde of August 29, 2008, accessed on September 28, 2011 (Spanish)
  14. ↑ "El hip hop me quitó la venda de los ojos" in: Cuba Encuentro from May 12, 2009, accessed on October 2, 2012 (Spanish)
  15. ↑ Pablo Milanés de regreso a los escenarios cubanos , in: Café Fuerte from August 2, 2013, accessed on September 3, 2013 (Spanish)
  16. ↑ Pablo Milanés: Las predicciones del gurú in the blog Bitácora Cultural Cubana from April 5, 2010, accessed on September 30, 2011 (Spanish)
  17. ↑ Carlos Alberto Montaner: Pablo Milanés entre el empujón y el abrazo ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) in: Diario de Cuba from August 15, 2011, accessed on August 23, 2011 (Spanish)
  18. ↑ z. B. Entrevista a Pablo Milanés: "El socialismo cubano se ha estancado" , in: Público from December 29, 2008, Entrevista en EL MUNDO a Pablo Milanés: 'Quiero un cambio en Cuba cuanto antes' , in: El Mundo from 13. March 2010, "No estoy de acuerdo con la actitud de Castro hacia los contestatarios" , in: La Voz de Galicia from March 19, 2010 and Pablo Milanés: "El aperturismo en Cuba se demora demasiado" , in: La Opinión from 13. March 2013, accessed September 2, 2013 (Spanish)
  19. ↑ Cuba: Milanes' Miami Concert Stirs Controversy Among Cubans in: Global Voices of September 21, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 (English)
  20. ↑ Pablo Milanés: “Vengo a Miami a tender una mano” in: Cuba Encuentro from August 14, 2011, accessed on October 2, 2012 (Spanish)
  21. ↑ Hijackers executed by ferry in Cuba In: Der Tagesspiegel of April 13, 2003, accessed on June 27, 2011
  22. ↑ Message from Havana for our friends far away (PDF file; 7 kB) from: Friendship Society BRD - Kuba eV , accessed on June 27, 2011 ( original Spanish version here )
  23. ↑ Pablo Milanés: "Ya no soy fidelista" ( Memento from September 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: Café Fuerte from August 29, 2011, accessed on August 29, 2011, with the original video of the interview sent (Spanish)
  24. ↑ a b Carta abierta de Pablo Milanés in: Café Fuerte from August 30, 2011, accessed on October 2, 2011 (Spanish)
  25. ↑ Pablo Milanés reniega de la cruz de su parroquia in: El Mundo from August 26, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 (Spanish)
  26. ↑ Las Damas de Blanco agradecen a Pablo Milanés su solidaridad in: CubaEncuentro from August 31, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 (Spanish)
  27. ↑ Damas de Blanco piden a Pablo Milanés que exprese la misma solidaridad en Cuba in: CubaEncuentro of September 1, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 (Spanish)
  28. ↑ Mike Porcel recuerda el acto de repudio que le hicieron Pablo Milanés y otros miembros de la Nueva Trova en 1980 in the blog El Imparcial Digital from August 31, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 (Spanish)
  29. ↑ Al rojo vivo la polémica entre Silvio Rodríguez y Pablo Milanés ( Memento of September 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) AFP of September 8, 2011 via Google News, accessed on September 21, 2011 (Spanish)
  30. ↑ Segunda ronda: Silvio Rodríguez acusa a Milanés de “venderle el alma al diablo” ( Memento from September 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) in: Café Fuerte from September 5, 2011, accessed on September 28, 2011 (Spanish)
  31. ↑ Trovador oficialista Acusa a Pablo Milanés de hablar "para los batistianos" en Miami ( Memento of 24 September 2011 at the Internet Archive ) in Café Fuerte of 15 September 2011, retrieved (Spanish) 21 September 2011
  32. ↑ Conocido actor cubano sale en defensa de Pablo Milanés in: Café Fuerte from September 18, 2011, accessed via Balcón al Caribe on October 2, 2012 (Spanish)
  33. ↑ Censuran a Pablo Milanés en emisoras cubanas ( Memento from September 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) in: Café Fuerte from September 27, 2011, accessed on September 28, 2011 (Spanish)
  34. ↑ Milanés se disculpa en Dominicana , in: El Nuevo Herald of October 2, 2011, accessed via Cy.Send on October 2, 2012 (Spanish)
personal data
SURNAME Milanés, Pablo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pablito; Milanés Arias, Pablo (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cuban poet and singer
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Bayamo , Cuba