CAMAGÜEY.- When I summarize the year, in the very first places will be the Grupo Vocal Desandann club. If I haven't been able to go to everything, I look for a way to find out what happened because of the unexpected, the friendly and the pleasant.
It emerged as a summer initiative of the Provincial Cinema Center of Camagüey, and once that stage was over there was no way to think about the month without the voices and charisma of the group that will turn 30 years old in 2024.
Something special happens to me with this club. Although I take notes, I want to be more of a humble spectator. I know that when an artist and/or an institution sees me, they always expect a journalistic report.
Over time I have learned to find the balance, or at least try to, between work and my moments of personal pleasure, because I also have the right to choose favorite places and frequent the spaces of my favorite artists and writers. In each case they are excellent creators and authentic human beings.
That's why I go to the Desandann gathering. It is done at dusk, at a time suitable for those who live far away. Entrance is free. The top-notch cast and program are ready for the most exalted stage in the world.
There I have learned and even rediscovered Haitian traditions, for example, culinary ones present at home. My maternal grandmother made corn flour with coconut and my mother finds it delicious.
Yesterday Julita, the mother of the singer Marina Collazo Fernández, talked about rice pudding, nutmeg and cinnamon. She brought a sample to raffle and the girl who danced the best won it.
As on Friday was the last edition of the year, there were several guests: the Professional Choir of Camagüey, the bolerista Yisel López Lemes and the guitarist Adrián Cancino Rossell.
Julita stirred up the atmosphere with her song “Let's Dance” sung in Creole. Almost all of Desandann's repertoire is in Creole. Because of that rope of commotion we had to say goodbye with a carnival gagá. In that song the question goes “where are the people who speak badly about people?” But as musicians and audience we were still excited, they added another song to close in Cuban style with “Chencha la gamba”.
Many thanks to the Cinema Center group for highlighting Desandann. Until that moment we could not find it in a fixed place.
Much health and energy to the group for giving away their excellence and stimulating beautiful emotions from the roots, memory and musical culture.
Know that, in the summary of the year, other issues take place on the list of upsets, heartbreaks, despair, disappointments... but no one can take away from you the record of joy for so much happiness offered in that brief moment on Fridays.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez