{"id":4925,"date":"2015-03-19T20:04:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.artinfo.com\/blunotes\/?p=4925"},"modified":"2015-03-19T20:04:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T20:04:00","slug":"oye-cuba-a-journey-home-documents-arturo-ofarrills-personal-search-and-his-grand-vision-through-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/larryblumenfeld.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/19\/oye-cuba-a-journey-home-documents-arturo-ofarrills-personal-search-and-his-grand-vision-through-film\/","title":{"rendered":""Oye Cuba! A Journey Home," Documents Arturo O'Farrill's Personal Search and His Grand Vision Through Film"},"content":{"rendered":"
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photo by Damaso Reyes<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never forget the trip I took to Havana in 2010 with Arturo O\u2019Farrill <\/strong>and his family, chronicled in a Village Voice cover story<\/a>.\u00a0At the start, I was focused on a very personal quest.\u00a0As I wrote:<\/p>\n

The dream was simple, really. Through the support of his Alliance organization, Arturo wanted to bring the orchestra he leads in his father\u2019s name back to Cuba, which Chico left for good in 1959. He had toyed with the idea for some time, but it became a firm goal, a mission, in 2002, after his own first visit to Cuba. \u201cI\u2019m going to do this,\u201d he\u2019d told me toward the end of that trip. \u201cAnd even though Chico never made it back to the island physically, his music will be played there. I feel like he\u2019ll be there with us. The people will embrace his music. And somehow, to some degree, all will seem right with the universe to me for just a split-second.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yet by the end of trip O\u2019Farrill\u2019s focus, and mine, grew grander:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking long and hard about this,\u201d Arturo said. \u201cThe reason I went was not to canonize my father. I did want to hear his music in Cuba and to see my mother there. But there\u2019s another thing: I want jazz to stop dying this awful death, this strangulation. I think the future of this music has to do with the acceptance of a larger picture of it, which has always been the deeper truth anyway.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fresh off his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra<\/strong>\u2019s second Grammy win, O\u2019Farrill prepares for a landmark cross-cultural concert at Manhattan\u2019s Symphony Space May 1 and 2<\/a>, and readies his next CD, recorded in Cuba last year. Both are titled \u201cThe Conversation Continued<\/strong>,\u201d which, O\u2019Farrill told me, was inspired by the ending of my Voice piece:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat final Sunday night in Havana, after the premiere of his new piece, the Mella\u2019s massive brown curtain drew slowly shut, until finally only Arturo was visible. He was speechless. He simply waved. The curtain closed. The door had been thrown open, the larger conversation to come.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Little did we know how the context for all this would change<\/a>.
\nDuring that 2010 Cuba trip, director and producer Diane Sylvester<\/strong> had her cameras focused in the same direction as my pen. Like me, she\u2019s stayed on O\u2019Farrill\u2019s story. Her remarkable film, \u201cOye Cuba! A Journey Home<\/a>,\u201d <\/strong>six years in the making, is nearing completion. It traces both an intimate personal tale and a transformation of culture, attitude and politics that has far-reaching implications\u2014that continuing conversation.
\nI can\u2019t wait to see the scenes she\u2019ll screen at a celebration and fundraiser on March 23rd <\/sup>at Drom, 85 Avenue A, in Manhattan\u2019s East Village<\/strong>. O\u2019Farrill will also make play a rare solo-piano set at the event.
\nTO PURCHASE TICKETS IN ADVANCE:<\/strong>
\nVIP Benefit Reception at 8pm & Concert 9pm<\/strong> | $150 <\/strong>
\nPurchase VIP Reception Tickets here<\/a>.<\/strong>
\nGeneral Admission Concert & Screening 9pm<\/strong> | $50<\/strong>\/ $25<\/strong>-Student & Senior
\nPurchase General Admission Tickets here.<\/a> <\/strong>
\n\u201cI was first moved by Arturo’s story and that of his father,\u201d Sylvester told me, \u201cand what seemed like such a tragic loss on their part in terms of their ability to connect with their own history. What Arturo ended up championing and creating was an incredible movement; he was among the leaders of artists who pushed to move history and policy.\u201d
\nIn a way, the arc of Sylvester\u2019s project has mirrored O\u2019Farrill\u2019s work of late.
\n\u201cIt has been my mission from the beginning that the making of the film serve as an exchange between Cuban and American artists, and that it tells the story in a multi-dimensional way,\u201d she explained. \u201cAs the project progressed and Arturo was forging ahead with this incredible effort to open up cultural exchange and having these beautiful collaborations with musicians, I began meeting some amazing Cuban filmmakers. Their knowledge of jazz and Arturo’s family surprised me, but it spoke to the cultural knowledge that is very deep within Cuban culture, and their approach to filmmaking was incredibly collaborative. I wanted to be sure their perspective and influence were part of the film.\u00a0We became our own exchange, which is I think makes the film so much richer.\u201d
\nFrom the press release:<\/p>\n

This moving feature length documentary chronicles O’Farrill’s passionate mission to reconnect with Cuba, the homeland of his legendary father, Latin jazz composer Chico O’Farrill. While uncovering his family’s history and that of the music he loves so much O’Farrill breaks down political barriers and ignites a musical revolution.
\nThe film Oye Cuba! is directed and produced by Diane Sylvester and is in itself an artistic exchange as the filmmaking team is made up of Cuban and American filmmakers including award winning co-Directors of Photography Kirsten Johnson and Luis Najmias, and Cuban Co-Producer Gabriela Remirez among others.<\/em>
\nThe evening will begin with VIP Reception and cocktail hour, which will be followed by a screening of a selection from Oye Cuba!<\/em> and the concert by Mr. O\u2019Farrill. We will also have a silent auction, and we will honor several friends and long-time advocates whose dedication and passion have advanced the cultural dialogue between the United States and Cuba.
\nThe evening’s honorees include a Special Recognition of Carole Rosenberg<\/strong>, the founder of the American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, as well as our valued supporters:<\/p>\n