Date: 2023-01-06
Time: 04:16:24 UTC
Title: Copacetic Music Hour Preview, 01/06/23: Pablo Milanes
Happy new year everybody! I am excited to preview the first episode of the
copacetic music hour in 2023! This week's featured artist is the late pioneer
of the Cuban nueva trova, Pablo Milanes. Along with Silvio Rodriguez and Noel
Nicola, Pablo is famous for founding the Cuban nueva trova (new trova) genre,
which politicized trova folk music by discussing issues such as socialism,
sexism, colonialism, and racism in the lyrics. Pablo was born February 24, 1943
in Bayamo, in the eastern province of Oriente, but would move to Havana with
his family in 1950. He would study at the Conservatorio Municipal de La Habana,
which was the most prestigious music school in the country at the time. He
first performed publicly at age 13, in 1956, and soon joined bohemian circles
in the city, but his music proved controversial in postrevolutionary Cuba.
Despite supporting the Cuban Revolution, he was sent to the UMAP agricultural
forced labor camp in 1965, and then the La Cabana fortress after escaping the
UMAP camp in 1967.
He was eventually freed and became part of the innovative musical group called
Grupo de Experimentacion Sonora in 1969. After releasing his first recording in
1973 (Versos sencillos de Jose Marti), he would release over 40 solo records,
and many more with other musicians. His first album of his own work (Pablo
Milanes) was released in 1976, and he reached his heyday in the early 1980s,
with the hit records El guerrero, Yo me quedo, and Comienzo y final de una
verde manana.
While Milanes was thought to be the nueva trova artist with the closest
connection to traditional Cuban music, he was also open to diverse musical
influences, ranging from Brazilian music to blues. His compositions explored
not only politics but love, and he put the poetry of famous Cuban writers like
Jose Marti to music. His major musical influences included Benny More,
Barbarito Diez, Maria Teresa Vera, and even Johann Sebastian Bach.
Tonight, as always, we will enjoy a sampling of Milanes' work alongside a
fireside IRC chat at tilde.chat channel tilderadio (#tilderadio). Join us!
