We want to re-ignite a long tradition of collaboration that existed between Cuban and American artists dating back to the early 1900s when artists from both countries traveled back and forth to perform in Havana, NYC, Miami, Hollywood, and New Orleans. Partnerships between jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo, Arturo Sandoval, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Pérez Prado, Max Roach, Potato Valdéz, Art Blakey and Kenny Dorham inspired the creation of Latin Jazz. In 1958 Nat King Cole recorded an album with Cuban musicians in Havana entitled Cole Español. Classical composers such as George Gershwin traveled to Havana in 1932 to compose his famous Cuban Overture. Aaron Copland became an advocate for international composer alliances. He visited Cuba in 1941 to compose Danzon Cubano for symphony orchestra. Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona composed film scores for MGM, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox. Havana was the most permanent home of the great American writer Ernest Hemingway who based many of his books on Cuba such as The Old Man and the Sea, Islands in the Stream, and To Have and Have Not. Walker Evans depicted Cuban culture through photography. I Love Lucy, America’s leading TV show starred Cuban actors and musicians Desi Arnaz and Marco Rizo.
In recent times, no Cuban artist has been allowed into the United States since 1998 and most Americans are criminalized for travelling to the island. This has resulted in a divergence between our cultures. A key element in the creation of The Closest Farthest Away, is the interweaving of Cuban and American voices, from the writing of the script to the acting, filming and music.
The procedural steps necessary to bring a Cuban artist to the US involves the BCIS (immigrations service), the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and even the FBI and CIA, including a non-refundable premium processing fee of $1,000 per Cuban. Furthermore, US citizens are comparatively deprived of one of the world’s richest cultures.
When the Buena Vista Social Club album and documentary were released in 1997 and 1999, it produced an explosive worldwide interest in this small island. The original album won a Grammy for Best Latin American Tropical Performance and the documentary won an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary along with 18 international film festival awards. Although bringing enormous visibility to Cuban culture, it is criticized in Cuba for representing out-dated music and not exposing today’s contemporary culture. It resurrected a musical generation of the past, similar to a group like the Beach Boys in US culture. The album was made illegally without licenses from either government. Musician/Producer Ry Cooder was fined $25,000 by the US government and can never again return to the island without being taken directly to Cuban court.
With Project Por Amor, we are committed to improve upon these models by producing new works that incorporate contemporary Cuban society in a way that is 100% legal for all artists and both governments. (see our Traveling Legally link). |