When we accepted the challenge of creating a musical experience that would fuse sonorities from three cultures: Cuban, Balkan, traditional Croatian and Spanish-medieval, we knew it would be days of hard work.
Combining the beats of the tambura and the hurdy-gurdy - traditional instruments of European music - with the passion and energy of jazz, was a challenge accepted by the young Cuban musicians who won the calls for proposals launched by the Fondo de Arte Joven (FAJ), who accompanied on stage the special guests Filip Novosel (tambura / Croatia) and Germán Díaz (hurdy-gurdy / Spain).
Only music has that special power to unite generations, cultures and talents, expanding creativity and eliminating geographical borders, in a show like “Patio Abierto”.
The rigorous rehearsals took place in FAJ's #EstudioMendieta23, between studies of scores, curious questions about the instruments, exchanges of knowledge, “Spanish classes”, birthday celebrations and coffee pots that restored energy when exhaustion set in; like when the family gathers in the backyard of the house to celebrate.
Through innovative sounds and musical arrangements specially worked by guitarist and composer Dayron Ortiz (Cuba) for this premiere, with musical direction by Yosvany Terry (Cuba) and Lorenzo Suarez (Switzerland), the FAJ celebrated the Month of Europe in Cuba 2024, with a concert unique until then in the national stages.
A special contribution to this event was the collaboration of the renowned percussionist Ruy López-Nussa, master of generations and important ally of the FAJ, and the young creators.
One of the strategic objectives of the FAJ as a cultural platform is to promote exchanges of this type, which contribute to expanding and enriching the contemporary art scene by promoting diversity, innovation and exchange between artists of different nationalities, generations and traditions.
