Different Drum Hopes to Play Fiesta del Fuego in Santiago de Cuba

Music listeners often can hear cornet and conga player Alex Weiss and members of his group Different Drum playing in schools, community centers, and local clubs and festivals. Weiss and his ensemble, who have been playing together since 1992, are now raising money to perform at Fiesta del Fuego (also called the Festival de Caribe) in July in Santiago de Cuba.

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Recent relaxations in the trade embargo that President Barack Obama announced in December are making the trip possible. Different Drum had been invited to play at the 2014 festival, and had been working on applying for a license with the Department of State to travel to Cuba.

Under the new rules, the Department of State created 12 categories of “general licenses,” including public performance, which will allow the band to travel to the festival without filing extensive paperwork. Previously, the Department of State had required more specific licenses that were reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

“Ironically, we were an inch away from getting the license,” Weiss said Wednesday. “We had gone through all the hoops,” but the changes “made the license irrelevant,” he said.

To get to the festival, Different Drum is trying to raise $5,000 for air fare and other expenses. Casa del Caribe, the organization that coordinates the festival, does not have a budget for the musicians, nor are the musicians being paid to perform, Weiss said. The campaign will launch on the Indiegogo fundraising website Feb. 10. “Even if we don’t make all the money, we’re committed to going,” Weiss said.

In addition to Weiss, other members of the band who will perform at the festival will be Li-Lan Hsiang-Weiss (Alex’s wife) on percussion, Brian Pearl on bass and percussion, Lisa Lindsay on alto saxophone, and Yumi Fuuji on percussion. Fuuji also will document the festival visit with photographs and video.

Lindsay is an associate professor of history at UNC Chapel Hill, whose scholarly work focuses on West Africa, and links between Africa and other parts of the world. The festival will be her first time traveling to Cuba. “I’m very interested in Cuba in my academic work, but this is not an academic-related trip,” Lindsay said. Going to the festival “is a tremendous performance opportunity, and an opportunity to interact with musicians from all over Latin America.”

Weiss describes Different Drum’s repertoire as “Afro-Latin,” with elements of the music of the Caribbean and Latin America. For Lindsay, the festival offers the group a great opportunity to learn some new music, and perhaps add it to the band’s repertoire. Different Drum frequently performs in schools, and Weiss hopes to share stories about his experiences with students when the band returns.

Despite recent changes, the United States still maintains the trade and travel embargo against Cuba. Travel for tourism is still prohibited.

As a musician and performer, Weiss has traveled extensively and says he is comfortable in different cultures. “As an artist in the schools, I was trained about 30 years ago that you are like an ambassador of what you do, your art. The concept is not new to me. This is on a much broader scale,” Weiss said.

“As a composer, when I first play a piece, it’s like the birth of a baby. … At this moment of history, we’re at the forefront of what I hope will be a reopening and interchange” with Cuba, he said.

Source: The Herald-Sun (North Carolina)