Jorgito passes like an echo every night through La Vigía neighborhood, marking the beat of the Camagüeyan conga in the months before and after the celebration of San Juan.

Next to his cart, with which he makes a living collecting garbage in the neighborhood, this young man who is deaf and mute receives the rhythm of the drum through vibrations.

According to some neighbors who have known him for a long time, he tried to enlist in an official conga, but since he receives the sound from the contact of his feet on the ground, it is very difficult for him to keep up with the rhythm that the rest of the musicians.

Who is the “percussionist”

Although he did not pass the percussion test, he likes what he feels and reproduces it; sometimes with a drum, sometimes on the metal lid of his wheelbarrow. No one knows where he lives or his last name. Most call him “The mute”.

But Jorgito manages to communicate very well. On occasions he has greeted me and asked with signs if I have garbage to throw away. For only 5 pesos he takes the bags and deposits them in a collector located at the back of the 12-story building on Finlay Avenue.

The celebrations

From April to September, the conguero passes by, sometimes late at night, with his repeated playing. Those in the neighborhood, already used to hearing it, comment: there goes Jorgito. If he goes with the drum, it means that we are on the dates between San Juan and San Pedro.

I heard it happen last night. I wanted to take a picture of it, but the street was very dark. So I wait for the opportunity to show you the boy, while I share this story as simple as his character.

His rhythm, like the echo of the popular celebration, reaches us to the neighborhood and reminds us that we are in San Juan.

Translated by: Aileen ÁlvarezGarcía