For more than a decade, the Provincial Concert Band of Camagüey found a definitive place for its rehearsals and creations, after shooting for 8 years in any “borrowed corner” or rehearsing on the street itself, in front of its old headquarters, with danger of collapse in Capdevila street.

If you walk through the busy Apodaca alley in the morning, you can listen to any Cuban or foreign rhythm, which come from percussion and wind instruments, becoming a bless to our ears.

The Band always accompanies us with its music in every social event, be it political, cultural or historical, but not many have witnessed its rehearsals. Thus motivated by the curiosity to see them inside, some time ago, I appeared before the rigid gate of the entrance and waited for someone to open, to visit them.

A special guide

The late administrator of the band, Jorge Estrada González, was the one who received me on that pleasant occasion and after thanking me for my interest in knowing their stories, he offered a review of the long history of the band, almost a century of fruitful existence.

Since its first director, José Álvarez Varona, the band is characterized by being a sort of fraternal brotherhood, where every morning upon arrival, everyone gives a cheerful greeting and the most experienced ones train the new members, who now come from the José White conservatory, but in the 80’s they were still disciples of the old musicians, who taught concert music.

The composition of the band includes about 45 musicians, of whom 15 are women, the director, three prop-managers, the administrator and an archivist, all depending on each program.

The repertoires are assembled with the “evil lectern” that skill which practice gives and that allows to be agile when including new songs.

A secret

Discipline and image are like a secret code that is transmitted from one generation to another, it is not written anywhere, but it can be seen in all its members.

The organization

Its current director is the saxophonist Gerardo Vasconcelos, although he is the youngest one that the band has ever had, he has been there for more than 10 years and feels very comfortable among the various generations that make up the legendary congregation, whether they are the most expert or the most recent graduates, who in his opinion are very well prepared.

The balance of genres for each concert also needs an analysis, it cannot be taken lightly. The show is opened by a military march, followed by a double march, opera and an important composer. The next ones are the well-known movie soundtracks and finally we get to Cuban music and its different rhythms until the end.

We can enjoy their music on the most notable stage of the band, the Agramonte Park. For the group, this is the context of their great successes, because there is always a different audience that welcomes them with pleasure and feels they are linked to our community.