Picto Diary - 15 February 2020 - La Onda Carabina (15 Feb Two - of two)
Above: TIMDT, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico 15 February 2020.
Above: Puerto Vallarta Jazz Festival. Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. 15 February 2020.
La Onda Carabina (Caleb Chapman Soundhouse, American Fork, UT)
Above: Caleb Chapman and Francisco Torres. Puerto Vallarta Jazz Festival, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
La Onda Carabina (Caleb Chapman Soundhouse, American Fork, Utah)
Francisco Torres, Mexican, Grammy nominated trombonist based in LA and Caleb Chapman, director and vocalist, share the stage.
Oh... did I mention, Caleb Chapman is a genius?
Above: Puerto Vallarta Jazz Festival, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. 15 February 2020.
La Onda Carabina (Caleb Chapman Soundhouse, American Fork, Utah)
"Baise Moi Ma Ma"
Partially hidden, center right, white and black shirt, Drums solos on congas. Caleb Chapman, directing and vocals, introduces Drums in Spanish..."he's only 13!!"...and starts yelling his name in rhythm, as Drums bangs away. . Crowd follows, yelling. P..., P...., P..., P..., electric moment.
The two female vocalists from La Onde Carabena were terrific. They added greatly to the band's successful performance.
Chapman knows how to gin up crowd participation to match the energy of the band. He channels the crowd's growing enthusiasm back to the band. Band energy intensifies in response. This Chapman orchestrated, oscillating feedback loop, between audience and band, results in a primal band/audience musical energy pulsating throughout the venue.
Squint: Tito Puente All Stars...maybe Santana. TIMDT and Mwah (sic) attended a Tito Puente concert in Miami in the late 80's. Wasn't as good as this (well, you know what I mean).
600 plus audience in outdoor performance park/arena. Half of 'em on the dance floor going crazy. The highest level of music energy and music appreciation is South of the border, no question.
I first learned that in spades when I motorcycled through Cuba in 2013. Small bands were ubiquitous wherever we went... bars, restaurants, public squares.
One time, listening to music in a Havana bar, I couldn't stop myself from walking up to the band, grabbing an idle guiro, and joining in the playing. Since I was doing a passable job, the band members loved it! Point is, the energy coming from the complex rhythms of Latin music create a mood...an energy...not found in any other music genre.
By the way, other than the motorcycle riding experience and companionship with fellow riders, which I enjoy anywhere, that's all there was of value to my two week long Cuba trip...the music. The country in every other way was a shithouse, brought low by Castro and the Communists. A deteriorated building collapses in crumbling Havana once a day, just for starters. At least, Castro couldn't destroy the music.
The US got the last laugh out of Cuba's demise by inheriting the Cuban diaspora, who settled, mainly, in Miami...the same people, mostly professionals, who had made Cuba the best performing GDP per capita of all Latin American countries at the time of Castro's 1959 Cuban Revolution.
Miami philanthropist Shepard Broad told me in 1994, while we were having lunch at Joe's Stone Crab on Miami Beach, that there is one person more responsible for Miami's success than any other: Fidel Castro. By forcing all of Cuba's professionals to flee to Miami, Castro gave Miami a shot in the arm, while Havana declined and languished in their absence.
Shepard said the City of Miami should commission a large statue of Fidel Castro and place it in Bay Front Park, honoring Castro's tremendous contribution to the City of Miami.
Oh. did I mention Caleb Chapman is a genius?