Contra Costa Times
Friday, February 21, 2003
"Trio explores Mexican, Cuban links through music"
By Andrew Gilbert, TIMES CORRESPONDENT

Today, Mexico and Cuba seem like different worlds, divided by disparate political and economic systems. But for most of their post-conquest history, the two nations were not only part of Spain's New World empire, but they were also closely linked by a constant flow of people, trade and culture.

Exploring those connections is what "Puente a la Mar" ("To Bridge the Sea"), the gorgeous new CD by Cascada de Flores, is all about. The trio, whose name means "waterfall of flowers," features the exquisite vocal harmonies of Arwen Lawrence de Castellanos and Sabra Weber, accompanied by the stellar guitar and tres of Jorge Liceaga. Formed about three years ago, the group released its breathtaking debut CD, "México," in 2001, exploring classic Mexican songs from the first half of the 20th century.

With "Puente," the group highlights the Cuban roots of much Mexican music, particularly trova, a broad category of popular song styles that include son, bolero, guaracha, punto and habanera. It started as working-class music, created by laborers on the eastern side of the island where Spanish, mestizo and African laborers mixed and blended various musical forms and rhythms. Constant travel between Cuba and Mexico's Caribbean coast, particularly Veracruz and the Yucatan Peninsula, brought the music to the mainland, where it flourished.

"The music is a snapshot of the time period, of the connections between Cuba and Mexico during the 1920s, '30s, '40s," said Weber during a recent interview with the trio at Celadon Fine Teas in Albany. "It was a very exciting time in the U.S. and in the Caribbean. So many things were happening so quickly, a huge explosion of genres that weren't even recognized as genres until years later. There was this idea of nationalism in both countries, while at the same time they were ignoring that, and the music was flowing back and forth," Castellanos added. "The role of the radio was so important in how fast the music moved. Cubans were doing things that Mexicans considered very much theirs, and there's still arguments today. People have read our liner notes and said to me, 'Bolero isn't Cuban, that's Mexican.'"

For the album release celebration at Freight & Salvage on Sunday, the group will be joined by percussionists Sage Baggott and Roberto Borrell (director of Orquesta la Moderna Tradición), trumpeter Miguel Govea (director of Los Compas) and Cuban bassist Liván Ramirez-Montoya, who are all featured on "Puente." In performance, the trio also presents the dances that are an integral part of the music.
The album's title refers not just to bridging the distance between Cuba and Mexico. The trio also wants to connect the past to the present.

"People in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico, they're learning the oral tradition from their fathers, mothers," Liceaga said. "But here we have a problem. We don't have the opportunity to grow up and listen, and that's why we're looking more and more closely at what happened in the past to absorb the ideas."

Toward that end, Cascada de Flores performs regular children's concerts, presenting Mexican songs and dance in their "¡Para niños!" program. The trio performs on March 1 at La Peña Cultural Center, with a show designed for kids kindergarten through third grade. "My daughter listens to Marilyn Manson," Liceaga noted, "so we're also trying to build a bridge to the future."