Latin Jazz on the Go in Havana

Abstract

JAZZ POETRY ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H BBBMMMBBBHBHBBBHHMHHi^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^™ after Briiegel's "TheTower ofBabel" Don'tholdyour breath neartheruined river, where water runsfetid, liver-like chunks ofwasterunoff from this city of cranes, levers, ropesandpulleys. Thecommoners gather daily tomeasure thenewfound cracks onthewalls,read them as though they aresomeancient language ofrubble, scrolls tossed outthewindows, these parentheses cuppedinthedistance, beehive structures where smoked sausageshangouttodry, half-dead birds perch onsills, preen weakly as though pecking for parasite morsels. Yourdailybusiness istopatch, scrape, paintthewalls with lime. You,theleveler, thelonely one,bevelinhand, toousedtolife with animals keptindoors here, andtheputrid smells oftheir droppings confuse evenbreadmakers, whomeasure yeast bythecupful. Destruction's nameis everywhere, hungover, relentless initspersistence. Scaffolding embraces thecircular city, itsruin, a hug. During anautumn festival, musicfills thehallways, youdance half-naked with peopleinthepenumbra ofalleyways, porticos, under a coolrespite ofparasols andawnings. Sunlight bleaches thelandscape orange. Cloudscrown theupper crust ofthis rotting, festering city-tower. Ifyoucough orsneeze, itcrumbles backtodust, ash,eternity. Virgil Suárez was borninHavana, Cuba,in1962.Since1972he has livedintheUnited Statesas a naturalized citizen. He istheauthor ofseveralworks offiction, has editedseveralanthologies, and istheauthor ofeightcollections ofpoetry, mostrecently 90Miles: Selected andNew,publishedbythe University ofPittsburgh Press.He iscurrently atwork ona new collection ofpoemstitled Indigo. He livesandworks inFlorida, making KeyBiscayne hishome.When notwriting, he isoutriding his motorcycle upand downtheBlue Highways oftheUnited States. ^^^■PH^^^^^^^H Q: Howwereyoufirst introducedtojazz? ^^^fty^^^^^^^^H A:Iwas introduced tojazz atan early age as a teenagerinLosAngeles, and inparticular Latin jazz with thework ofTito ^^^Hj^^^^^^^H Puente, themaestro. Ihavebeenlistening tobothforms sincethen.Iwascomingofage ina hugecity wherethenight- ^^^^^^^^^^^^H life ruledTherewas nothing better thanto ridearoundinthenight and listen togreatmusic. Later, as a student ingrad ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| school,Idrovethrough thenight toandfrom school,alwaysblasting themusic. ^I^^^BH^^^^^H Latin Jazzisembodiedinthework ofTitoPuente, DizzyGillespie, and,ifyoustretch it, allthewayintothePania ^B^^Hy^^^^^H All-Stars with Willie Colónand hisgangofmerry Latinopranksters. TheCaribbean, and inparticular Cuba,hasproduced ■JBHII^^^^^^H many greatLatin jazz musicians, for instance PaquitoD'Rivera. ' '-■ Theform hasdeeplyinfluenced meas a poetandwriter, notonlybecause Iloveitas a listener, butbecause itis TITO PUENTE constantly playing inthebackground whileIwrite, so itfilters intothework directly. Astheysay,it'sinthekeyboard, it's intheair, it'sintheblood. 26iWorldLiterature Today o Q_ O co < O to x Q- ...