Cuba is that place from which one never completely disconnects. And when I think of Cuba, the two words that come to mind are love and pain. Love because that is where one comes from and for everything that the homeland represents for one. And pain because, precisely, one yearns for many things to be different, said Glenda del Monte in an interview with DIARIO LAS AMRICAS.
Above all, I want the Cuban brothers who are there to be free in their thoughts, in their actions, in being able to decide many things that they are not allowed to decide, because they do not have those tools or facilities. As for the new bases, I would say that it would be respect, above all, the respect of those who command towards the people. And of the people towards themselves, so that they can be free, he added, answering on what the bases should be if it were possible to build a new republic in Cuba, like the one that existed for 57 years, before the Castro regime was installed in Havana in 1959.
Del Monte highlighted resilience as a characteristic of Cubans, which allows them to adapt to any place they go to and put down roots far from their homeland, even if they cannot forget it.
I believe that I can live anywhere in the world, because after I left my country, it doesn’t matter, I can adapt to any place. And you will never find the same thing, but that is what adaptation is about, it is to take a look at the world around you. forwardas we say in good Cuban, express.
The pianist, who grew up in a musical family, recalled how she was infected by that energy.
I always went to an activity or a rehearsal with my mom or my dad, but when they formed a band together, they rehearsed almost every day at my grandfather’s house. And I remember that my cousin and I studied at the same conservatory. When they picked us up, we knew that, when we arrived at my grandmother’s house, there was a rehearsal. Back then it was a party, because the musicians were young. And those who weren’t young were very funny too. That’s how they started to inject me with a bit of the ‘poison’ of popular music, he continued.
The keyboard players were showing me the chords. The way popular music is written is different from the way classical music is written. That part was a lot of fun. It was like an after-school game. I was learning, but from a different angle.
For Del Monte, if there is something that musicians share, it is sensitivity and passion for what they do, although it is a profession that requires perseverance and will.
Many people believe that it is not a real career and they try to derail you from that path, because they do not see it as a sustainable job over time. So it is not something that one starts doing thinking that one is going to be a millionaire or that one is going to live off of it, but because one likes it and it is a passion. So I would say that musicians have sensitivity and passion in common, he explained.
I liked almost all instruments. Then several musicians, friends of my parents, told me that the piano was the only instrument that I didn’t have to carry around. And that was really why. I liked it, but I would sneak into cello or flute classes. And I would ask the teacher when I was going to get flute lessons. But the piano has always been my companion, he added, explaining why he became a pianist.
The singer-songwriter and arranger, known artistically as Glenda del E, was nominated for a Latin Grammy for her album Ella (2022), which he recorded with Venezuelan violinist Daniela Padrn.
At the time he gave this interview, he was considering several projects, including preparing his fourth album, a series of concerts with his band, and getting ready to join Alejandro Sanz’s tour.
I’m always a little restless, trying to, in addition to being part of a band, go on tour with my project or try to make recordings at home. I’m always preparing ideas for new projects, both as a singer-songwriter and as a pianist. Right now I’m preparing an album and some concerts for the summer with my own project. I love putting together a big party, whether it’s in concert or on the record, she said.
On how it was for her to adapt when she arrived in Toronto as a teenager and how that experience enriched her cultural background, she commented:
I had friends and classmates from India, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia. So, there were times when we shared music as well. And they showed me things from their culture. And I showed them things from mine. And that has always caught my attention, how each culture has that musical richness, he recalled.
The multicultural part motivated me for many things, but it was also a shock at first, because I came from a conservatory in Cuba since I was seven years old. And suddenly I was missing that part where we were all studying music, where there was always a party on the weekends. And in Canada everything is different, everyone in their place. There was the language barrier, but we learned a lot and I started to like it. I was 15 years old, and I was lucky to have my parents there. So, that part of the roots was at home, even though I was in a totally different country.
