MIAMI.- Yissy García has heard the sound of drums since she was in her mother’s womb. Today, the young percussionist He continues a legacy by playing the instrument with which his father, Bernardo García, contributed to shaping one of the most emblematic groups in Cuba, Irakere.
“Since I was little I was surrounded by that musical environment. My father was the founder of Irakere and also of Arturo Sandoval’s band and played with many bands in Cuba. I was born in Key West (in Havana), a neighborhood where a can and a stick are always ringing, where there is a party all the time, a music ringing. That’s why I say that I knew I wanted to be a drummer since I was in my mother’s belly,” said Yissy García in an interview with DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS.
“There were always meetings at home where they did downloads and I was there with some sticks (playing). Since I was little I really liked music and I started studying at the conservatory when I was nine years old. I studied percussion for almost 10 years, until I graduated and started working professionally.”
At first her mother opposed it, because she wanted her to be a pianist or dancer, but she had already chosen percussion and she showed it by helping her father when he went out to play.
“My mom told me: ‘but you really want to be a drummer, look at your dad, all the things he has to carry. He chooses another instrument. They told my brother to take up the drums and they took me to dance or piano classes. I loved helping my dad charge the drums and, when we went to rehearsals, he always gave me a little time to play,” he recalled.
“They supported me, my dad helped me a lot. And currently, my brother is a dancer and I am a drummer.”
García, who lives in Miami, founded Bandancha, a group that emerged in 2012 as a quintet in which various sounds were mixed.
“I’ve been in Miami for three and a little years. I formed my band in Cuba. At first we were a quintet where we mixed jazz a little more with Cuban music and electronic elements. That first format had a DJ as part of the band. I spent about six years defending that sound,” he explained.
García’s debut album, which he released in 2015, reflects the constant musical search that characterizes the cinematic style with which he leads Bandancha. The percussionist aims to renew the group’s sound to attract the public.
“I made my first album, which is called Latest news, which is on all digital platforms. After that, I wanted to change the sound a little bit, change the type of music we were making. And then I went a little further to mix jazz with typical Cuban rhythms such as chachachá, rumba, changüí, pilón, which are traditional genres, but that are hardly used anymore, they are not heard, so I for mixing and rescuing those genres. And six months ago I changed the band looking for another sound. Now I’m working with a quartet, who do fusion of everything, jazz with timba, with electronic sounds. And we also love mixing the rhythms of Africa and Brazil. So we are like a concoction,” he said.
“After the album, I released some singles, songs in which I mix jazz with conga. I think I’m a restless person musically. I like to listen to different genres. I really like electronic music, Cuban music, jazz, pop, some reggaeton things. I like to take details of all those trends and mix them with my music. I stick with one format for a while, but then I get bored and want to jump to something else. There I start to investigate, to listen to music of the style I want to work on. And so I am changing and presenting new proposals to the public,” he added.
These days, García remains focused on the concert she offers with Bandancha on Saturday, April 6 at the Miami Beach Bandshell.
“Right now I’m very focused on the concert, because it’s a big concert, with costume design. I like doing computer things, not just playing. And after that I’m going to start recording new music with the new format,” she said.
This is a unique opportunity to see the group perform live this year in Miami before continuing with work commitments. Among the night’s performances are Kelvis Ochoa, Brenda Navarrete and Glenda del E.
Women on the Drumsas García titled this musical meeting, highlights the work of female percussionists, because it is usually less common to see a woman performing percussion.
“It is almost always men who play the percussion. And in this concert I wanted to focus on highlighting the work of women percussionists. I have many guests, singers, instrumentalists, dancers, almost all Cubans, except for one percussionist who is Colombian. I have a surprise that I know the public is going to love. So it will be a great party and I think they will really enjoy the proposal,” she said.
“Women percussionists are actually a minority, especially in these instruments dominated by men, such as the trumpet, double bass, drums, congas. But I think the community is growing, above all, globally. I am part of a jury of female drummers. And there are drummers from India and Russia, and one is amazed that in those countries there are women playing that instrument.”
When asked if it has been more difficult for her to perform as a drummer as a woman, she commented:
“It really took a lot of work for me to get into different groups, especially in men’s groups. It was always like that, they said: but a female drummer? She doesn’t have the same drawback or sound, that a woman wasn’t going to get enough sound out of the drums. So there was always the doubt. And I did have to face a lot of things, have a lot of willpower, a lot of patience and work a lot to show that I could play the drums and that I could get the same sound out of it, as if I were a man.”
