"Freedom Through Culture"

This is a motto that Cubans hold in high regard. Cuba has a strong sense of culture and that, perhaps more than anything else, has enabled them to survive despite the tremendous handicap of the continuing U.S. blockade of the island. Everywhere you go in Cuba you see it’s culture on display. Art, music, architecture, sculpture, dance, literature, history, sports, education, community, medicine and organic farms. These are the riches of Cuba.

It is the power of community that keeps Cuba strong enough to withstand the unrelenting assault of the U.S. government and it’s corporate agenda. The U.S. wants into Cuba so it can privatize health care, education, farming, electrical generation, the biomedical industry...you name it and they want to privatize it.  The Cuban people are not stupid and if they are left to determine their own destiny, they will do very well.

A musical study tour of Cuba with Los Primos is the experience of a lifetime for the Canadian Primos who have made the trip. From gorgeous concert halls to music in the street, Cuba is alive with culture that give meaning to everyday life.

We in Canada have become so deadened by the onslaught of American mass media/culture that we are in danger of losing our own identity. Music is taken for granted because it is everywhere and it is pasteurized for mass consumption. The joy of a live musical performance is in the personality of the musicians and the interaction with an audience. Look at this beautiful theatre that everyone in Cienfuegos goes to on a regular basis. Please support our theatres in Nova Scotia because that is where the real music is.

We are fortunate in Nova Scotia to have many cultures in our history...from First Nations to Celtic, English, French, loyalist, African, Arabic and so many more. However we are so inundated with American homogenized cultural that sometimes it is easier to sit at home in front of the TV than to go out and see some of our real live artists performing. Habit perhaps? It is changing! People are awakening.

 We need venues and we need people to support our venues. We need opportunities for artists and we need communities that support the arts...because it is important for the development of our Culture.

This picture shows Los Primos 2000 performing at the first production of “Drum”. Certainly one of the most important celebrations of our culture in resent history...and still going strong.