Pablo Menendez: two cultures lost in translation

Pablo Menendez is a very charismatic Cuban musician who talks passionately about music and is very fond of his heritage and culture. For instance, he wears an Oakland cap - the place where he was raised and developed his passion for music. Menendez is well known among the Cuban musical community and his enthusiasm about everything music related was conveyed during Wednesday's night conversation at Hartley House. The event was called "Walking Two Worlds," and was based on Menendez's experiences with Cuban music and the cultural differences and similarities between the U.S. and Cuba.

Menendez has been no stranger to music. His mother, American Barbara Dane, is an internationally acclaimed folk/blues singer, who just celebrated her 80th birthday. When she performed in San Francisco in the 1960s, her guests included T-Bone Walker, Big Momma Thornton and other blues legends. But she became interested in taking her music internationally, especially to Havana, where she became well known among Cubans who showed an enthusiasm for her music. She took Pablo, who had to adapt to his new home and became involved in the Cuban music scene.

His mother had originally named him Paul, after the great civil rights activist Paul Robeson and he changed this name to Pablo, fitting perfectly in with the Cuban culture. He also got married at a very young age. Menendez said jokingly, "I was 15 when I got married, and my parents had to sign the papers."

During the presentation, Menendez presented videos that showed the relationship between blues and Cuban Latin music. Workers in the port cities of Cuba played the clave, a Latin percussion instrument, and played on boxes in their spare time. These musicians played unique poly-rhythms. This call and response method of the blues is also used in various forms of Latin music. Blues has a rich history in both the U.S. and in Cuba because it represents the struggles of the underprivileged of the African culture. Menendez also talked about the United State's past history with slaves and mentioned to the crowd, "You are part of the African culture in America and we have this in common."