JOSÉ CARLOS CRUZATA REVÉ

Árbol Genealógico (Family Tree)

 

Árbol Genealógico is a collection of compositions based and structured around the African rhythms of my ancestry, the dance and music of Tumba Francesa, and heavily influenced by the Santeria, Afro-cuban culture and musical sounds of my Cuban childhood. I was inspired by the evolution of the Tumba Francesa rhythms, and have chosen to use the different rhythmic branches that have emerged to tell the stories of my family tree with each rhythm representing either a different family member or cultural event. Having grown up in Holguín (one of the three cities where Tumba Francesa is played and performed) and being a descendent of the Africans who brought these rhythms to Cuba, highlighting them in my music allows me to connect with my past, by creating new ideas with an old heartbeat. It is this connection with my ancestry which is of particular interest to me, and bringing these little known and rarely used rhythms to a wider international audience will allow me to fulfil a cultural desire to keep alive that part of my identity.