Cuba Music Tour
- 29 Jul 2016
After leaving Melbourne on the Monday 20th of june, we began our 4 flights over 40 hours, only to arrive in Cuba still on Monday the 20th of June. We started off in Old Havana where we began learning about the culture and history of Cuba with our tour guide Mario and Louis, our bus driver. Walking through the town was almost like stepping back into the 1950s, as many buildings were colourfully painted, setting the scene with dozens of beautiful vintage cars driving the streets .
Having taken a day to adjust, the group was thrown straight into a week of performances. Packing our bags and cases on the bus, we set off for other major cities around Cuba: Cienfuegos, Trinidad, the coast island Cayos Las Brujas, Santa Clara and Remedios.
As we travelled, we were privileged to perform with local musicians at their schools, art galleries and town squares. Our stage band brought a wide selection of instrument pieces, vocal charts and, of course, Topsy, Mr Kan’s favourite piece. Performing with local cubans also provided a great opportunity to become fully immersed in Cuban culture and to enjoy their music and salsa dancing.
But our tour didn’t just include performances for the band, it was also an opportunity to learn about this country. Whether the band were taking a class in salsa or learning pickup lines in Spanish, there was always some exciting way for everyone to immerse themselves in the local culture. After two weeks, everyone had fallen in love with Cuba, whether it was their music, their hospitality or their enthralling history.
Unfortunately, this amazing experience in Cuba had to come to end. After enjoying our last dinner with the numerous people we had met and mingled with over the past fortnight, we said farewell, packed our bags. Then, waking up at 3am and prepared for the another monstrous 43 hours of travelling back home.
We’d like to once again thank Mr Serebrianik, Ms Pryor and Mr Kan for the great effort they put into taking care of the group throughout our travels. We hope you enjoy this video we prepared of our time in this amazing country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMUk-l1Qg0M
Jessica Earls and Nicholas Whittaker (Senior Stage Band Captains)
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