For the Love of Chucho y la musica

It is 5:40 pm in Havana and I just came back from spending four + hours to score tickets for the Havana Jazz Festival, which begins jueves of this week. The first part was easy - getting tickets for Viernes y Sabado at the Teatro Roldan for concerts that feature 4 to 5 groups each night. Took maybe 15 minutes with my broken espanol. The killer was getting tickets for Chucho Valdes who opens the festival Jueves in Teatro Mella, which is just a few blocks from the Teatro Roldan. Had to wait in line from 1:45 to 4:40. This was a lesson in Cuban aesthetic and patience. No high tech computer generated ticket center here - one asere who deals one on one. Crowd stretched down Linea Blvd - probably about 100 + at one time. At the beginning I was in the front 25% but after we had to shift from the front of the teatro to the sidewalk I was suddenly in the last 50%. Wasn't ready for the Cubano shift and positioning dance. But all was so cool. Nobody lost their temper or got to screaming or pushing. Folks went out of line to rap and talk and laugh, some even went to get a sandwich and then came back...and their place in line was held. Even the manicero came through...been looking for him! Try that s..t in Estados Unidos...been some real butt kickin at the least - maybe someone would get cut and/or shot. And to think this was in the middle of the afternoon to get the chance to hear Chucho Valdes. It spoke volumes about how music is so much a part of the culture here and how it is valued. So on Thursday evening of this week, y'all think of me around 9pm when, God willing, I will be sitting in Teatro Mella listening and seeing Chucho Valdes. For those of you who don't know who Chucho is, better get on it. That's it for now. Over and out from Havana