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London's Latin lesson
By Siobhan Murphy, Metro 13.04.07
Cuban music legend Israel 'Cachao' Lupez plays in Britain for the first time as part of La Linea festival
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La Linea Festival
As London's appetite for things Latin grows, so La Linea assumes a growing importance in the capital's musical calendar.
In previous years, the annual festival has introduced artists such as Gotan Project, Seu Jorge and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. This year's line-up is equally star-studded.
Cool bossa stylist Bebel Gilberto and Buena Vista Social Club guitar legend Eliades Ochoa join more eccentric choices such as Barcelona's The Pinker Tones DJ Crew, with their electro/indie/lounge melange, and Argentinian accordionist Chango Spasiuk.
Kicking things off in style, Grammy-winning LA street fighters Ozomatli will be returning to Britain with their fiery brew of ranchera, rock en espa"ol, salsa and hip hop.
Ozomatli - who put on possibly the best live show ever - are never afraid to bring politics to the mix (when not performing, they're no strangers to tear-gassed demos), as founder and bassist Wil-Dog Abers explains: 'We never wanted to be known as a party band: our music is definitely uplifting but it does have a backbone to it, and that's something we're proud of.'
Tonight's show should be riotous good fun, though, with the collective playing tracks from latest album Don't Mess With The Dragon.
But the biggest coup for this year must be getting a truly legendary Latin music talent to perform in this country for the first time, on April
29. Israel 'Cachao' Lûpez has been playing music for 81 of his 89 years and is credited with inventing the mambo. Born in Havana, he first learned percussion, then trumpet, piano and the Cuban tres but, coming from a dynasty of 37 bassists (Buena Vista's Cachaìto is his nephew), there wasn't much doubt what would become his signature instrument.
The mambo came about in 1937 when Cachao and brother Orestes spliced Afro-Cuban rhythms into the staid danzûn style - at first to limited success. 'It was an era when people danced very slowly,' he explains, 'and the mambo had an incredible, dizzying speed.' So much so that the Pope at the time allegedly declared it the Devil's music.
Leaving post-revolutionary Cuba, Cachao struggled in Spain and the US, where his talents went largely unrecognised. It took Cuban-American film star Andy Garcia championing his cause (Garcia's film Cachao: Like His Rhythm, There Is No Other is being screened as part of the festival) to spark Cachao's renaissance.
Five Grammys and a star on Hollywood Boulevard later, he's still recording classic son, guaracha, bolero and mambo. Cachao is thrilled to be making his British debut: 'All I know about England is from books and films,' he explains. 'When I was a boy, I wanted to be Sherlock Holmes - here I am playing music instead.' We should all thank heaven for that.
Tonight until Apr 30, various venues, times and prices. Tel: 0871 220 0260 www.comono.co.uk
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