Bebo Valdés and Cándido Camero, united by two documentaries



Miami (USA), Apr 30 (EFE) .- Two great Cuban musicians who have passed away, the pianist Bebo Valdés and the percussionist Cándido Camero, "converged" this Friday in a meeting for International Jazz Day in which advances by Both documentaries still without release of which they are protagonists.

"Cándido, the king of the three congas", by Luis Leonel León, and "Looking for Bebo, a Cuban soul in cold lands", by Ricardo Bacallao, are played in time but "were not coordinated," according to their filmmakers. in the presentation act by Zoom.

Organized by the non-profit association ARTivisten, the presentation of both documentaries, which are in the final phase of completion, was attended by a group of artists, producers and cultural promoters from Europe and the United States, including percussionist Emilio Valdés, grandson of Bebo and son of Chucho Valdés.

Emilio, who lives in New Jersey (USA) and served as the host of the documentary about his grandfather's life in Cuba and in Sweden, where he went into exile not to return to his country, was excited about this project.

"I think we are going to put the name and the music of Bebo Valdés to a greater level in Sweden than it had been seen before," he said about "Looking for Bebo, a Cuban soul in cold lands", which includes a Tribute to Bebo in November 2019 in New Jersey, where eleven original pieces by the legendary pianist and composer were performed.

This concert with the performance of the Emilio Big Band was organized by the city of Union City (New Jersey).

"We seek and tell part of the life of this great pianist, through the memories and emotionality of some of his descendants and his music," Bacallao told Efe.

Director of several documentaries on the Cuban diaspora around the world, Bacallao added that the film is in the final phase.

THE CONFLUENCE OF TWO GREAT

"We hope soon to be able to show it in various cities in Europe, the United States and Latin America together with the film about Cándido by Luis Leonel. The two films are linked by many things," he said.

For his part, León, who read from Miami a little-known letter that Bebo sent to his friend Camero from Stockholm in April 1991, recalled the Cuban tumbador, who died in New York in 2020 shortly before his 100th birthday, as a precursor of the latinjazz.

Hence, the advance of the documentaries was presented today as "a confluence again of two greats of Cuban music."

"I know that he left this world happy, satisfied that he had lived long and well, not without the pains that accompany every human being and especially an exile," tells Efe León, who managed to rescue unknown anecdotes from Camero, interview relatives and use the latest recordings of the tumbador for the soundtrack for your film.

"I would have liked him to have seen the end of the documentary that Iván Acosta and I are producing in his tribute. The same happened with Tito Puente and 'Calle 54', the film by Fernando Trueba that rescued Latin jazz figures, including Bebo Valdés, and that the great percussionist, known as 'El rey de los timbales' also didn't see it finished, "lamented León.

"I imagine you have your retirement just like me, tell me why don't you go to Puerto Rico or Santo Domingo for the three winter months, New York is very humid. I think your name is among the greats. I turned 72 years old now. at this age you have to wait for the journey without return, nobody stays for seed ", says the letter from Bebo to his friend Camero.

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