Orishas

One could say that you are musical ambassadors of Cuba, how do you think your success has helped the Cuban people and musicians?

Ruzzo: That is what we're hoping to do. To establish ourselves first, our work and there are still things that need to be done. And also look for that precise moment, during the work pauses we have, to inform ourselves of what is happening there, what new talent is there and see how we can help them. Right now we are working with one of the bands from down there, Oggere. It is one of the cutting-edge bands out there right now.

But time is our enemy. When we go to Cuba for vacation, we always go during the periods when there are festivals, concerts and parties. And we listen to all of the artists that give us their demos and then we get together to decide if it identifies with our project. That is the way that we have become ambassadors of this movement in Español, following the old guard since the beginning.

Orishas was formed outside of Cuba, correct?

Ruzzo: Yes, in Paris in 1997, in a cultural exchange between Cuba and Paris...and with the help of the A.D.H.E.S.I.F. association with whom we have worked in Cuba. All the non-professional talent and all of us that didn’t go to the music academy. They did all the paperwork and we got a three month visa, after that we returned to Cuba. When we got back we returned with a strong proposal from EMI in Spain. And that is how we returned to Paris to work; we lived together for a year in Paris. Roldan already was living in Paris since 1996 and then Livan (Flaco Pro), ex-member of the band and Michael Niko, a producer, started doing demos for our first tracks, “A Lo Cubano” and “Represent.” And we followed the concept of the album after that, with the rebelliousness of the times. We had just arrived there from Cuba.

Do you think you would have achieved the same level of success if the project was launched from Cuba?

Ruzzo: No, I don't think so. It would have taken very long. We would probably still be playing live in Cuba.

Would you say that it’s a valid argument for young musicians that want to live off their art to follow on your footsteps?

Ruzzo: Not necessarily…leaving your country to develop your artistic endeavors – it is not clear that leaving your country and coming here, that everything will be ready. Because one has to work it hard, of course. There have been many bands that have had the opportunity to travel and done cultural exchanges and they have realized that it is not as they dreamed it to be.

Sure, the reality may be the same as for any other immigrant.

Ruzzo: Exactly, it is the same deal for any other immigrant. It is the same reality, at different levels of complexity. It is the same dog but with different collar, as we say.

Now that you are talking about migration – when you guys first arrived in Europe, were you discriminated for your nationality or skin color?

Ruzzo: Both. Everything is included in the same package. Be it your color, your idiosyncrasies, your culture, your way of behaving socially – anything that catches attention and that is not common here. The social behavior of an Italian, German or French is compared to that of a Latino. When one comes from a faraway country and arrives here, one tries to create his or her own corner, his or her own Cuba inside the space one occupies here.

Were you able to find good Cuban food in Europe?

Ruzzo: Yes, of course. There are good masters here, good hands. Good hands, because Cubans are everywhere, even in the North Pole. As long as there are Cubans, pork meat, brown rice and bananas, of course ... because your heritage is very important, to have that with you, because that is the only thing that customs does not screen – yourself, who you are...no one, can take that away from you. The rest, well one finds that on one’s own, of course.

And are you guys still pro-Castro?

Ruzzo: Yes...yes.

You guys have Pitbull on your new compilation, Antidótico.

Ruzzo: Ah, yes...

Pitbull is very anti-Castro. How did that collaboration come about?

Ruzzo: Yes, yes, no, not even ... what ever he does in regards to his ideology, it has nothing to do with this song in particular. But no, he really liked the song (Quién te Dijo?). Also, he had a lot of coherence and a lot of fluidity in the way he worked. He had a good understanding of the song and his lyrics were on point, which is what we were looking for on the track. So we left a small space there for him to intervene. And he asked us for it, he loved it, he wanted to participate on this track. And we said, yeah, no problem, welcome. If everything is in the positive sense, welcome.

So politics were left out...

Ruzzo: Yeah, of course. We have nothing to do with politics. We are not a religious or political group. We talk of what needs to be talked about, be it political, economical, social, cultural, but that is not the primary concept of the band. We don't want to become a group that carries a political flag. It is a chain, anyway, because at the moment we start criticizing society, wham, you become tied to the problem. The important thing is to live now, in any society of the planet.

On your new compilation, there is a track called “Una Página” where you talk about those things.

Ruzzo: Of course, in this case, “Una Página” was the only way possible that we had as a group to try and give an answer…in the best possible way to the public…to that question that always is asked to us in every corner of the world: what is going to happen in Cuba? What is going to happen to Cuba? What do the Cuban people think and what is the Cuban public going to do?

And no one has the answers – not even a Chinese doctor. Not even the priest knows it. And that is what we try to answer in that song, through our personal criteria, which is based on what our family and friends live through every day on the island. We give our personal opinion on the matter, on what we think things are like…and give the closest answer based on what happens today or what happens in Cuba.

This album is a retrospective, a sort of “greatest hits.” Is it too early to have one? Is this a new beginning or ending?

Ruzzo: Exactly, exactly. Like we say, as we evolve on our musical path, we burn through phases. We go from decade to decade. We’ve been working for ten years and we felt we should recognize it. It was important to compile ten years of hard work and sweat, songs that satisfied each of our individual and independent tastes – each one of us made a list at home of which tracks we wanted to be present in this collection, plus some extra gifts. Some unreleased tracks were waiting to be polished and already had their place reserved there. We didn't just choose tracks to cover holes or spaces, no, no. We will never do that. Either we do a track correctly, “a full,” as we say, or not at all. And the end of this ten-year phase in our career is our way of giving our respect to our public. Because of them, we have an international presence…thanks to people who, luckily, still have excellent musical taste.

What's left of your Cuban roots after this 10-year musical evolution?

Ruzzo: Oh, everything, everything. Because the basic concept of the band has always been to preserve our idiosyncrasies, the heritage we've had – not just African, but Spanish, Chinese, French, from the Canaries, etc. And that will always be present because that is the only method, since the beginning, we have chosen to give it that native feel…in this Rap en Español movement or in this case, Rap Cubano, with an old school vibe. That will never change, but we will always experiment because we love it and we have done it that way since we were in Cuba. In this case, Yotuel, MC and I, we had our band in Havana called Amenaza. In that era that was the name of the band – to make to make matters worse – so that was hard work, but we were always investigating, it didn't matter the genre. If there was this fluidity in the work, in each different genre there is, as we say, always a musical solution.

Where do you live, Ruzzo, in France?

Ruzzo: In Milan, Italy.

Is there Italian rap? Is it any good?

Ruzzo: Yes, yes. There are many bands there, but the scene is very small. It’s not popular. It’s recognized as a movement and genre, but it is not very popular – Italy is more about songs. More rock and pop. More romantic. But yes, the established bands like Articolo 31, Sheleibez, the street talent that is slowly getting on TV. But yes, there is a lot of interesting talent there. It is a matter of getting the ear accustomed to the music.

Is there anyone you would have liked to collaborate with on this compilation?

Ruzzo: Ahh, man! We made a list for that purpose. We forced ourselves to make up a list, all three heads. Each one of us has varying musical preferences as far as artists we would like to work with. For example, old-schoolers like Oscar de León, Rubén Blades, Manu Chao...Outkast, that is one of the bands we hope one day to work with. Common Sense, Cypress Hill are artists we know, we have shared the stage in festivals here in Europe. Yes, many artists…maybe we will repeat the experience we had with Calle 13...Pitbull.

What is your personal opinion of the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba?

Ruzzo: Oh man, I think it is shit. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. I don't think that anything positive can come of out of an absurd law like that. We are neighbors; we live in the same hemisphere, understand? There’s no logic in struggling to make America a house with only one owner. It does not exist. It would be like trying to live with another Hitler: “I just want to be the owner of everything and the rest can be left to their luck.” It can't be like that, because every corner, every place in the world has its secrets, its charm…every country has it own riches, its own charm. Why do we want to sink it? The situation is already broken, a lot of shit – too many interests. Like one of these Cuban singer-songwriters Carlos Valera says: “Politics does not fit in the sugar jar.” Not a single grain fits anymore. Everything is business now, they don't even think of the consequences, it’s only profits – and not precisely for everyone. No, no, it’s very ugly. There are just too many barriers and walls to add to this total closure…to any country, not just Cuba. We can complain for one thousand years, but that is not the solution, to complain for a thousand years. The solution is to fix relations, and according to the comments of the people in Cuba, Raúl is trying to, or he is beginning to, try to re-establish relations, because [the embargo] makes no sense. Man.