This January that we said goodbye dressed in pandemic costume also marked a special birthday: a quarter of a century ago, the musical group Cumanay appeared for the first time on the scene, although at that time, another was its name.

As current circumstances limit free movement, I use technology to talk to Oslando Chacón Terry, director of the group.

"It was Rubén Rojas Valladares, who was deputy director of 'Lácteo', who came up with the idea of having a musical group in the Company to guarantee recreation. The group began its artistic life as an amateur group on January 25, 1996 at the Escambray Dairy Products Company, and the first performance took place during an emulation check-up at the pasteurizer.

"At that time we were called Lactoson, and the music we played was mainly son and its variants. During that stage we participated in national CTC festivals and won several awards; we also attended national popular art fairs. A very special moment was in 2000, the open forum for the return of Elián González, held in Cumanayagua. It was there, for the first time, that we called ourselves Cumanay.
               In its work, Cumanay shares with other peasant artists /Photo: Taken from the Internet

It may seem distant in time and, obviously, that category cannot be avoided; however, each experience is very close and deep in the members of Cumanay whose representation, its director unravels memories common to all:

"In December 2001 we began life as a group of the music marketing company 'Rafael Lay'. Our first contract was in the recreational center of Yaguanabo, and we also did several activities in the municipality and other settlements. We hosted the 'Montaña y son' festival.

But it didn't stop there. With peasant music as baggage, they participated in national events of the Turquino Plan and in assemblies of the National Association of Small Farmers at different levels, both as an independent group or accompanying other artists who also cultivate the genre.

And then came the radio, Radio Cumanayagua to be more precise, and the program "Así es mi tierra" became a sort of magical stage to bring the group's creations to everyone.

"In 2010 we presented ourselves for the first time in Palmas y Cañas," Oslando Chacón Terry tells me, and it seems to me that it is that, another magical scenario, now through images that have brought them closer to all of Cuba. "In that program we have been awarded three times in the Eduardo Saborit contest". Other television programs have also embraced Cumanay.

Hotel facilities such as Pasacaballo and Rancho Luna, here in Cienfuegos, know about their dedication and tenacity, and many people have enjoyed their peculiar style in social meetings and international tourism fairs, among other venues.

The members of Cumanay have many goals, and right now, some of them are "(...) to have the opportunity to record our own album, because we have our own repertoire and it is difficult for us; also to record a new video to defend our Cuban music", the director of the group finally tells me.

Eliover Villalpando Valdés, Yoel Ramos Palmero, Osvaldo Carmona Alonso, Raidel Capote Toledo, Javier Leandro Reyes Castillo and Oslando Chacón Terry are the "staff" members of the group Cumanay, who gladly share with Jorge Félix Roja, guest lute player.

Twenty-five years have passed since the start, but neither time nor the pandemic have been able to tear Cuban music from the hearts of the Cumanay group.  They, from the Entre Ríos valley that is Cumanayagua, continue making music to dance and touch the hearts of Cubans.

English version Hector Hdez.