Donnie Byrd, RPT Eugene, OR
"Thinking of teaching a class in Havana?" asked Ben Treuhaft's ad in the PTG Journal of December '99. This ad seeking piano technicians to teach classes to eager learners inspired me to take a break from the rainy Oregon I love to explore sunny Havana in a country of which I knew absolutely nothing. February 14, 1999, my husband drove me to Vancouver, BC to fly to Cancun, Mexico and from there to Havana. What a way to celebrate Valentine's Day. It was so sweet that I returned in 2000 and plan to do so again this February.
Why would you want to take a vacation from your tuning, repairing and rebuilding for which you get paid and spend this time doing unpaid tuning, repairing and rebuilding with a shortage of parts on rusted, termite-ridden junker pianos? For me it is the human bond, the greatfulness of people who share the love of music, and with whom we would otherwise have no contact because of an embargo set in place 40 years ago. It's the opportunity to be creative, resourceful, to become more aware and to learn. Thank you notes and words of appreciation are the rewards of our work anywhere. In Cuba, thanks given with tear-streaked faces, smiles, and roses touched my soul. Perhaps it is the fact that you're surrounded with music in Cuba that causes you to think creatively about teaching. In teaching tuning methods to blind technicians for the first time, CT from Iowa, found himself moved by the personal touch involved. Paul Larudee was inspired by the resourcefulness necessary when you simply need to make repairs despite lack of tools and supplies. His is a good class to attend for improving your wire-splicing skills.
In my first "class", in February of 1999, I spear-headed a two week project in which six of us reconditioned a hay-and-mouse-ridden upright grand with no keytops, destroyed bridges, no casters and almost no bottom board. Despite nay-sayers, we were determined to finish. This year, February 2000, Yuly led me to the practice room where that very piano is in use--functioning and in tune.
I called this year's class "From Table to Piano in three hours". The quick work on this piano was made possible by group cleaning with a vacuum cleaner new to the project, replacement of several strings and broken tuning pins, and regulation of the most glaring regulation problems (scrunched backchecks). All work was completed by the Cuban technicians. They commented at our farewell party, that they now have many skills that they can share with each other.
Many of us just plain had fun teaching classes. Dan Franklin, RPT, musician and inventor ended his classes in intervallic tuning tests with jazz renditions on the freshly tuned piano. It was easier this year too because of Doshie Powers' time spent preparing an organized shop area from the many boxes of supplies shipped by technicians from all over the country.
We left with an increased awareness of the richness of the personal interchange permitted in actually meeting and working with people and being invited into their homes, schools, museums and hospitals. The luxury of this vacation is the people.On my last day in Havana, Armando and Yuly, the Havana technicians, biked over to Casa Fina (our residence) to wish me a safe trip home. They told me that I would always have a home with them in Cuba, and hearing this, I felt homesick already. I can't wait to return.
Pianos for Cuba by Takashi Yogi
I was attempting to find the cause of a wobbly hammer in a piano in Cuba. Students at the music school watched intently while we gringos resurrected some battered Russian pianos. We came from Michigan, Vermont, Iowa, Oregon, California, New York, France; sixteen piano technicians against hundreds of piano relics. Then I found the problem. There in the wooden hinge of the piano hammer were two termites having dinner.
I knew from the start that this trip was crazy. I met the leader of the project, Ben Treuhaft, when he passed through Santa Cruz to raise funds for Send a Piana to Havana. He's the son of author Jessica Mitford, and the fearless revolutionary spirit has been inherited. He has been taking pianos to Cuba since 1995 in defiance of the US embargo of Cuba. He got permission from the US Commerce Department to send pianos with the restriction that they not be used for "human rights abuse or torture"
But the Treasury Department threatened to fine him $1.3 million for trading with the enemy. Ben's work sounded interesting, so I volunteered to add my modest piano repair skills to the brigade in late February. That is how I spent 10 days of my vacation time, paying over a thousand dollars to work hard in a country with marginal food, no toilet seats, and horrible pianos
What I learned from this experience is the absurdity of the forty-year US embargo of Cuba. The Cubans are struggling to get by with relics that predate the 1959 revolution. Cuba is a living museum of American cars from the fifties, kept running with determination and baling wire. Their pianos also are the same vintage, except for hundreds of cheap Russian pianos. But even those imports ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. I saw many talented children valiantly struggling to practice on broken, out-of-tune pianos. Food is scarce, especially in Havana, where ration stores have meager supplies. Medicine is also scarce. Buildings are crumbling for lack of materials. But the Cubans are patient and determined. The embargo hurts the Cubans, but it will not bring Castro down; if anything it supports him by allowing him to blame the US for all the privation
The US embargo keeps other countries from trading freely with Cuba. For example, an Italian ship docking in Cuba cannot dock in the US for six months. The last UN vote on the embargo had only the US and Israel voting for it. But the US bullies all countries to conform, making it difficult and expensive for Cuba to obtain supplies such as pianos and piano parts. So almost all the pianos in Cuba are falling apart or being eaten by voracious termites. We helped a bit by bringing 50 donated pianos, parts and tools, and by conducting classes for Cuban piano tuners. But the only real way to beat the termites is to end the embargo
The Cubans have overcome the material limitations to create some remarkable social programs. I saw extensive music education programs not only in Havana, but in the rural areas. Any child can get free piano lessons, or violin lessons, or ballet classes. Literacy is about 96%. We saw one school that offered a complete acrobatics program. Cuba provides free medical care for everyone. Infant mortality is lower than in Washington D.C. I didn't see anyone homeless. We visited a large psychiatric facility that provides excellent therapy programs including painting, pottery, weaving, dance, sports, and music. We enjoyed a performance by the residents' band and chorus. The Cubans have even turned the shortages of the embargo into benefits. The lack of petroleum has forced a massive conversion to organic agriculture and alternative transportation. There are many bicycles and horse carts, and the buses are always crowded. But there are no traffic jams in Havana (2 million), and the air is clear
The embargo works both ways. It keeps us from getting Cuban music and culture. The music of the Buena Vista Social Club is an example of what we might be missing by erecting barriers. We are also missing valuable ideas about education, health, and agriculture. Cuba conducts advanced medical research and has developed some new vaccines. We could also be selling food and goods (lots of toilet seats) to Cuba and enjoying its fine beaches
Cuba poses no military threat to the US. Perhaps what our government fears is that Americans will peek over the wall and see what a poor but dedicated country can accomplish when it values the welfare of its people, especially children, more than military might. I hope that music can help to breach the wall. As in ancient Jericho, when the people blow the trumpets, the walls will come tumbling down.
David Stanwood
Click on this link to read about David Stanwood's experience with the 1998 Tuners' Brigade.
