This was another weekend I'd been looking forward to, having seen the programme of acts featuring in the I Love Cuba Cabaret Fiesta at Camden Centre in London on 24 February. I booked and paid for my train tickets and was due to leave on the train from Bath at 8.27 on Saturday morning. Johnny and Sandra Rodriguez had purchased three tickets for us and I was staying at their house overnight.
Friday after work was busy with one thing or another, plus I had to get the shopping done as I wouldn't be home at the weekend and I had just got through the door and started to put the shopping away Friday evening when the phone went and it was Johnny. During the course of conversation he asked me what I had planned for that evening and when I said that Colin and I were going to the Bear and Swan at Chew Magna he said "Can we join you?" At this I was delighted because it meant they weren't far away! As it happened they had gone to Weston Super Mare that day because the weekend weather forecast down here was the best in the country and the band had decided to play in Bristol on Saturday. For a moment or two my brain went into a tailspin imagining them down here and me up in London but once I ascertained there was room in the car for me as well I knew there was no way I'd be on that train leaving Bath in the morning!!!
I gave them directions how to find their way from Weston Super Mare to Timsbury and said to make their way over immediately and that I would cook something for us prior to us all going out. I threw a curry together really fast and tidied up (a continual process in my house with sons as untidy as mine) and by the time it was ready and they hadn't arrived I phoned to see where they were and they had got lost, ended up in Bristol, consulted a map and were on their way from Bristol. So I told them how to get to Chelwood roundabout and said I would meet them there. I was just approaching the roundabout when they phoned to say they were at Chelwood House, so I caught up with them a few minutes later. We were all overjoyed to see each other again and they followed my car back to the house where we shared the meal along with some San Miguels I'd included in the shopping. Colin arrived but didn't stay for the meal because he was feeling very tired and once he saw I was occupied for the evening asked if I'd mind him not staying and that he would see me Sunday evening when he picked me up at Bath station.
After the meal, we phoned Benjamin to see if he would meet us at the same pub as last time and he was delighted at the prospect of us all meeting up for a drink together once more. I asked him to bring his guitar and charango and persuaded the band to take their flutes and panpipes with them which they did. We arrived at the pub at 10.30 and it was quite busy so they didn't start playing until about 11.15 - although a few minutes after arriving the landlord came over beaming with delight, asked if they'd brought the panpipes as well this time and was thrilled when we said yes. We had a lovely evening there and they played music until 1.30. I took several photos, chatted with them in Spanish, and even managed two games of pool as the table was alongside us. Another great evening which Benjamin enjoyed as much as I did. We took him to his home afterwards and then back at my house I opened some wine and we were chatting and listening to music until around 4 am.
I then left them to it in the lounge and said I'd wake them around 7 am. Unfortunately I forgot to tell Johnny that one of the armchairs reclined completely horizontal and when I came down in the morning I realised he had slept on the floor - luckily I had given him a double quilt so he'd wrapped himself up in it. (Last time they came down he had my son's bed who'd gone to stay with his cousin) so of course the other two bagged the two settees and he had nowhere to sleep. I felt very guilty that I'd forgotten to tell him!
We had breakfast and were soon on our way to Bristol where they would be playing for the day. We unloaded the equipment in the usual spot, left Carlos and Julio to set it up and went to park the car. I had three sweatshirts and a jacket on but still felt very cold walking back from the car and their spot was in the shade and I was wondering how I'd survive a long day in such cold. Luckily there was a 4th poncho in the car so Johnny gave me the keys and I went back to get it and with that on as well I felt warm enough. I listened to them playing all day long apart from a couple of hours early on while they were still setting the equipment up when I disappeared to walk to Stokes Croft to the nearest internet cafe.
Near us a young girl was distributing leaflets and she was really enjoying Kausary's music and when the band took a break she came over and made our acquaintance - she was Stephanie from Luxembourg and we were all chatting together and when she told us that she was going to South America for the first time in the autumn on a back packing holiday covering all the Andean countries I was really interested - and so was she when I told her about my forthcoming trip so we exchanged addresses so that we can let each other know how we get on. She came over to chat several times throughout the day and we will definitely be keeping in touch well before either of us go on our trips!
Later in the day, by the time the equipment was packed up and stowed in the car, we were all really hungry so went to my favourite Thai take-away for a meal and then we had to get to London as quickly as possible and didn't even get on the motorway until around 7 pm, with the Cuba Cabaret due to begin at 8.30. It was a very fast drive down the motorway, listening to my favourite andean music all the way, and we were working out the best way to get to Camden Centre to benefit everyone. Johnny had already spoken to his wife on the phone (who had the three tickets) and Sandra decided to make her way over to Camden Centre and would await me on the door with my ticket so I could get in, and that she would leave Johnny's ticket at the house because it was necessary to unload all the equipment first. I asked Johnny if he could stop at a Services near London so that I could change - which he did and it took me only five minutes to get all the warm gear off and into a party dress and high-heeled shoes for the evening and all three of them were surprised that I could get ready so quickly! Johnny said he would drop me at Hammersmith where I could get a direct underground train to Kings Cross, while he took all the equipment home and unloaded it and would get to us as soon as he could. That was an easy journey for me as a train was on the platform just as I got there and it took about half an hour to get to Kings Cross and I arrived at Camden Centre at 9.40 where Sandra awaited me.
It was great to see her again and we went in and she assured me I had only missed the comedy part of the cabaret and the musical half was due to start after the interval, so we had time to get half a dozen bottles of Cuban beer and find floor space to sit as all seats were long since taken. We were lucky to find floor space near the door with a good view of the stage. The commentator started talking before bringing on the first musical act and we were hoping he would chat for ages to give Johnny time to get there. A cheque for £10,000 was presented to the Cuban Ambassador who gave a little speech, and the first act was a famous Cuban violinist (I think his name is Omar Puente) and John Williams came onto the stage after that and said he would begin with a Paraguayan song - the last one written byAugustin Barrios before his death - and would follow it with a Peruvian cueca - and Sandra and I were hoping like mad that Johnny would get there in time for it and sure enough just as he was starting to play the cueca he walked through the door and with him were Carlos and Julio!!! They hadn't bought advance tickets and it was touch and go whether there were any left and luckily there was. We were really pleased that they came along too, especially me as I knew I now had dancing partners for the salsa later on.
The remainder of the musical cabaret was absolutely fantastic. No one knew in advance which musicians John Williams would include in his show and he brought on some wonderful ones. The first guest I think was someone called David Eldridge who did two solo guitar pieces and then two more in duet with John Williams. Then a third guest whose name I have forgotten, again two solos and two more songs with all three playing. Then the Cuban violinist joined them and when he announced his fourth and final guest I was overjoyed with amazement and delight because it was Mauricio Venegas of Quimantu - one of my favourite singers and an excellent musician who I actually met in May 2000. That last part was the best of all and when they all played the song dedicated to Che Guevara with Mauricio's beautiful voice singing, it was a very emotional climax to a wonderful cabaret performance and incredible to be part of such an appreciative audience.
Afterwards we went to the bar to get more drinks as there was another interval, to remove all the seats from the dance floor as the big salsa band were on next - Merengada - who were providing the music for dancing. By the time we got back with the drinks the band were just about to play and instantly the floor was crowded with dancers and I barely had time to take a sip of beer when Julio had me out on the dance floor and from then on it was so hectic I don't know where I got the energy from to keep up! I was able to put six weeks of salsa classes into practice which with a partner who could lead made such a difference and I managed to dance really fast salsa without any problem, enjoying myself immensely in the process! For the first time I danced merengue as well - really fast and again I somehow managed to get the hang of it with such a good dance partner and we kept dancing until we were both shattered with exhaustion. I had about two minutes rest and a few gulps of beer and then Carlos got me up on the dance-floor and he was an even faster dancer than Julio. It was such fun and I'll never know where I got the energy from but between those two partners I hardly stopped for breath all night until the band finished at 1.30 and was so tired I fell asleep in the car on the way to the house.
Although it was almost 2.30 am when we got to the house, Julio's wife Flor (Johnny's Mum) had waited up for us and I immediately felt so at home in their house; it was incredible how easily they made me feel just like one of the family. As it was so late we all went to sleep fairly soon, with Flor showing me to the room they'd allocated for me to sleep in (their daughter who was at university) and I slept really well after such a fun-filled energetic Saturday.
Next day I met the rest of the family at breakfast - Julio's other two children, a daughter aged 10 and the youngest - a boy - aged seven, and Johnny's son aged six who remembered me from the Peruvian restaurant a few weeks earlier and felt enough at ease with me to come onto my lap for a while whilst we had breakfast. Two of Flor's Peruvian friends came on a visit and the kitchen was packed with all of us and we had a nice breakfast and I was able to keep up in the Spanish conversation and really enjoyed having this chance to practice spoken Spanish before going to Peru and delighted to be understood as I know my pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired at times! They kept me included in the conversation continuously and I really enjoyed being with such a warm and friendly group of people.
After breakfast we all went into Johnny's studio and I looked through photo albums of their family home in Peru while Julio played videos of Johnny's previous band who reached stardom in Italy ten years ago, with their first song No. 1 in the Italian hit parade for six months and the second song reaching No. 2. They were on a tour which lasted about nine months, travelling by limo with body guards all the way, travelling all through Europe, even as far as Yugoslavia, and this was captured in video clips throughout and it was great for me to see all this. We also watched another video with live performances of some of my favourite Bolivian bands (what with two videos watched at Benjamin's house the previous sunday - Rumillajta's televised performance on 11 August 1990 and Inti Illimani live at the Colston Hall in Bristol in 1984 - I've been really lucky with what I've seen on a TV screen lately!)
Johnny comes from Trujillo in Northern Peru and it was great to see lots of photos of the family home - the farm where he grew up. Both his parents were teachers in Peru before coming to live in England five years ago - and on the photos I could see the track leading into the mountains where he would take the animals to graze, like a shepherd, as a boy, the wonderful view into the high mountains from the house, the orchards where they grow their fruit - all of which was of tremendous interest to me. Other members of the family live not far away on the coast (where the men fish in reed boats with long pointed fronts, said to be the precursors of surfers long before surf boards were invented). He showed me some photos of the disaster when El Ni–o struck with the waters several feet deep where the street used to be - Johnny went to help and carried children on his shoulders through deep water to safety. On photos I saw his uncle's house completely destroyed and the family on a piece of high ground where they had hurried with what few possessions they could carry with them to safety when El Ni–o struck.
Johnny and Sandra are going home to Peru at the end of March for almost a month and Johnny is going to arrange for me to include Trujillo and the nearby coast on my intinerary whilst in Peru this summer. I can fly to Trujillo for about 50 dollars where I will be met at the airport and will go and spend a few days in his family home which will be another different and fantastic part of my quest to see what life is like in Peru and from there I will be able to visit the coast and see those fishermen as well - the beaches look fantastic. This first visit now includes time spent in both South and North Peru, as well as in Lima and Cusco - all within families - even the week when I'm in Bolivia for the Fiesta de Gran Poder a very good Bolivian friend is arranging for me to stay with some of his famous musician friends whilst I'm in La Paz.
Johnny also let me hear two of the songs from his forthcoming new CD which were wonderful. He also gave me two C90 cassettes on which he had copied four of his favourite andean music cassettes and asked me to choose more for him to record for me! All this time, Flor popped in and out to join in the conversation, but quietly in the background was cooking a meal and halfway through the afternoon called us all to the table where we all enjoyed a really delicious meal with wine, and one of the friends who was at the breakfast table stayed to lunch as well and it was excellent. The food was wonderful and they explained how to make it and wrote down its name so that I could check to see if it's in my cookery book and would provide the recipe if not. (I've already checked and it is!)
At 5 'o clock I had to go as it was a long way to Paddington and my train was leaving at 6.30. They told me to come back to stay again really soon and Johnny drove me to Elephant and Castle where I could take a direct underground train to Paddington which only took about 15 minutes once I was in the tube. I got to Paddington in plenty of time to catch my train, which was delayed leaving Paddington due to technical problems. I was just glad we didn't have to change to another train as I had my reserved seat by the window and the train was so packed there were people standing and I may not have got a seat in a hurried exodus to another train! I arrived back at Bath at 9 pm and a whole crowd of people with their assorted baggage were waiting to get off ... and the door wouldn't open! We all had to do a mad dash down the length of the carriage to get to the next door - hoping the train wouldn't pull out again before we got there!!!!
It had been another fantastic weekend in London and will be followed by a day out there shortly to meet Claire for Portabello market and lunch at a Colombian restaurant near London Bridge, who I didn't manage to see on this occasion after all due to the day in Bristol and late arrival in London on Saturday. I will also hopefully have a day in London on 9 April so that I can go with her to the airport to meet the plane as Aquiles comes back from Peru that day. Having gone to London to say goodbye in January, it will be nice to be there to welcome him back in April! Photos taken at the weekend will be added within the next few days once they have been developed.
My next andean-related weekend takes place in Paris in three weeks time and will feature in another story at the end of March. Also before going on holiday to Peru at the end of March, Johnny has promised to bring the band down again for another weekend with me, hopefully with enough notice for Benjamin to join us for the Peruvian meal I will cook (in advance) for us all before going out on the Saturday night. I'm going to pore through my Peruvian cookery book and produce something really special for their next visit, including Cerviche for starters - a popular Peruvian favourite of raw fish which 'cooks' itself in lemon juice and seasonings. Also coming shortly will be a selection of Peruvian recipes - believe me, for anyone who likes tasty and/or spicy food, it is well worth the effort of obtaining the spices! The ones you need to get started are rocoto paste and aji amarillo paste - other spices are all available here. I get mine from Spiceworlds in the USA - the address is www.spiceworlds.com- at Spiceworlds you will receive an excellent personal service from Chef Enrique!
