Interview with Tina Gallagher, founder of Kabiosile

How did you come up with the concept for “La Fuerza del Tambor?”

We had such a positive reaction to our first DVD, “Vamos al Tambor,” that I started thinking about what our next offering might be. I wanted to show examples of different types of drumming—bata, güiro, and the Bembe Macagua—as well as at least one example of two different kinds of drums being played together, which is something Alfredo Calvo started doing a few years back, to increase the energy level of the tambor.

I reviewed hours of video from the best tambors I have filmed over the last 5 years, and came up with around 90 minutes of what I thought was the best and most interesting footage. Then I sat down with my husband and Kabiosile’s Artistic Director, Alberto Calvo, and reviewed it with him. As he says, I have a good ear, but I’m no drummer—so I don’t necessarily know when they’re drumming too fast or the chorus is slightly off the beat.

He rejected almost half of what I had selected because the drumming or the singing wasn’t up to his standards. I took what was left to the US, had a first edit made, and showed it to a good friend of mine, master drummer Michael Spiro.

Based on the recommendation of Greg Landau, a music producer who helped me a great deal with our first discs, I wanted to include some interviews on this DVD. But I was concerned that I have become so familiar with how things are done in Matanzas that I no longer have the right perspective for what people want to know about.

Michael is a wonderful drummer, and he’s also a great educator. He made tons of excellent suggestions about what needed to be explained, what context needed to be provided, what it would be interesting to hear about from an old head like Alfredo Calvo, etc. And that’s how I tried to structure the interviews and demonstrations. If they don’t measure up to what Michael was looking for, the blame can only be laid at my door!

What is the significance of the title?

“Fuerza” can mean force or it can mean power. “Tambor” means drum but it is also what they call it anytime the bata drums are being played (in the US, the celebrations are usually called bembes, but in Matanzas that word is only used if the drums being played are bembe drums).

Alberto named the DVD after reviewing the first round of footage. He felt the selections showed the power of the drums to communicate with the Orishas and call them down to earth.

Speaking of calling the Orishas, there are several segments of this DVD which include people who are mounted by their Orishas. “Vamos al Tambor” also included people getting possessed. Have you received any criticism about that?

I was afraid that perhaps we would be criticized for including people mounted by their Orisha, but in fact we haven’t been. I think it’s because all of the filming is done very respectfully, within the context of a normal tambor, without undue attention paid to any particular person getting possessed. Nothing is sensationalized.

Before releasing the first DVD, I went to all my Orisha and threw coco to get their permission to release the disc. All of them said “yes,” except Yemaya—and that’s because I was considering including some film of a Yemaya who does not like to be filmed.

There are Orishas who do not allow cameras of any kind. They will break them if you persist in filming after they have told you to stop. Others don’t seem to mind—those are the Orishas that are included on this DVD.

Furthermore, I would never release film of anything that wasn’t open to the public—in other words, something that you could come in off the street and see. There are secrets in this religion, things that only initiates can see—but tambors are public ceremonies, and as such I believe they can be shared.

One of the most beautiful things about our religion is that the Orishas actually come to Earth to dance and talk to us. I can’t remember who said, “We gave a party for the gods, and the gods came.” It gives one a very immediate sense of spirituality, of divinity. It’s something I feel is important to share with the world, particularly during these dark times. It gives one hope…and hope is what we need more than anything now.

I notice there’s a segment of Palo songs included here, but played on bata. What’s that all about? Aren’t these two totally different religions?

That particular tambor went until about 4 am. They had presented 4 Iyawos in 2 groups—an Elegua and an Ogun and then 2 new priests of Yemaya. In Matanzas, a presentation takes at least 45 minutes, because they play for all of the Orishas, not just the person’s guardian. And of course first they have to play a complete ‘oro seco’ of just drumming for all the Orishas, and then a complete ‘oro cantado’ of drumming and singing, again for all the Orishas. So you’re looking at a minimum of 4 hours right there. Plus, it’s Cuba! So of course nothing starts on time…and the breaks are really long…

Well, it was a great tambor—half of the segments on the DVD come from that one night. At around 3 am, Alfredo came out to tell the drummers to close—but two Ogguns had just come down, and they wanted the drums to play for them. Alfredo was saying “no,” when Chango came out and asked Alfredo if he was afraid of the police coming. Of course, Alfredo had to say he wasn’t afraid of anything—his reputation as a macho man and king of his barrio was at stake! So Chango started singing a Palo song, “Ahora si, se partió la siguaralla” meaning “Now the strong stick has been broken”—in other words, something has happened that you never thought would occur.

The drummers immediately launched into a Palo toque—this doesn’t happen often, but there is a toque for it when it does, one that imitates the sound of the Palo drums. It was very late at night, which is the time of the dead, the muertos, which is a huge part of Palo. And Oggun is Oggun in both religions; he doesn’t differentiate between the two.

This is something that is very misunderstood in the US. Americans tend to think that one religion has to be exclusive of every other—but in Cuba, that’s not the case. The slaves came from all over Africa, and each tribe brought its spiritual traditions. Thankfully, those traditions were kept alive. There were cabildos, or cultural societies, for all sorts of tribes—Yoruba, Dahomey, Bantu, etc.

Tribes intermarried. And so today, you have people who practice several spiritual traditions at the same time. There are Santeros who are very devout Catholics. Others are very strong Paleros, and perhaps Abakua. In Alfredo’s Ocha family, almost everyone practices both Santeria and Palo. Almost all the men are Abakua. Each tradition has its place and its time—but if Chango wants to start singing Palo in the middle of a tambor, who’s going to say no?

There’s a great interview on the DVD about exactly this phenomenon, in which Alfredo Calvo explains that there is only one God…

And what about playing different types of drums together, where did that come from?

Alfredo Calvo has told me that when the slaves were freed, each tribe began playing its particular drums, and they all played together to celebrate their freedom.

About a decade ago Alfredo started inviting the Bembe Macagua drums of Cheo Chango’s nephew Albertico el Gordo to come play alongside his bata drums. He would wait until the tambor was peaking, then bring out the bembe drums and start singing “Maiyele okuo” which means “something new has been born.” When both play together, as he says, even the cats on the roof get possessed, the energy is that strong. We have included an example of it on our CD “Bata y Bembe de Matanzas,” and “La Fuerza del Tambor” includes an example of the bata drums being played with güiro.