Isabel Santos bets on Rumba

September 15, 2018

The seventh art has been one of the great passions of actress Isabel Santos, she has starred in the most transcendental Cuban films, imprinting her temperament and personality on them, among which Clandestinos, Lejanías and Aire frío stand out.

That attachment to the seventh art of someone who has also triumphed in television and theater, at times finds her on the other side of the camera in the role of director, this time of a documentary that will star the members of the rumba group Rumbatá, on this subject the talented woman from Camagüey speaks with the readers of this publication.

What were the motivations for the documentary?

I always say that the stories I make in a documentary I don't go out looking for, sometimes years pass and ideas don't come.

One day I was watching television and Wilmer Ferrán (director of Rumbatá) appears in an interview and maybe because Camagüey unites us, it awakened my inspiration.

A few days later I see him on the small screen again, for the third time, and that was a sign I believed in.

This province is a very difficult place for Rumba, since great musicians of all times and genres were born here, but Rumba was never the strong suit.

Will the documentary you are preparing recreate the history of Rumbatá?

No, I want to make an audiovisual that goes beyond the life stories of its members, because I keep insisting that this genre, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, deserves greater visibility, respect and prominence.

I believe that a lot of work needs to be done on that, I feel great sorrow when I see so many Rumba groups that don't have even a clip, and if they do it's not broadcast.

In the best of cases it looks like material filmed in a hurry, haphazardly, not with everything it entails, unlike many groups that, in my opinion, contribute nothing to Cuban music, but have everything necessary from an economic point of view to succeed.

I believe that we must make visible where our music comes from, what its origin is, and after my arduous research I came to the conclusion that everything is in Rumba.

Another issue that works against the genre is that many groups make a "caricature" of what they are, I think we need to change the way we think and act.

We cannot continue thinking that we are Chano Pozo, he was a myth, but where he came from, why he dressed in a specific way and other important elements should be brought to light.

Will the documentary answer those questions?

That's what I'm trying to do, this is a material that approaches essential figures and places to talk about this genre, besides showing a city of particular beauty, a different way of performing it.

I think that between Havana and Camagüey there are many kilometers of distance, although it was born there, the people from Camagüey in Rumbatá do it with great dignity and with the discipline that their director has taught them, and that is the main reason for their success.

This group has begun to become a reference for professional musicians and students, who have noticed in it a distinctive example of quality and respect, and that needs to be made known.

So the material you are preparing can be classified as a tribute to Rumbatá?

I don't like that word, this documentary is much more than that, it's being created with the purpose of collecting the memory of that group and of the generation that has enjoyed their art, because sometimes we lose sight of the need to keep a record of what happened.

I would like this material to be considered as part of the country's audiovisual memory.

Is it influenced by your experiences as a film actress?

Yes, that's something I can't separate myself from, it's conceived from a very cinematic vision, of a city, of Wilmer as a director and his people. That's why I would love to title it Gente de pueblo.

Why that title?

Because Rumba is of the people, it emerged in the humblest places, where it is still kept alive thanks to the dedication, perhaps unconscious, of the most invisible people.

An essential element in this material is the Black Cuban, who still hasn't managed to get his place despite much that is being done from the country's leadership.

Unfortunately when we look at the places where a good part of Black Cubans have lived and continue to live, we find that it is in the most marginal neighborhoods, and that hurts me because I am part of that country.

All of that is the documentary, I know that many won't like my reflections, but I make them from the deepest Cubanness and patriotism, from a country that I adore and that I believe I will help with this documentary.

I dedicate it to the one who greets me on the street and doesn't hesitate to show their affection towards me, to the one who helps me on the street and to the simplest. This documentary is also for that people, in it I will reflect their realities, the saddest and most in need of attention.

If it serves for something, that's good, someday someone will visit that neighborhood and recognize the woman who has social problems and whom they knew from the big screen, and that will be the main source of satisfaction for me.

From actress to director. How much has the first contributed to this new way of making cinema?

A great deal, because I always put myself in the shoes of the other, in what their life story is, where they come from.

When I'm going to build a character I always ask myself about their origins, that's not seen in a movie, but I study them and incorporate them into my way of materializing what is in the script.

My experience as an actress has contributed a lot when it comes to interviewing the protagonists, respecting them.

It bothers me to bring out the worst in people, my documentaries always have as a premise bringing out the best that each person has within, in that I see the main purpose of art, always from the truth.

What do you think is the main contribution of the documentary?

That it serves so people turn their heads at apparently resolved problems.

What are the actress's most immediate projections?

I have a film with Marilyn Solaya (Vestido de novia), for the coming year, the central theme will be suffragist women in Cuba, in commemoration of the centennial of Cuban women achieving the right to divorce.

I have another documentary in mind, for which I am analyzing the economic terms, and I must continue researching about Rumba, since I am not an expert and I have to study a lot, because this documentary is made from the greatest love for what I discovered about Rumba and its faithful.