Pedrito Martínez, the Cuban musician who gets New York dancing

March 31, 2022

Whether it comes to performing street rumba, Latin jazz or Cuban timba, the formidable curriculum of Pedrito Martínez allows him to be acclaimed in all the genres he performs, including his performances with Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, John Scofield and Wynton Marsalis.

Collaborations through which media outlets such as National Public Radio (NPR) and Rolling Stone magazine promote his work, consolidating him as the new star of Cuban music.

Which is why the Latin Grammy nomination for his most recent album, Acertijos, comes as no surprise to anyone, as it constitutes a masterpiece in which his collaborations with Puerto Rican salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa, Cuban music legend Issac Delgado, guitarist Eric Clapton, and American jazz musician Kenny Garrett, exalt the unequaled talent of the charismatic percussionist.

"Riddles are games where the solution to the puzzle manifests itself through reasoning and intuition. This album has a great variety of mixes, rhythms and guests from different cultures and musical styles, which makes it a riddle to be deciphered according to the taste and perspective of each person," Pedrito Martínez told DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS, who through his new production also honors the diverse and multicultural sound of New York, the city where he has resided since 1998.

"I arrived at the Big Apple as part of a project titled Spirits Of Havana, directed by my great friend Jane Bunnett, an incredible Canadian saxophonist and an extraordinary human being. I think that having the great fortune of being able to live in New York is a fascinating and indescribable journey. Every day you discover something new, not only in the musical realm, but also in the social and cultural spheres. This city gave me the opportunity to learn countless musical genres and a more objective and practical way of life, totally different from what I knew," said the Cuban musician, originally from the Cayo Hueso neighborhood in Havana.

Music legend Quincy Jones has celebrated Pedrito Martínez and his band, expressing that listening to them "has made him feel like a teenager." Praise to which is added that of American trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, one of the most important figures in jazz, who considers the Cuban a "genius."

Undoubtedly, achievements for which the renowned percussionist gives thanks with humility, as well as his most recent work with Eric Clapton, with whom he performs a new version of the song My Father's Eyes, popularized by the guitarist in 1998, and for whom Martínez created arrangements full of joy and fast rhythms with drums, brass, piano and Clapton's classic guitar chords.

"I had the honor of meeting Eric Clapton at a Cuban restaurant called Guantanamera, where I played every week with my group. I remember that at that time the band already enjoyed considerable prestige because most of the great artists used to come see us play when they were touring New York," Martínez said about his band The Pedrito Martínez Group, which has also been applauded by Paul Simon, Steve Winwood, Roger Waters, Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, to mention a few.

"The connection with master Eric Clapton was immediate. I remember that the second time he came to see me play, he came with his wife and his three young daughters, and one of them drew me on a piece of paper playing the congas and singing. And when I traveled to England to record Eric's parts, that drawing was taped to the refrigerator in his house after almost 10 years had passed. It was very moving and beautiful for me," said the musician, who recalls two epic and unforgettable experiences with Clapton.

"The first time was when I wrote him an email to invite him to my album Acertijos. When all the arrangements were done and I had chosen the songs for the album, I decided to contact him through his email, and he responded that he gladly wanted to participate, but he told me that he only had one week free, so I took a plane from Singapore, where I was touring, and flew to England. To my great surprise, after Eric recorded the song that was assigned for the album My Father's Eyes, he asked if he could accompany me on two more songs, and for me it was another surprise that I wasn't counting on, so one of my great dreams came true," he recalled.

"The second indelible moment I experienced with Eric was when he invited me to play and sing with his group at the Crossroads festival in Dallas, Texas. With him I learned that dreams do come true and that we must work hard to achieve them."

With soul in hand

"If you don't hurt yourself, if you don't feel that you are bleeding inside, it's a lie what you are doing on the stage. When you make real music, you run out of breath from so much desire you feel to give your best," affirmed Pedrito Martínez, who together with his group The Pedrito Martínez Group, has created a sound, style and robust identity that, while it is a product of the city of New York, has its roots in the island of Cuba.

"In most of the projects in which I have had the privilege of collaborating within and outside the United States, I have tried to leave my culture and my Afro-Cuban roots imprinted through singing, dancing or through the drum. Since I was a child I was very curious and I loved the idea of knowing other rhythms and instruments from different countries, that was something magical that I found in New York, the diversity of cultures and genres gave me the possibility of having access to sources of information to be able to learn both theoretically and practically."

"In my opinion, I believe that if you want to internationalize your music, your roots and your culture, you must know, share and integrate yourself into other cultures that are not yours. That was the key and the guidelines I used so that Cuban music could transcend the various musical genres in which I have collaborated all these years."

After 24 years living in New York, Pedrito Martínez makes sure to keep his roots alive. That has been his mission, not to let the legacy of Afro-Cuban music die, allowing himself to be influenced by the new musical proposals offered by the urban and folkloric rhythms of the island.

"My references are Tata Güines, Changuito, Anga, Pancho Quinto, Pello El Afrokán, El Yulo, El Niño, Luis Chacón, Maximino, Carlos 'Patato' Valdés, Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella, Giovanni Hidalgo and my greatest reference, my late uncle Antonio Campos. Just to mention a few," said Martínez, who also pays homage to the rumberos and musicians who have internationalized Cuban percussion.

"Chano Pozo, Mongo Santamaria, Francisco Aguabella, Julito Collazo, Totico, Patato Valdés, Orlando Puntilla Ríos, Cándido Camero and Armando Peraza, are some of the pioneers and the first Cuban percussionists who made history in the United States and in the entire world, the name of Afro-Cuban music," said the rumbero who also stands out for being abakuá, Freemason, and babalawo.

"We should try to be better human beings each day and use our wisdom for the benefit of the society in which we live, through understanding, tolerance, patience, altruism, empathy, philanthropy, magnanimity and other virtues that we should try to continue developing as the years go by."

"I think that actions express the values, personality and capacity of each person. And, therefore, we must be capable of giving love and try to seek the sources that generate peace and spiritual happiness for us, not material. And this can be obtained through good humor and character, which are the most significant behaviors of the human brain. I consider myself a citizen of the world whose purpose is to bring to every corner of the planet a little peace, hope, love, faith and joy through my songs and my music," he concluded.