by Karen & Rod Lawson

We first met Luisito and Alexander Abreu, directors of Sello LA, at UNEAC during a rumba performance and arranged to meet the next day for the interview. We arrived at the rehearsal venue behind the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, just off the Malecón in Havana, as the band finished their rehearsal and packed their equipment away. We drew up chairs at the side of the room, and brought out a bottle of rum to ease things along. Luisito opened it and carefully poured some on to the floor by his side ‘for the Dead’. Then he settled down to talk to us.

First of all, the name of the Band. I think I’m right in saying that the LA refers to your father, who is also a musician.

LA stands for Luis Alberto, my name, Luis Alexander, my brother, as well as Luis Abreu, my father’s name. It’s all three of us. My father plays in Los Papines. They always played rumba.

Can you say a bit about the influence your father has had on your own interest in music?

I can say that I grew up surrounded by Cuban rumba and this influenced me in many ways; particularly the clave – the arrangements that my brother does are all set within the clave. This was a school for us in every sense of the word.

I’m particularly interested because whenever I’ve spoken to Cuban musicians, they always seem to acknowledge teachers, and parents, whereas people in England tend to talk just about themselves. Is that something that you recognise?

Yes, of course. This is very important because the current generation has its basis in the generation before. The new generation changes and modernises but works from the same base – Cuban music that has been made before.


Current music which is called timba develops out of what went before, with more modern arrangements. What we had before is the basis of all this.

And how did you start off in music?

I went to music school, to the ENA (National Arts School) when I was maybe 13 or 14, very young, to learn percussion and my brother went to learn bass. In my case, I was a conga player. My brother used to dance rumba as well as playing bass. Yes, he danced. After leaving school, we played in various different bands, both my brother and myself. We formed Sello LA 7 years ago. My brother does the arrangements and I help him with the percussion arrangements.

One of the unique things about timba is that most of the musicians do train formally from an early age. Do you think that this has an influence on the way that timba has developed?

Yes, hugely. Cuban musicians go to school with their questions about music and that’s the fundamental basis of the development of the music in every sense. I think that’s what’s happening at the moment with the music is because of the huge number of musicians who go to music school and who are very good on any type of instrument.

When you started, when the band was formed, which other groups did you admire at the time?

I really liked NG la Banda, Charanga Habanera, Paulo FG, Issac Delgado but we always wanted to do our own thing, not moving away from what other people are playing at the moment but making music in our own way with our hallmark (Sello) on it.

And is it possible to explain what that hallmark is?

The hallmark lies principally in the rhythmic base, but it is also in the arrangements that my brother is doing at the present time. We don’t want to move away either from the sort of music that used to be played or from the music that is played now because the Cuban public has become used to a certain type of thing. We try and play timba with as little force as possible. My father says that the music is timba – son.

When you say that the rhythm is different, are there any particular instruments that are arranged differently?

No, it’s the way in which the music closes that’s different, the bloques. And the hallmark is also that from the beginning to the end of the track, the clave doesn’t change.

Never, ever?

It doesn’t change. That’s what we learned from our father.

That’s interesting because particularly with Charanga Habanera they talk about ‘clave licence’ where they do change. So it goes from 3/2 to 2/3.

Yes, I know. We’ve learned to do it the other way. It has more flavour, more rhythm.

Do you thing it’s wrong to do it that way, to change?

[Thinking carefully!] We like it this way (said with a smile). We think it’s better like this because arrangements with a lot of changes in the clave lose their flavour. Many students from across the world have asked my father about this; if the change in the clave in the arrangement is done on purpose. They ask if he likes it like that. Just imagine that! He tells them that arrangements have to keep the clave the same from beginning to the end without changing.

What is the most important thing about music for you ? To be able to dance to it, to do interesting things technically, to be popular....?

For people to be able to dance the music needs to be good. When it’s well done, the rhythmic basis is stable so that the dancers can dance. That’s the main thing. As for the technical things, we’re very careful that the brass, the voices, have their own function. In Europe they like timba a lot. In some places they don’t. I think it’s because it’s not widely played. People aren’t used to hearing it and so it seems very forceful to them.

What do you think of the Buena Vista Social Club? Has it been helpful in advertising Cuban music?

A phenomenal project. It has helped Cuban music to become known. It was a great opportunity for the gentleman who are masters from the past. Music from the old times as well as from now is the music of the future. They are both going to be successful.

Los Van Van came to play in Manchester [England] and a lot of people went to hear them who didn’t know much about Cuban music but they had heard that they were Cuban and they went to hear them expecting the Buena Vista Social Club. They didn’t like them!

That’s what I was saying to you before. In some places, traditional Cuban music is very popular and I think that timba will achieve the same level of success as traditional music. Two years ago, Sello LA were in Denmark. We took both a traditional repertoire and our own repertoire and we went to several places where we didn’t have to use the traditional repertoire because people liked the timba.

So did you just decide on the night itself what to play?

Yes, we watched the audience. I think that the fame the Buena Vista Social Club has at the moment is due to the great publicity that they’ve had and that’s why timba has been left behind a bit. If timba had the same amount of worldwide publicity it would be just as successful.

A couple of the recent albums by Paulito FG and Dany Lozada are very quiet. Is this a change in Cuban music?

I think perhaps they are trying things out because they think that modern Cuban music won’t do well or is taking its time about it. But I believe that modern Cuban music will be successful. As time goes by, Cubans change their music. The music now can’t be the same as music from years ago. But it’s always going to have the same basis – son montuno.

What about the new influences of things like hip hop, reggae?

It’s good. It’s healthy.

So you think that timba will survive?

Yes, of course. Although we play for dancers, the music is international.

There was an interview with Adalberto Alvarez to do with his new CD and he was talking about how people in Cuba were dancing less together and he was trying to counteract this with music that was easy to dance to as a couple. And he was quite particular that timba was for people dancing separately and son for people dancing in couples. What do you think about this?

He had a very good idea about dancing together in couples. But right now, they’re doing a programme on TV called Bailar Casino and a lot of timba groups have been on the show and people have all danced casino to all of them.

So it’s part of Adalberto’s marketing strategy, is it?

Maybe. He has his little book and his own way of thinking!

So you think you can dance casino to timba? It’s fine?

Yes. People have danced casino to all the groups that have been on the show. They danced it to our music too when we were on the programme. Adalberto had the idea about couples and it’s true that it had become a bit less popular. He had the idea, thanks to this programme, not just him but several people collaborated. I think it’s good to rescue it.

What are Sello LA’s plans for the future?

To carry on working, try and play to the public, keep on improving, try and get the music to flow. Mainly this year, we’re hoping if possible to do a tour. But if it doesn’t happen, to carry on trying to get known to the public. We’re not very well known in Cuba but we have fans who like the group. And just carry on working day to day.

Are you going to be recording again?

We’re thinking about it. We don’t have a record company at the moment. ..... We do need to do another record. Perhaps you could help us find a record company .... (laughing!)

Just finally is there any particular message you would like to send to anyone who may read this and what should we tell them is the reason why they should listen to Sello LA?

Well, that’s not very easy. I suppose I would say to them that Sello LA are playing good music. We want people to listen to our music and like it, we want them to like it more and more. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to improve the quality all the time. I think that’s the main thing. So that one day we’ll be very successful.

Thank you very much. © Rod and Karen Lawson

Sello LA, Cafe Cantante, Havana, 2004
Left to right; Louisito. Karen Lawson and Alexander