Juana María González, 82, takes a bottle of honey out of her bag to raise her low blood sugar levels, which almost prevented her from saying goodbye to “one of her idols”: the pianist César “Pupy” Pedroso, passed away at 75 last Sunday In the Habana.
“How can I not come?! I am here —sick and everything— because it is the duty of every Cuban to come and say goodbye”, he tells EFE while dancing in line to enter the National Theater of Cuba.
Inside the room, a few steps from where González was, a body present tribute was made to one of the founders of Los Van Van, which for many Cubans is the most iconic orchestra of recent decades.
The atmosphere was very different from the concerts in which he made millions dance since the end of the 60s and until, practically, the last days of his life.
Those present, including friends, family and followers —such as Juana María González— cried in thunderous silence in the Avellaneda room of the National Theater.
Pedroso’s coffin was covered by a Cuban flag and his awards were on his sides, including the Latin Grammy he won in 2000 together with Los Van Van.
A photograph of him presided over the place with the legend “We have his music and his eternal smile left” and some flower arrangements sent by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his predecessor, Raúl Castro.
It is the same image that Felipe Gilbert, a 62-year-old “vanvanero,” saw in that same place in 2014 when he said goodbye to the director of Los Van Van, Juan Formell.
“All Cubans are very musical. The fundamental thing is music and humor, and ‘Pupy’ dedicated his whole life to representing the spirit of Cubans,” said the man.
Musicians and fans in the room
The warm Havana weather did not prevent people from crowding together to bid farewell to one of the creators of the rhythm known as songo, from when the room was opened to the public at 10:00 in the morning, and until 3:00 this afternoon. , a derivative of the traditional Cuban son mixed with funk and jazz.
Among the attendees were greats of Cuban music. Giraldo Piloto, director of the Klímax group and president of the Festival and Drum Festival “Guillermo Barreto in memoriam”, could not find adjectives to describe his old friend.
“’Pupy’ represented Cubanness, and continues to represent it. If we could name a musical, a sugarcane field, it would be ‘Pupy’ », she told EFE on the small slope that goes from the entrance of the theater to the room.
“Nostalgia for the good”
To the words of sadness are added the successes that the Cubans recalled while they were in line. “El negro está cocinando”, “Disco Azúcar”, “Temba, tumba, timba” and “El Buena Gente” are some of the pieces that ‘Pupy’ created in his time with Los Van Van.
All these songs sound to Milagros, 65, of “good nostalgia”, from when she was 11 years old and heard César Pedroso’s piano arrangements for the first time.
In 2001 Pedroso separated from the Los Vav Van orchestra to form his own: Pupy y los que son son, which he directed until his death. Last year —on the 20th anniversary of the formation— he released his most recent album Repercussion.
Death crossed his path like a surprise. Los que son son were preparing a European tour when, in May, the family of the pianist and arranger reported that he was in the process of recovering after “a surgical operation that cannot be postponed”.
So far the cause of the musician’s death has not been confirmed, but last Sunday the multi-state channel Telesur stated that it was a complication after undergoing surgery for a cardiovascular problem.
“His music stayed and now the young Cuban musicians are going to have an icon in him,” he pointed out to EFE his cousin, Augusto Pedroso.
