The second edition of International Meeting of Collectors and Music Lovers will take place on June 23 and 24 at the Jelengue Hall of the Areíto Studios, belonging to the Musical Recordings and Editions Company (EGREM).
For the first time in person, the Meeting will also bring together musicians, researchers, journalists, music lovers and will have Colombia as the guest of honor “for bringing together a large group of Cuban music collectors,” as confirmed to OnCuba Rafael Valdivia Nicolau, one of the advisers of the event together with the admired producer Jorge Rodríguez.
“This meeting differs from those that exist in other countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico… where the collecting of salsa and Latin music is very strong. They are different meetings because they are not based only on playing the record coldly, we always dedicate it to a figure, we pay homage to a legendary musician, we bring family, friends, musicologists, journalists, researchers”, says Rafael Valdivia.
The event allows counting, showing some musical rarities and above all ponders collecting as a hobby.
“As a support, vinyl is the most widespread, the one that has the longest. We say vinyl to all horizontal records, from the beginning of the century (1901) until now that it continues to be manufactured. Digital audio doesn’t compete with vinyl, that’s why it has a much longer memory and as a collectible piece it covers more eras. There are also the cd’s, cylinders, magnetic tapes… and of course we make room for it. In the Encounter we summon artists, musicians and we end with a musical presentation in most cases. That is what attracts attention and is greatly appreciated by Cuban and foreign collectors”, she specifies.
The International Meeting of Collectors and Music Lovers will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Panart Records (Pan American Art), the pioneering record label in Cuba founded by Ramón Sabat in 1944. The first recordings of Afro-Cuban music were organized there and its catalog included invaluable figures from Cuban music like Miguel Matamoros, Celia Cruz, Joseito FernandezDamaso Pérez Prado, among others.
Likewise, the organizers will join the tributes for the 60 years of the EGREM (1964), installed in the old Panart studios.
During the two days there will be talks and special talks on music journalism, the design of covers for vinyl records during the ’60s, among other topics, and the musical participation of Idra María with her group Aguanile and the Conjunto Chapotín, respectively. .
The “return” of vinyl
Vinyl has never disappeared from specialized stores, although in recent years it has made a stronger comeback through new music labels such as Music On Vinyl from the Netherlands or Speakers Corner from Germany, among many others.
The ‘boom’ of cassettes during the pandemic: a surprising return to the past
Most of today’s bands and solo artists release their work not only on digital download and CD formats, but also on vinyl. According to some research, it is the only physical format in history that has been able to reverse its decline in sales.
The covers and the songs they contain are linked to our memory and our identity. The return of vinyl could be encompassed, experts say, in what has been generically called “retromania”, a feature of contemporary culture that makes us value our past excessively, making our cultural consumption nostalgic.
