Many Canadians see Cuba through tourist’s eyes. The beaches, the food, the culture, all experienced in a paradise compound. But what is it like to be a musician in Cuba? How can you be part of a band when getting and maintaining an instrument is a hurdle within itself? Solidarity Rock, an organization that started in 2007 in Edmonton, AB, is trying to help Cuban musicians with everything from guitar strings to recording. How did it all begin? How can we help? Rob Wright, Vice President of Solidarity Rock, explains in the Q&A below.

What is Solidarity Rock?
Solidarity Rock is an artist run organization working to partner musicians, artists and creative people in Canada, Cuba and beyond. Since 2008 Solidarity Rock has been working to collect instruments and musical equipment to help our friends in Cuban rock bands find their own way through music. Solidarity Rock has also come to include photography exhibits from Cuban, Canadian and American photographers. In the summer of 2012 we will send Vancouver music engineer and producer Jesse Gander to Cuba to record full length albums for some of the top punk bands in Cuba, including Adictox from Santa Clara and Arrabio from Trinidad & Sancti Spiritus.

How did it get started?
Solidarity Rock was born out of the first tour of Cuba undertaken by a foreign rock band. In 2007, Edmonton rock band 7 and 7 travelled to Cuba and embarked on a five date tour. Solidarity Rock has come to life largely through the work of Edmonton’s Drew McIntosh and William Garcia, in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. There are of course, many other ardent supporters behind the organization. Since that first tour, Edmonton’s SLATES have toured Cuba, followed by Kids on Fire (Winnipeg), Hang Loose (Edmonton) and my band, the Vicious Cycles, which is based in East Vancouver.

How are you able to gather the money needed to send instruments to Cuba?

Most of the money raised has come from holding benefit shows and events, primarily in Edmonton, AB where S.R. is headquartered. Other events have been held, and will be held again in future, in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal and more. Our first Toronto event is being held on Thursday May 31 at Sneaky Dee’s, which is very exciting. Those unable to attend a Solidarity Rock event or who want to help can get more information on our site and can find out about upcoming events on our Facebook page. 

How much gear have you sent so far, and who does it go to?
To date, enough to get several bands in the centre of the country going, and we’ve got a big shipment with 15 guitars, 2 drum kits, and 3 amps waiting to get permission from the Ministry of Culture to be cleared for entry. What’s really cool is that typically when someone gets a new (used) instrument, they then pass theirs onto someone else who either doesn’t have one or who will wind up with something better. So essentially whoever is down that line often gets an upgrade.

Why is this project important to you?

It’s got a really strong foothold in the DIY movement, which has always spoken to me on a personal level. The ethos that anyone can help affect change if they want to, and the idea that making great things happen isn’t the domain solely of those with political power or the moneyed is hugely appealing to me. Don’t like what you see around you? Change it. In whatever small way you can. When we can help out our friends, why wouldn’t we? It’s a very real scenario in which someone in Cuba is inspired to play music but doesn’t have a guitar, and doesn’t have the means to buy one, even if one could be purchased. We can help get instruments into people’s hands for nothing. Purchasing a guitar or drum sticks or guitar picks is easy to do in Canada, but not so much in Cuba. There’s no Long & McQuade to go to. And who has the money for luxuries like those?

What have you learned from the musicians you’ve met in Cuba?
I’ve learned that these people really, really mean it. It’s one thing to grow up in a small town somewhere in North America (like I did). Maybe it’s hard being the lone punk rocker or metalhead in your town, but you’ve got all this access to music, and instruments and media that the average Cuban doesn’t. It’s a life that I don’t pretend to completely understand but I have learned to be a lot more grateful for what I have. I came away from Cuba with a belief that my involvement with Solidarity Rock couldn’t just end with this one tour that I was lucky enough to be a part of.

How can bands and fans help out with your efforts here in Canada?
We do gear drives pretty regularly, and anyone with an instrument they’d like to donate can email us at info@solidarityrock.com You can also donate via PayPal on our site, or come to one of the many upcoming events being held across Canada, which can be found on our Facebook page. Get in touch, and talk to us about starting a Solidarity Rock chapter in your town. Even something as seemingly simple as blogging about Solidarity Rock, spreading the word via social media or liking us on Facebook. The limits on what we can achieve together are only constructed by ourselves.

(Photo by Samuel Reina Calvo)

Related:

Buena Vista Anti-Social Club: Inside Cuba’s Hidden Metal Scene

Five reasons Cuba’s Trinidad appeals to music-loving travellers

Kids On Fire on CBC Music