Musician, cultural promoter, and music producer Arnaldo Rodríguez will be performing this Thursday in a concert very different from his work of more than twenty years with the group Talismán. The 46th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema and the third edition of Habana Mambo en el Cine, a musical tribute to the seventh art, are beginning, and this restless creator has decided to open the festival at 23rd and 12th Streets with a special performance:

“The idea for the Sonograma concert came from the connection that Arnaldo TALISMÁN has been forging with ICAIC and the Mambo company through the Habana Mambo en el Cine event, which is now in its third year.” That's where the need for this concert comes from, to pay homage to the music made for films, to the Cuban composers who have written for the soundtracks of the national filmography. I thought it was a wonderful idea; the whole team, all the musicians involved, really liked it, and we've decided to do this concert, which will be comprehensive, not about just one composer, but rather will try to encompass several composers in this first attempt.

—For example…?

—We'll be playing works by Leo Brouwer, José María Vitier, Silvio Rodríguez, Edesio Alejandro, and also the work of GESI, the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC (Sound Experimentation Group of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry)…

—Selecting the pieces must have been difficult…

—We started by choosing some films that have been significant, although they all have an important role in the history of Cuban cinema, but we began with melodies very well known to the public, such as the music from Strawberry and Chocolate, which is a seminal film; also, the songs from *El Brigadista*, *Lucía*…; animated films like *Elpidio Valdés* and *Vampires in Havana*, that is, we tried to choose themes that have marked not only the film, but also the audience. And this first look at the sonograms is aimed at that.

“Of course, not all the songs we would like will be included, but in this first attempt we have tried to be as comprehensive as possible, selecting songs familiar to the public.”

—And will we hear them exactly as we knew them in the film?

—They have certain tweaks, there are variations on the original, some remain exactly as they are in the films, but others have been enriched with certain elements. So they are songs easily recognizable to the audience's ear, although they do have their own touch, their own renewal.

—Which musicians are accompanying you?

—We've tried to bring in together young musicians who excel in other genres and groups, such as Christopher Simpson, a very multifaceted musician, as well as Jany Quiñones, tres-guitar player for Arsenio Rodríguez's ensemble, who is also an excellent musician. Ernestico will be playing drums, a percussionist also well-known in the Havana music scene; Chabely, a very talented young flautist; Juan Bárbaro Pompa, who was a musician with Talismán at one time, but is also a renowned producer and arranger; and many other musicians, some members of Talismán, such as Raúl Valdés on drums and Jorge Carlos on congas, who will also be participating in this Sonograma concert. In addition, Osdalgia will also be performing some songs.

—And after this night at Habana Mambo en el cine, what's next for Sonograma?

—After this performance at Habana Mambo en el Cine, we intend to continue this work, even to establish ourselves as a band with our own style, our own identity, and to use the name Sonograma, which is more or less a kind of ultrasound, an echocardiogram of music in film, and of all the music that has been composed in Cuba and some Latin American music as well, from Latin American cinema. So, after Habana Mambo en el Cine, we hope to prepare a proper concert, and perhaps make a formal presentation of this new project.

“I think this is the beginning of a new stage, a new facet in our creative process, and that Sonograma can even become a kind of band, a musical group that has this permanent link between music and cinema."

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff