congaplace.com

Greetings,

Yeah, I know I haven`t posted in years or something but oh well, I have my reasons.

I have moved from the Wet Coast recently to a small town by the name of Pembroke, Ontario. There is no drum community here. Drinking? Yes. Fishing? Yes. Snowmobiling? Uhh...yeah! Hunting? Check! Rumba? Nada.

Is there anyone on the board who knows of any groups and/or qualified teachers that I can get acquainted with in the area? If someone says: "Hey, I know a guy right in Pembroke", I`ll laugh my ass off and then call right after that.

Ottawa would be the best case scenario which is about an hour and 45 minutes away. Montreal is about 3 to 4, depending on what part of the city and how lost I get. Toronto is about 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours away, or more depending on traffic.

If anyone can hook me up I would be eternally grateful!

Geography is not on your side but there are other resources. Keep looking, you never know, there are Cubans in places you would not have predicted like Alaska, and Toto Berriel is in Calgary I think, there may be someone good near you. Playing with CDs you can play with the best, sort of. Find a local band that plays music you can learn to like, get some of their recordings and learn a few of their songs, and go see if you can go to their rehearsals or sit in at gigs. Travel. If you are into religion, find a babalao nearby and work through that network. Take workshops like in Humboldt every summer, rumbas every night for a week. Spend a few months in Cuba, you have easy access from Canada. There are trips occasionally that focus on Afrocuban folkloric music, or go on your own. If you can't find a teacher close to you, try CongaMasterClass.Com Excellent teaching at the beginner and intermediate levels accessible anywhere you have internet access for something like $20 a month.

Toronto has a community for EVERYTHING you can imagine really...but this province gets less cultured the more North you travel.

I bet there's something in Ottawa; nothing I know of personally, but I'm sure there is. Maybe call up some music stores in that area to see if they know?