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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:04 am
by pavloconga
That is very sad news hearing of this great masters passing.
One of the true greats of the conga. R.I.P. Tata Guines.
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:00 am
by tocandorumba
Tata Guines was a great inspiration to me. He radiated joy when he played- like his student, Anga. We are lucky to have his musical treasures to learn and build upon. He was a great example of how to embody the traditions and carry them forward. This and future generations will honor his memory.
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:33 am
by ABAKUA
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:39 am
by ABAKUA
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:47 am
by ABAKUA
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:47 pm
by niallgregory
very sad news.I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HIM AND HAVING A PHOTO TAKEN WITH HIM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO IN THE TOWN OF GUINES .IT WAS DEC 4TH SO EVERYONE WAS DRESSED IN RED AND THERE WAS SOME SERIOUS CELEBRATIONS FOR SHANGO GOING ON ! TATA GOT UP AND PLAYED QUINTO WITH LOS RUMBEROS DE CUBA .IT WAS AN HONOUR TO SEE HIM PLAY IN THE FLESH .I HAVE IT SOMEWHERE ON VIDEO , I SHOULD PUT IT ON YOUTUBE I SUPPOSE .RIP......
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:13 pm
by Thomas Altmann
I just came home from practicing the 6/8 stuff I transcribed from a record that Tata made with Frank Emilio. The title of the tune: Drume Negrita.
There are very few things that I hear today and say: I want to learn to play exactly like this!
I saw there was a poll started in the forum that places rumberos opposite to band congueros. Tata was the epitome of a drummer who made this distinction obsolete. Patato was another example.
Today, people like Tata are categorized as Old School; but when I started to play, Tata was THE School, and he was the best of them all. The more you could play like him, the better you were rated. And the only drummers that were more modern than Tata were perhaps people like Daniel Ponce or Yoel Dreke. Then came Changuito, who started to take the mano secreta a step further; but outside Cuba, nobody really noticed it as something useful. The so called New School was started by Giovanni, I guess, and it has become quite a thing. But basically, Giovanni is just playing his own style, and so is Changuito, and so was Tata. It's up to me as a listener, which style I enjoy the most, and my vote is clear.
Tata could play a simple thing accurately, and he could play it for the thousandth time, and still give it this certain magic that turned the same thing into something of significance; you knew in an instant that this was something you had to deal with. Whatever he played seemed to live like an organic creature.
It is hard to add something, some other aspect, to what has already been said here. Maybe one thing: It felt so good to know he was around. Even if I never had a chance to see or meet him personally, it was a consolating fact, in a way, that he was among us. Tata gave me inspiration, strength, and confidence - just by the records he made, and his presence on the planet was the living witness to what I found worth to aspire as a musician.
Ibae ibayentonu Tata Güines.
TA
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:04 pm
by Omelenko
Thomas,
That was deep and beautiful. Tata fue' la mata (Tata was the source) Changuito, Gio and Anga' were his offsprings. Tata was the trunk and they are the branches. May he rejoice in heaven with Mongo,Chano and Patato.
A COMER !
Dario
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Posted:
Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:14 pm
by Coco
Great tribute Thomas. It puts into words what a lot of us are feeling I think. I particularly like this part:
Thomas Altmann wrote:Tata could play a simple thing accurately, and he could play it for the thousandth time, and still give it this certain magic that turned the same thing into something of significance; you knew in an instant that this was something you had to deal with. Whatever he played seemed to live like an organic creature.
So true.....
Edited By Coco on 1202325297
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Posted:
Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:54 am
by afrocubarico
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Posted:
Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:57 pm
by No.2-1820
Can the bay area peeps keep and eye out for any tributes or rumba's in Tata's honor and post here if they hear of anything, I know there was a wonderful celebration of Anga's life at La Pena when he passed and I would love to attend anything similar in Tata's memory.
Barrie
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Posted:
Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:10 am
by Changuiri
DESCANSA EN PAZ, MAESTRO.
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Posted:
Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:12 pm
by No.2-1820
Video clip from the BBC showing Tata's funeral. Shame the reporter couldn't pronounce his name right but an amazing sight all the same, pretty much a state funeral by the looks if it.
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6332263
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Posted:
Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:17 am
by ABAKUA
Man, that clip brought a tear to my eyes.
Tata, te recordaremos siempre.
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Posted:
Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:58 pm
by zumbi
moving video indeed!
so cuba honors his musical and cultural icons.
beside his musical greatness, what makes tata guines stand out from the rest is how he choose to renounce the material allure of the empire and returned home to support the revolution.
as a true african king, he couldn't barter his dignity, going trough the kitchen door, pee in the "colored" bathroom, in exchange for some stinky dollars...
tata lives!
one love.