by pavloconga » Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:17 pm
Thanks, Abakua.
It was with great sadness that I also received the terrible news from Cuba last week (via a friend who went to visit him from Europe the week before he passed).
My Eulogy for Macho
Sandalio 'Macho' Crespo Calderon was my dear amigo and maestro in Havana.
Macho was an incredible musician and keeper of the tradition. An old-school master rumbero.
He was also a man of great fortitude, inner strength, resourcefulness and creativity – a man with a great fighting spirit. Late in his career he was still playing with all the strength, force and agility of a much younger man.
Above all other teachers I have studied with, Macho, was for me, without question the greatest teacher of all, with the greatest knowledge and greatest command of the instrument. Macho had something very special on the congas that is difficult to put into words. It was something that had to be experienced. Despite his incredible skills he remained completely humble.
Macho was always so positive and encouraging and always insisted that I could learn to play the things he played. At the same time, he also pushed me well beyond my usual limits to a greater level. I will never forget the time I spent with him in Cuba and how in fact, I felt that he treated me very much like a son. Macho took me under his wing, he took me to concerts, rehearsals and the great - and unexpected - honour of joining him to play in the Carnaval de la Habana with Los Marquesas de Ataré.
Any success I have in the sphere of music I attribute in large part to Macho and the things he taught me.
I often felt like a beginner in his presence.
Beyond all of his musical skills, more than anything else, Macho was a man with an incredibly big and loving heart.
He will be greatly missed by his family and friends in Cuba and all over the world.
Rest in Peace Sandalio 'Macho' Crespo Calderon.
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Last edited by
pavloconga on Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.