#santa clara

Well, how can I write a simple article about the Gente de Zona Cuban Tour while I would like to write an entire book about this awesome experience?!?

Amazing, incredible, fantastic, wonderful, fun… Here are the best words to describe my feelings after this exceptional week!

For me everything began on a beautiful Saturday, when Gente de Zona’s manager called me to put some stickers on my car. I came, waited for two hours (as usual in Cuba) speaking with three great Cubans who worked there. While they were putting the enormous “Gente de Zona Ft. Havana Club” stickers, I realized that I was going to live something unique. We were just next to a street, everyone could see my car and everyone was surprised to see this big “Gente de Zona” on it. They asked me “Where is Alexander?”, “Could you please give my number to Randi??” (Alexander and Randi are the two singers of the band), “Are they really single?”, “Can I have an autograph?”, “donde se forma la Gozadera?” (Translate: Where is the Gozadera creating? Gonzadera is one of the last tubes of Gente de Zona), “Gente de Zonaaaaaaaaa” among many other comments. An exciting atmosphere was growing. I also met the manager of the band and two people from PMM, the producer of the tour. Everyone was very friendly and I felt I was already part of the Gente de Zona team.

On Sunday morning, we left Havana for Santa Clara; 4 hours driving on a deserted and peaceful road.

When we arrived in Santa Clara, where we organized the first concert of the tour, we first thought that we didn’t found the right place. We arrived around 3pm in a bad-smelling parking that was transformed into a food market for that day. “Papaya, goyava, piñaaaa”, “jabitas, barratas jabitas, jabaaaaas”, “pepino, tomate, ajo, cebollaaaaa” (papaya, goyava , pineaaaaapple, little bags, cheap bags, baaaaags, cucumber, tomato, garlic, oniooooon); all the market sellers were yelling the products they were selling. Actually, it was the place where Gente de Zona would do the concert on Monday. Not kidding! How to transform the rest of a food market in a great concert place in one single day? Cubans know how to realize the unrealizable, how to find the unfindable and more than that: how to laugh in this stressful step. Well, I skip the details because it’s very difficult to explain the magic of Cuba but we succeeded and on Monday afternoon the scene was perfect, the public place cleaned and secured and the team motived and happy!

It was 4pm, the concert started three hours later. Last step to be ready: find the staff tickets. Let’s go to the Santa Clara major place where the Gente de Zona manager hotel was staying: he had the tickets. Well, I’m not sure it was a good idea but definitely one of the funniest ideas. While we parked the two cars, a huge crowd was coming around us and we didn’t have the time to go out of our cars! We were blocked inside the cars! Everybody was thinking that we were with Alexander and Randi and asked for a picture or an autograph. It was difficult to go out and even more difficult to explain that we were not with the two stars. Even when they realized that we were just unknown people, they asked us to take a picture with them and to sign autographs! First time in my life that I lived this experience and I didn’t realized that it was going to be like this the whole week… ^^ I laugh again when I’m thinking about it!

7pm. The concert should have begun but we are in Cuba and the band haven’t appeared yet. Crowd movement, even on the staff area. Here they are! I finally discovered the cool and charming Alexander and Randi. Do you want to know the ritual of Gente de Zona before the beginning of a concert? A lot of laughs, a big hug with their friends, their families, all the members of the band, a few pictures and autographs with the guests and a toast with everybody in a good atmosphere.

Let’s get the party started! Drums, trumpets, piano… the famous “Bailando” song started (musical hit with Descemer Bueno & Enrique Iglesias) and Alexander and Randi appeared. The public was yelling and dancing at the same time from the beginning to the end of the concert. “Yo quiero más, tú quieres más” (Yo quiero feat Pitbull), “He llaradooo como un niñoooooo” (He Llorado Feat Juan Magan) and 10 other songs.

Cherry on the cake: Traidora with the original writer, the famous Leoni Torres who was the “special guest” of this Tour.

It’s impressive how Leoni, Alexander and Randi had a lot of energy on stage. They interacted a lot with their public, allowing the crowd to sing some parts of the songs, seducing pretty women in the public and selecting some lucky few people to go up on the scene to dance with them. What a very nice and friendly atmosphere! Time flied and the concert came to the end.

Tuesday. I wake up realizing that my dream was my actual last evening! I’m a part of the Gente de Zona band for a week! How lucky I am! Let’s the adventure continued, let’s go to Camaguey! This time, we created a real Gente de Zona caravan, with five “Gente de Zona Ft. Havana Club” and “PMM” customized cars. How to look invisible like this? This is part of the Tour: taking picture with the crowd when we had a break on the road. We just did one break, a 10-minutes stop to eat the well-known and much-appreciated regional dessert: goyava and cheese.

A few miles from Camaguey, we had the honor to be escorted by the police in the city, with sirens and flashing lights, what a sensational entrance!!! Good evening Camaguey and thank you for this exceptional welcoming!
Wednesday. We went to the major and central place of Camaguey, where the concert will occur this evening. It was perfect, the place was huge and safe and the scene was already installed as we wished. It was too perfect to be real.

Was it hiding something? Well, we’ll see… Let’s the concert begin!

The public was in fury and Gente de Zona succeeded in giving them what they were expected: a great and dynamic concert! Ho!!!! Wait!!!! What’s happening? No more light? … Wait! No more music??? « Un apagon! » (Power failure). As I said, it was too perfect to be true! But again, in Cuba nothing is a big deal and we took it easy: Randi explained to his public the problem and asked them to keep calm and wait for a solution, and… it worked! Actually, after 10 minutes the staff found a solution and the concert went on as if nothing happened. Could you imagine it in a Western country? People would have been crazy… And Randi and Alexander continued singing and dancing, playing and making jokes, giving 100% of their energy. They conveyed their strength and enthusiasm to the audience that was positively euphoric. Such a great evening!

After the concert, we decided to improvise a party closed to the hotel with all the Gente de Zona team. We made a toast to the success of the concert and to the great team we created, with Gente de Zona, PMM and Havana Club!

Music again, let’s dance now! During the concert, the musicians played music, the photographs took pictures, the organization team took care of everything… but now it was time to relax and dance! So I danced, or I tried to… Everyone tried to teach me how to move my “cintura” (my hips) but it was so difficult for the cold French I am… Unfortunately, it’s not in my DNA!

Thursday was a road day, we woke up late and it was a long road to go to Santiago. Friday was a Day Off. We took the opportunity to be in Santiago to visit the area surrounding the city. It was as if we were on holidays with some friends. We talked about this and that, the travels we did, our works, etc. It was very relaxing and the organization was just perfect. Santiago region is very beautiful and the people we met very great.

On Saturday we’ve been to the major place of Santiago to check that everything was ok with the scene, we made an interview with Andi and Alexander (soon available on http://havana-cultura.com/) and it wasn’t long before it came time to start the concert.

The show began with a sketch of Robertico Comediante, a famous Cuban humorist. Very funny show. Perfect atmosphere to start the last concert of this Tour.

Once again, good public, excellent musicians and singers. Perfect evening. During the concert, Alexander’s mum call him and his manager gave him his cell-phone. He sang a song with his mum over the phone. How cute he is! The public loves the band as they love the public and everyone enjoyed being here!

At the end of the concert, Randi and alexander invited all the Tour team, including us, Havana Club and PMM, to go on the scene. It was the first (and probably the last!) time of my life that I live it!!! Being in front of 300 000 people (policy number, I don’t know about the syndicate number!)… Wow, impressive! And I danced with the team on the scene singing “en Venezuela se dice Chavo, en Puerto

Rico ay mama… y en Cuba: QUE BOLA, y en Cuba QUE BOLAAA” (“how are you?” in Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Cuba).
What a beautiful experience! After the concert, it was time to close this great event, all the team raised their glasses to this and other future successes of our collaboration! One more day please, I don’t want to stop this Tour!

We had to come back to Havana to be prepared for other great events. It wasn’t too difficult to come back at the end. It seems that Havana is very trendy nowadays, how lucky I am!

Well, I really want to thank everyone I met during this week for these unforgettable moments I spent. I know that I will see some of you again in Havana!

See you soon,
Clémence.