WHAT MADE ME LOVE MUSIC: ODALINE DE LA MARTINEZ

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

As a little girl we lived in Jovellanos, a small town next to the Carretera Central. Jovellanos had a large black population because at one time there were several sugar refineries in the area.

One of the most wonderful things about living there was going to sleep listening to the wonderful Afro-Cuban music of the bembes and waking up when the drumming stopped. 

Once or twice I had a chance to take a peek during one of these rituals and was fascinated by the music and the dancing.

These memories have made such an imprint in my imagination, that to this day, the music I compose is full of rhythm and dancing.

Odaline de la Martinez, composer, conductor

Here’s a link to Odaline’s Canciones for percussion and voice: https://youtu.be/jc6wGB5lsG0

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”