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A touch of Cuban culture will grace the campus when Juan de Marcos and The Afro-Cuban All Stars perform at the Maxwell Theatre.
The bandleader and his generationally diverse musicians play a mixture of many types of Cuban music. Their orchestra incorporates styles like bolero, salsa, son montuno, timba, guajira, rumba and abakua.
“(Cuban music) makes people dance, and it is special in terms of other cultures coming together,” said Juan de Marcos (González), the bandleader, tres player and producer for the Afro-Cuban All Stars. “Cuban people come from different countries. And there are different cultures from these countries. So for centuries, there have been Spanish people, which is a multi-tribal country. And then there are people from countries in Africa. And the combination of all these cultures make one.”
De Marcos, who was born in the Pueblo Nuevo barrio of Havana, is the son of Marcos González Mauriz, a vocalist under the leadership of conductor Arsenio Rodrguez.
De Marcos said his love for Cuban music and culture is a product of the his upbringing.
“My father used to be a singer,” de Marcos said. “So we used to have musicians over our house all the time.”
De Marcos, who is known for his tres playing ability, said the instrument “has a very special sound.” The tres, which is a 3-course, 6-string chordophone, is an instrument that was created in Cuba.
Despite this, de Marcos, received his doctorate in hydraulic engineering and began teaching at several universities. Yet in order to honor his father and culture, de Marcos said he decided to form a band that would merge the many cultures of Cuba.
“The first line-up featured people of my generation,” de Marcos said. “It was much more traditional.”
However, de Marcos expanded his orchestra to include younger generations as his line-ups began to change.
“The only way to preserve what we have is to (be apart of it),” de Marcos said. Today, the Afro-Cuban All Stars incorporates many instruments like the conga drums, flugelhorns, trumpets, trombones, a timbale, piano, bass and clarinet, as well as multiple singers with their own unique styles.
“In musical terms, I do write the music for the arrangements,” de Marcos said. “Sometimes I play the tres, sometimes I play the guitar, but normally I conduct the band.”
According to music critic Daniel Gioffre, the music of The Afro-Cuban All Stars “manages to sound both relaxed and forceful at the same time,” as the trumpets “blare with traditional Cuban bravado, evoking gentle romance and fiery passion with equal ease.”
As the key player in the Grammy Award-nominated band, de Marcos emphasized that he also receives help from his wife as a producer for the group, as well as his daughters who are musicians in the orchestra.
De Marcos said the bond with his fellow musicians is also what makes his job so wonderful.
As a native Spanish speaker, de Marcos fluently speaks English, Russian and other languages. The bandleader emphasized that it is important to learn and experience different ways of life around the world.
“You have to be in touch with people of this earth,” he said. “It is so important to know different cultures.”
And as advice to Augusta State University students who would like to become musicians in the future, de Marcos said it is hard work.
“You have to be straight with your ideas,” he said. “And if you want to make something really important for yourself, you have to stand on your (two feet).”
Although he and his band have performed all over the world, including Europe, Japan and Atlanta, de Marcos said he and his band are excited to perform for an Augusta crowd.
“We are going to show them different styles of Cuban music,” de Macros said. “… And I want people to be happier after they have left my show.”
The Afro-Cuban All Stars will make their debut performance in Augusta at the Maxwell Theatre on Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m.