{"id":53688,"date":"2022-01-31T12:45:40","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T20:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/?p=53688"},"modified":"2024-02-29T07:58:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T15:58:11","slug":"five-questions-with-kiki-valera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/five-questions-with-kiki-valera\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Questions with Kiki Valera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take a peek into the mind of Cuban virtuoso Kiki Valera, who muses on his influences, his instrument of choice, and the art of making music. Be sure to join us later in February for a live concert with <\/span>Kiki Valera y su son Cubano (2\/25)<\/a>,<\/b> part of Town Hall’s Global Rhythms<\/a> series!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Para espa\u00f1ol, haga clic aqu\u00ed.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Town Hall (TH): Who were your musical influences growing up?<\/b><\/p>\n

Kiki Valera (KV): I grew up in a musical family, heirs to the legacy of Cuban Son. We used to gather several times a year to celebrate with live music and dance. These were spontaneous reunions and at that time, we were unaware of the role my family was to play in preserving the authenticity of this musical tradition. In 1982, the musicologist Danilo Orozco was conducting an investigation on the origins of Cuban Son in the eastern region of our island and through my paternal grandmother Emilia Miranda, he discovered that he could trace the we played Cuban Son all the way back to the late 19th century. In this musical environment my main influence was the Cuban Son in its purest, simplest form. After that, I began my classical guitar studies at the Esteban Salas Conservatory in the city of Santiago de Cuba, where I had the opportunity to expand and enrich my knowledge from a theoretical point of view.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>TH: What do you love most about playing the Cuban cuatro? For those who might be unfamiliar with the instrument, how would you describe its difference from a standard guitar?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KV: What I like the most about the Cuban cuatro is its versatility from a melodic, harmonic and rhythmic point of view. The Cuban cuatro is a mid-sized guitar with eight strings, tuned in pairs of two. It has a distinctive sound that is soft and sparkly and the extra pair of strings (as opposed to the six-stringed Cuban tres) offers me the creative freedom to improvise.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Your roots are in Cuba, but today you\u2019re living, teaching, and making music here in the Pacific Northwest. How does this region inform your music?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KV: Coming from Cuba from a musical environment like that of my family, I have tried to preserve the traditional Cuban music style as authentically as possible. Most artists are unconsciously influenced by other currents, and I am no exception. Being surrounded by a different musical environment than the one I come from, I have really enjoyed playing with excellent musicians of other genres and attending concerts of world music, jazz, Latin jazz, salsa and rock. I can say that I feel lucky to be in the cultural atmosphere of Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed anything about music for you?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KV: For us musicians, interaction with the public is very important. It is a kind of necessary feedback to continue offering the best of ourselves through music. I have used this time to dedicate myself to working on new projects and remote recordings with my musician friends in other parts of the country and world. Musically speaking, COVID-19 has not changed anything in me but I think that it has changed the way we socialize in a general sense and I miss playing live concerts.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: What, in your opinion, are the biggest gifts of son Cubano?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV: The best gift that Cuban Son has given us is that it has allowed us to transmit joy and above all to share with the world our cultural identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Cuatro preguntas con Kiki Valera<\/h2>\n

Eche un vistazo a la mente del virtuoso cubano Kiki Valera, quien reflexiona sobre sus influencias, su instrumento preferido y el arte de hacer m\u00fasica. \u00a1Aseg\u00farese de unirse a nosotros m\u00e1s tarde en febrero para un concierto en vivo con Kiki Valera y su son Cubano (2\/25)<\/a>, parte de la serie Global Rhythms<\/a> de Town Hall!<\/p>\n

Town Hall (TH): \u00bfQui\u00e9nes fueron tus influencias musicales mientras crec\u00edas?<\/b><\/p>\n

Kiki Valera (KV): Crec\u00ed en una familia musical, heredera del legado del Son Cubano. Sol\u00edamos reunirnos varias veces al a\u00f1o para celebrar en vivo con m\u00fasica y baile. Estas reuniones eran espontaneas y en ese momento, desconoc\u00edamos el papel que mi familia iba a jugar en la preservaci\u00f3n de la autenticidad de esta tradici\u00f3n musical. En 1982, el music\u00f3logo Danilo Orozco estaba realizando una investigaci\u00f3n sobre los or\u00edgenes del son cubano en la regi\u00f3n oriental de nuestra isla y a trav\u00e9s de mi abuela paterna Emilia Miranda, descubri\u00f3 que pod\u00eda rastrear el son cubano que interpret\u00e1bamos hasta finales del siglo XIX. En este ambiente musical mi principal influencia fue el Son Cubano en su forma m\u00e1s pura y simple. Posteriormente inici\u00e9 mis estudios de guitarra cl\u00e1sica en el Conservatorio Esteban Salas de la ciudad de Santiago de Cuba, donde tuve la oportunidad de ampliar y enriquecer mis conocimientos desde el punto de vista te\u00f3rico.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: \u00bfQu\u00e9 es lo que m\u00e1s te gusta de tocar el cuatro cubano? \u00bfEn qu\u00e9 se diferencia de una guitarra est\u00e1ndar?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV:\u00a0 Lo que m\u00e1s me gusta del cuatro cubano es su versatilidad desde un punto de vista mel\u00f3dico, arm\u00f3nico y r\u00edtmico. El cuatro cubano es una guitarra de tama\u00f1o mediano con ocho cuerdas, afinada en pares de dos. Tiene un sonido distintivo que es suave y brillante y el par de cuerdas extra (a diferencia del tres cubano de seis cuerdas) me ofrece la libertad creativa para improvisar.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: Tus ra\u00edces est\u00e1n en Cuba, pero hoy vives, ense\u00f1as y haces m\u00fasica aqu\u00ed en el noroeste del Pac\u00edfico. \u00bfC\u00f3mo influye esta regi\u00f3n en tu m\u00fasica?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV: Viniendo de Cuba y de un ambiente musical como el de mi familia, he tratado de preservar el estilo de la m\u00fasica tradicional cubana de la manera m\u00e1s aut\u00e9ntica posible. La mayor\u00eda de los artistas est\u00e1n inconscientemente influenciados por otras corrientes y yo no soy una excepci\u00f3n. Al estar rodeado de un ambiente musical diferente al del que vengo, he disfrutado mucho tocando con excelentes m\u00fasicos de otros g\u00e9neros y asistiendo a conciertos de world music, jazz, latin jazz, salsa y rock. Puedo decir que me siento afortunado de estar en el ambiente cultural de Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: \u00bfLa pandemia de COVID-19 ha cambiado algo sobre la m\u00fasica para ti?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV:\u00a0 Para nosotros los m\u00fasicos, la interacci\u00f3n con el p\u00fablico es muy importante. Es una especie de retroalimentaci\u00f3n necesaria para seguir ofreciendo lo mejor de nosotros a trav\u00e9s de la m\u00fasica. He aprovechado este tiempo para dedicarme a trabajar en nuevos proyectos y grabaciones remotas con mis amigos m\u00fasicos en otras partes del pa\u00eds y del mundo. Musicalmente hablando, COVID-19 no ha cambiado nada en m\u00ed, pero creo que ha cambiado la forma en que socializamos en sentido general y extra\u00f1o tocar conciertos en vivo.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: A su juicio, \u00bfcu\u00e1les son los mayores dones del son Cubano?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV: El mejor regalo que nos ha dado el Son Cubano es que nos ha permitido transmitir alegr\u00eda y sobre todo compartir con el mundo nuestra identidad cultural.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Take a peek into the mind of Cuban virtuoso Kiki Valera, who muses on his influences, his instrument of choice, and the art of making music. Be sure to join us later in February for a live concert with <\/span>Kiki Valera y su son Cubano (2\/25)<\/a>,<\/b> part of Town Hall’s Global Rhythms<\/a> series!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Para espa\u00f1ol, haga clic aqu\u00ed.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Town Hall (TH): Who were your musical influences growing up?<\/b><\/p>\n

Kiki Valera (KV): I grew up in a musical family, heirs to the legacy of Cuban Son. We used to gather several times a year to celebrate with live music and dance. These were spontaneous reunions and at that time, we were unaware of the role my family was to play in preserving the authenticity of this musical tradition. In 1982, the musicologist Danilo Orozco was conducting an investigation on the origins of Cuban Son in the eastern region of our island and through my paternal grandmother Emilia Miranda, he discovered that he could trace the we played Cuban Son all the way back to the late 19th century. In this musical environment my main influence was the Cuban Son in its purest, simplest form. After that, I began my classical guitar studies at the Esteban Salas Conservatory in the city of Santiago de Cuba, where I had the opportunity to expand and enrich my knowledge from a theoretical point of view.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>TH: What do you love most about playing the Cuban cuatro? For those who might be unfamiliar with the instrument, how would you describe its difference from a standard guitar?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KV: What I like the most about the Cuban cuatro is its versatility from a melodic, harmonic and rhythmic point of view. The Cuban cuatro is a mid-sized guitar with eight strings, tuned in pairs of two. It has a distinctive sound that is soft and sparkly and the extra pair of strings (as opposed to the six-stringed Cuban tres) offers me the creative freedom to improvise.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Your roots are in Cuba, but today you\u2019re living, teaching, and making music here in the Pacific Northwest. How does this region inform your music?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KV: Coming from Cuba from a musical environment like that of my family, I have tried to preserve the traditional Cuban music style as authentically as possible. Most artists are unconsciously influenced by other currents, and I am no exception. Being surrounded by a different musical environment than the one I come from, I have really enjoyed playing with excellent musicians of other genres and attending concerts of world music, jazz, Latin jazz, salsa and rock. I can say that I feel lucky to be in the cultural atmosphere of Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed anything about music for you?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KV: For us musicians, interaction with the public is very important. It is a kind of necessary feedback to continue offering the best of ourselves through music. I have used this time to dedicate myself to working on new projects and remote recordings with my musician friends in other parts of the country and world. Musically speaking, COVID-19 has not changed anything in me but I think that it has changed the way we socialize in a general sense and I miss playing live concerts.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: What, in your opinion, are the biggest gifts of son Cubano?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV: The best gift that Cuban Son has given us is that it has allowed us to transmit joy and above all to share with the world our cultural identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Cuatro preguntas con Kiki Valera<\/h2>\n

Eche un vistazo a la mente del virtuoso cubano Kiki Valera, quien reflexiona sobre sus influencias, su instrumento preferido y el arte de hacer m\u00fasica. \u00a1Aseg\u00farese de unirse a nosotros m\u00e1s tarde en febrero para un concierto en vivo con Kiki Valera y su son Cubano (2\/25)<\/a>, parte de la serie Global Rhythms<\/a> de Town Hall!<\/p>\n

Town Hall (TH): \u00bfQui\u00e9nes fueron tus influencias musicales mientras crec\u00edas?<\/b><\/p>\n

Kiki Valera (KV): Crec\u00ed en una familia musical, heredera del legado del Son Cubano. Sol\u00edamos reunirnos varias veces al a\u00f1o para celebrar en vivo con m\u00fasica y baile. Estas reuniones eran espontaneas y en ese momento, desconoc\u00edamos el papel que mi familia iba a jugar en la preservaci\u00f3n de la autenticidad de esta tradici\u00f3n musical. En 1982, el music\u00f3logo Danilo Orozco estaba realizando una investigaci\u00f3n sobre los or\u00edgenes del son cubano en la regi\u00f3n oriental de nuestra isla y a trav\u00e9s de mi abuela paterna Emilia Miranda, descubri\u00f3 que pod\u00eda rastrear el son cubano que interpret\u00e1bamos hasta finales del siglo XIX. En este ambiente musical mi principal influencia fue el Son Cubano en su forma m\u00e1s pura y simple. Posteriormente inici\u00e9 mis estudios de guitarra cl\u00e1sica en el Conservatorio Esteban Salas de la ciudad de Santiago de Cuba, donde tuve la oportunidad de ampliar y enriquecer mis conocimientos desde el punto de vista te\u00f3rico.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: \u00bfQu\u00e9 es lo que m\u00e1s te gusta de tocar el cuatro cubano? \u00bfEn qu\u00e9 se diferencia de una guitarra est\u00e1ndar?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV:\u00a0 Lo que m\u00e1s me gusta del cuatro cubano es su versatilidad desde un punto de vista mel\u00f3dico, arm\u00f3nico y r\u00edtmico. El cuatro cubano es una guitarra de tama\u00f1o mediano con ocho cuerdas, afinada en pares de dos. Tiene un sonido distintivo que es suave y brillante y el par de cuerdas extra (a diferencia del tres cubano de seis cuerdas) me ofrece la libertad creativa para improvisar.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: Tus ra\u00edces est\u00e1n en Cuba, pero hoy vives, ense\u00f1as y haces m\u00fasica aqu\u00ed en el noroeste del Pac\u00edfico. \u00bfC\u00f3mo influye esta regi\u00f3n en tu m\u00fasica?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV: Viniendo de Cuba y de un ambiente musical como el de mi familia, he tratado de preservar el estilo de la m\u00fasica tradicional cubana de la manera m\u00e1s aut\u00e9ntica posible. La mayor\u00eda de los artistas est\u00e1n inconscientemente influenciados por otras corrientes y yo no soy una excepci\u00f3n. Al estar rodeado de un ambiente musical diferente al del que vengo, he disfrutado mucho tocando con excelentes m\u00fasicos de otros g\u00e9neros y asistiendo a conciertos de world music, jazz, latin jazz, salsa y rock. Puedo decir que me siento afortunado de estar en el ambiente cultural de Seattle.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: \u00bfLa pandemia de COVID-19 ha cambiado algo sobre la m\u00fasica para ti?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV:\u00a0 Para nosotros los m\u00fasicos, la interacci\u00f3n con el p\u00fablico es muy importante. Es una especie de retroalimentaci\u00f3n necesaria para seguir ofreciendo lo mejor de nosotros a trav\u00e9s de la m\u00fasica. He aprovechado este tiempo para dedicarme a trabajar en nuevos proyectos y grabaciones remotas con mis amigos m\u00fasicos en otras partes del pa\u00eds y del mundo. Musicalmente hablando, COVID-19 no ha cambiado nada en m\u00ed, pero creo que ha cambiado la forma en que socializamos en sentido general y extra\u00f1o tocar conciertos en vivo.<\/span><\/p>\n

TH: A su juicio, \u00bfcu\u00e1les son los mayores dones del son Cubano?<\/b><\/p>\n

KV: El mejor regalo que nos ha dado el Son Cubano es que nos ha permitido transmitir alegr\u00eda y sobre todo compartir con el mundo nuestra identidad cultural.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,6,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview-conversation","category-town-crier","category-town-hall-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}