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Music

Dreams of becoming an architect redesigned

By SEAN DALY
Published August 25, 2006

Art Canvases reflect the pain of their past Demi, a Miami artist, left her real name behind when she left Cuba. Film Dissident filmmakers dare to explore Cuba's issues Fidel Castro understands the political influence of cinema, a lesson learned through the writings of his socialist role model, Vladimir Lenin. Stage Freedom of expression takes on personal meaning Cuban artists' creativity has been profoundly influenced by Fidel Castro, whether stifled in their homeland or reflective of the hardships artists in exile endured because of the revolution.

ST. PETERSBURG

If it weren't for Fidel Castro, Freddy Montes might be designing nightclubs instead of performing in them. Talk about your odd twists of fate.

"I can never trust that guy," Montes says of Castro. "That guy is unbelievable. That guy is so sneaky. He is like a rat, you know? I'm Catholic, so I don't wish somebody dead. But I wish he would get out of power. And we get a democratic power in Cuba."

Montes is a singer-guitarist-percussionist whose uncle, Grammy winner Bebo Valdes, was a musical director at Havana's famed Tropicana club - not to mention an arranger for Nat King Cole.

Now living in St. Petersburg and playing with various Cuban ensembles, Montes has conflicting emotions about his native country. He didn't flee Cuba until 1985 - almost two decades after his mother escaped. Castro robbed him of his family, Montes says. But Castro also hijacked young Freddy's dreams of the career he really wanted to pursue.

Montes explains:

"I played with all the biggest stars in Cuba: Chucho Valdes, my uncle. (Music) was in my blood, yes. . . .

"But with me you get a lot of stories. My mother came to the United States in 1958. I was little at the time. In 1959, Fidel Castro took the power, the revolution, all that. It was painful. My mother kept looking for me, and they can never get me out. We were separated. I lived with my grandmother. The government never let me out.

"I can't say music was an escape. It was just part of me. I actually planned to be an architect. I never finished. You can't only have music. You have to have a couple things going on in your life. I studied all the time. But the government, they didn't allow you to study anything without payoffs, and it was a huge amount, and you could never get refunds. I had no parents over there, so it was hard for me to keep (the architecture studies) up. My grandmother retired, so I start studying music with guys around the corner. It was tough. But persistence, persistence . . ."

Now he's got his family - wife, daughter and mother - all around him. A happy ending, relatively speaking.

When asked if he'll ever return to Cuba, Montes says he's not sure, probably not. The politics of his homeland would have to change drastically.

"Maybe I change my mind," Montes says. "But I'm happy to have freedom. Also, the family reunion, that's something I've enjoyed. I lost my parents for a large part of my life."

Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8467. His blog is at www.sptimes.com/blogs/popmusic.

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Freddy Montes and his band play at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. from 5 to 8 tonight as part of the S'Real Fridays happy hour series. The museum offers half-price admission after 5 p.m.; beer and wine available for purchase. For more information, call 727 823-3767.

As part of WMNF's 27th Birthday Bash, they'll play at 8 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Cuban Club in Tampa. For more information, call (813) 238-8001.

[Last modified August 24, 2006, 08:29:37]