Issac Delgado returned to Miami Beach!
22nd, 23rd & 25th of December, 2000
Starfish, 1427 West Avenue

By

(also check out our CD review and Concert Review of Issac's Miami appearances!)

Two and one-half years ago I was lucky enough to catch a concert by Issac Delgado in an incredibly beautiful place... a little town encrusted into the rocks at the edge of the sea on the Amalfi Coast of Italy known as Positano. There on the beach, with the soft sea breeze and the lights reflecting off of the water, I saw Italians dancing Rueda on the sand in front of the stage. It is impossible not to dance when you hear Issac.

Today was no different.  The club was filled to capacity and everyone was dancing and happy.  Finally it appeared that the Cuban exile community has calmed down because there weren't any protesters at all.  Issac's fans came... those who have known him a long time, and those young Cuban-Americans who are trying to reconnect to their roots.  Everyone danced and enjoyed themselves, without thinking of politics (as it should be!)

He began the concert with a medly, starting with a version of the song, "Luz Viajera", ...that same light that has guided Issac through his long artistic career.  Before beginning the concert, we had a chance to talk. 

Jacira:  What brings you to Miami?
Issac:  I think rather the question should be, what brings me to the US? The success that the traditional Cuban music has had here has given us the opportunity to showcase contemporary Cuban music, with the hope that it will have a good response. Playing in Miami is a challenge.  I was the first to play here in '98. One never knows if you will find a surprise or not.

Jacira: What are your immediate plans?
Issac:  To finish out the century healthy, and playing Afro-Cuban music... and to see how the American public will receive it, because it is a very demanding public. 

Jacira: And your long-term plans?
Issac:  We have a show at Midem in Cannes, a European tour, several Carnavals in February, perhaps the Canary Islands, although that hasn't been confirmed. We will be back in the US for the Jazz Festivals in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California.

Jacira:  Of all your experiences, both personal and musical, has there been one that was "clave", that changed your path in life? (translator's note: this word means "key" in the present context, but also is the word used for the rhythm in Salsa, made by two wooden sticks, also called "claves") 
Issac: I can't live without "Clave"! But seriously, it would be my children (4)... they are the most important for me.

Jacira:  And your most important influence?
Issac:  The "feeling" movement in Cuban music... I was born in this movement... Omara Portuondo and others like Cheo Feliciano, Beny Moré, Oscar D'León, Gilberto Santa Rosa.  Besides a lot of maternal love.  There are three of us, two brothers and a sister, but I was Mom's favorite!

Jacira: And your personal life?
Issac:  I'm at a really good space right now.  I'm in love with my two daughters, with all of my kids, but especially my two daughters (ages 5 and 6).

Jacira: Why is it called "La Fórmula" in the US, and "Malecón" in other places?
Issac:  That was a decision made by Ahí-Namá music.  They thought that there were a lot of people who didn't know what the Malecón in Havana was, and that they would have no point of reference.  The felt that "La Fórmula" was more universal.

Jacira: ... and the Samba in Italian, "Quando"... how did that come about?
Issac: It is a song written by Pino Danielle, a great Italian singer-songwriter.  We go to Italy a lot. It is our second biggest market for shows.

Jacira: The song, "Gracias a la vida" by (my compatriot) Violeta Parra... how was it that you converted this song to salsa?
Issac:  For me, this is one of the greatest compositions of all times.  The arranger, Joaquín Betancourt is also really good.  This is a version with a background of Guaguancó.

Jacira:  And the participation of Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Pablo Milanés... how did that come about?
Issac:  Through friendship, affinity, respect.  Gonzalo has always been present in my work and Pablo has always been willing to participate.

(Note from Jacira: I spoke briefly with Gonzalo Rubalcaba the last night that Issac played at Starfish, on the 25th of December, when Gonzalo got up on stage and jammed with the group.  He told me that they studied together in grade school at the Colegio Amadeo Roldán in Havana in 1978... they are old friends!)

Jacira:  Has it affected you being a Cuban musician in comparison to other Salseros in the musical world? Do you find that it limits you, or do you feel privileged?
Issac:  I feel privileged, although we have to try twice as hard, and in this sense we run into barriers due to the lack of promotion overseas. This doesn't happen in Cuba, but the promoters in other countries do not promote us as much as other artists.

Jacira: Why do you spell your name with two "S's" instead of with two "A's"?
Issac: (laughing) A long time ago, a promoter wrote it that way, but with the first "s" written normally and the second "s" written backwards to form a heart. He said that it inspired him that way, and people begin to to write it that way, with two "S's".  I left it that way, as an artistic pseudonym, but I am really Isaac.

And it is that Isaac who is so authentic and down to earth who writes such romantic lyrics as "Se hace el amor en colores" (You make love in color).  This comes from the song, "El Solar de La California" on his new album, La Fórmula (called "Malecón" outside of the USA).  The Solar de La California is a real place, located in old Havana.  The song says, "Se hace primos, se hace hermanos, que son buenos, y de segunda mano también" (You become cousins, you become brothers, and that is good, and second-hand, too). This poetry and double-entendre is a combination which has won him millions of fans around the world. But the secret, I think, of his long artistic career, is the human touch ... the feeling that it is personal for each of us.  I would like to thank him for playing a favorite song of mine of many years.  ... "El 44-30-25..." and another song that makes the world get up and dance, "Deja que Roberto te toque....deja que Roberto te pase la mano...." These are classic songs, but he continues to reinvent himself. 

His last album has more jazz elements than ever before, with Afro-Cuban smells and flavors and that unique voice that slides up to your ear and seduces you without you even realizing it... and the next thing you know your feet are moving by their own volition, carrying you in that rhythmic cadence of the "clave".  Where is the "Amor sin ética" (Love without Ethics)?  I want to lose myself in your "Caricias" (Caresses)!

Issac Delgado:  La Fórmula, on his new record label, Ahí-Namá Music.  
www.ahinama.com 

Issac Delgado and Jacira at Starfish

Read the SalsaPower CD review of this album HERE!

Read the concert review HERE!

More Interviews

 

This page last updated on 03-Jan-2008