Exclusive Interview

Manolín, El Médico de la Salsa
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Photo by Jacira Castro

Click here for a sample of his music.

Born in Guantánamo 34 years ago as Manuel González Hernández, today he is simply known as Manolín.  Ever since he was a child he sang, and he learned to play the guitar at a very young age.  His family moved to Havana when he was still very small, and it was there that he grew up, studied, and graduated as a medical doctor.  Upon graduation, and against his parents wishes, he left the field of medicine to follow his heart...the music was calling him.
From mid 1992 through mid 1994 he played at a Cabaret called Capri.  His audience grew in size and in enthusiasm, until he was offered a four month tour in Mexico.  He played in the capital and in Cuernavaca and Tabasco, among other places.  Upon his return to Cuba he formed the group as it is now.
In 1995 he recorded his first CD, UNA AVENTURA LOCA, which was a total success, earning three platinum records.
The following year, in 1996, he hit the international market with this compact disk entitled, PARA MI GENTE, with the song that drove his fans to buy in record numbers...La bola, or better known as Arriba de la bola, which has set the all time sales record in Cuba, presently having sold 60,000 copies in that small island nation. It has already earned 4 platinum albums.
"Music is wild, like plants.  In Cuba there is no system to form musicians, no formal training...this was like a fever." With this CD he began to travel, with tours in Europe, and Latin America. "It never ocurred to me to live outside of Cuba.  Cuba for me is the greatest.  I began to travel and my mind began to expand... I began to see the world as my home.  I saw Cubans everywhere, and where I least expected to find them."  And all of them, after all, are Cubans just the same. "In Cuba there has always been a prejudice against the Cubans in Miami, but they are just as Cuban as those in Japan or Europe... just as diverse as the color of their skin, they are the same as all the other Cubans world wide.  I wanted to come to Miami, and while here I had a great time.   I had contact with the public, just like in Cuba - there was no difference." 

The time he spent in Miami gave him the material for a song called "Ya tengo amigos en Miami", on the CD entitled DE BUENA FE, which came out in 1997.  Unfortunately, as a result of the prejudice, that particular song contributed to the disappointing sales in Cuba.  It wasn't long after that he decided to follow his dream of developing his musical career in the USA, and after having visited, it seemed more of a possibility. At first he returned to Cuba, but he had recently separated from his wife, who had stayed in Miami with their daughter, at the home of her mother.  He felt distanced from his daughter and decided to return to Miami to be closer to her and to fulfill a personal challenge.  "I came for my daughter, my music and my ambition to take my music to the farthest corners of the earth...and to break the taboos."

"This is a very difficult market, and it means starting over from scratch.  But I don't want anything given to me (No quiero nada regalado), as Gilberto Santa Rosa says.  I want to be given the opportunity to work." Right now he is recording a demo that is really much more than a demo because there are 12 titles on it.  He hopes to have it finished by the end of the year.  The themes are more universal, of love and of human beings.

"There is no reason to inherit the hatred."

Jacira: "What do you think about all of the controversy surrounding Los Van Van in Miami?"
Manolin: "This had to have happened, and now it's over.  Politics dominates everything - it rules life in general.  What does politics have to do with plantains? Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  But there have always been two extremes: Cuba -- USA; Havana -- Miami.   This is a generational problem...it will be resolved with the passing of time.   There will always be people who, no matter how much you explain it to them, they won't understand.  Luckily, the majority does understand. The minority is what makes so much noise and doesn't understand.  The majority of people are coherent and they know.... both here, and there.  With regard to Los Van Van, there was no winner.   It was a conflict between Cubans.  The good thing is that now it is over, but it was not a victory for anyone.  As long as we see it in terms of "winners" or "losers", nobody wins. It is the never-ending story.   One cannot live his whole life in bitterness.  The son, or grandson of a man who was my grandfather's enemy, could today be a friend of mine.  There is no reason to inherit the hatred.  We Cubans should think about forgetting a little bit.   Fidel is controversial for Cubans.  Some see him as the God of Union, others as the God of Dissension.  With all due respect for Fidel, we should think, in the good sense of the word, about forgetting Fidel.  Especially the Cubans in Miami.   Passion is the enemy of reason."

Jacira: "What are your professional aspirations now?"
Manolin: "To begin again from scratch.  I am really, really looking forward to starting over.  I want to work....that the people give me the chance to work and to be who I am."

Jacira: "...And your personal dreams?"
Manolin: "To fall in love, marry, and have a family."

Jacira:   "Do you have a message for your fans?"
Manolin: "For my fans in Miami, I would like to say that they have been very good to me...they have always supported me and I am very thankful.
For my fans in Cuba, I would like to tell them thank you very much, because I owe it all to them...everything that I am today, and the fact that I have come here does not mean that I have abandoned them.  I have them here with me - they are the ones who give me strength.  Someday they will understand and I hope that they will feel proud of me."

--Miami Beach, October 29, 1999
(read another interview with Manolín done on May 26, 2001 HERE)

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