by Arianna Kemis
Havana, Cuba
“I was four years old,” he had said. “I listened to music,
and I felt it.”
I never knew that amidst the waving jungle trees and clucks
of Cuba’s national bird, the tocororo, I would find a story of music and a
lifestyle that epitomizes the struggle of life and love in Cuba.
There, listening to his performing group, I met Junior
Santana, a 30-year-old saxophone player and lifelong citizen of Cuba. He was
intrigued by why I came to Cuba, and I videoed him as he played
enthusiastically for our group.
