You belong to the so-called “Forgotten Generation” of Cuban music. Shortly after your musical career began in 1960, along came the embargo between Cuba and the United States. How did that effect affect your work?

I didn’t feel like I was cut out from musical development. It’s true, we couldn’t buy any more American records, but of course we listened to Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and all. For us Cuban musicians things got harder, and it was more difficult to distribute our music. However, we developed our concepts further and created a new style so that for example we could meld our traditional Cuban music with American Jazz. The Cuban music had a new sound that opened new paths and renewed itslf.

You played drum set for many years in the biggest Cuban bands until you switched over to Timbales. The drum set is not actually an original Cuban percussion instrument.

That’s right; it comes out of the Anglo-Saxon musical tradition. However, it is part of a large spectrum of rhythmical possibilities, and Cuban music easily assimilates other influences. My agenda was to inject our traditional music with the drum set sound, and let the Cuban rhythms take on new colours from this instrument. My dream was to create a comfortable enhancement of our music through the drum set. It shouldn’t replace our percussion instruments, but rather take on a new roll within the music. The tradition and flavour of a culture is something one must always respect, however one can find a little sprout of something, join it with the existing traditions, and come up with a whole new development.

What did the success of the film mean for your career?

The ed was more important for me. Before the film was released, we had an European tour of the “Afro-Cuban All Stars” with Ruben Gonzales. For me that was the breakthrough into the international music scene. That’s how I became internationally known. Well, with “Buena Vista Social Club.” and Cuban music becoming an international hit and all, that has lead to more offers and requests. But I have not changed my lifestyle. I still live in the same house.

How did it happen that you work with MEINL, a German company?

At the 1993 Expo de Musica in Sao Paolo, the Brasilian representative for MENL first approached me. A couple of years later, I met with Norbert Saemann at the Jazz Festival in Munich, and he proposed that we make an Artist Series Timbales. For me that was a big acknowledgement. MEINL is something like a title of nobility, that you cannot buy or sell.

What advises can you give to young drummers?

Be respectful of tradition and be open for what is new, practice a lot and experiment even more. And if you would know Amadito, that’s not bad at all…(laughs)