Havana Hi FI!

 

For my intercultural event, I went to go see the band, Havana Hi Fi, at 318 café. Havana Hi Fi is a Cuban musical group that also incorporates a lot of African and Caribbean influence into their music. They were great! The music was very upbeat and fun. The band consisted of a female lead singer, guitarist, bass guitarist, trumpet player and two drummers, one of the trap set and the other on bongos. While singing, the lead singer would dance and call out to the audience really bringing the people in. The songs were all in Spanish which was fun for me because I speak Spanish and could understand her! The café had a dance floor, which many people, including myself took advantage. The atmosphere definitely called people to the dance floor to salsa and just enjoy the music. Over all the crowd was super involved and the band was low key. It felt like everyone was a part of the group and it was a very fun event.

            To answer the questions provided for the intercultural event, a couple things I could tell about the culture hosting the event is that they were very welcoming. Everyone said hello as we walked in and sat down. The band members carried on long conversations with the audience when not performing about family, friends and other happenings. It also felt like everyone was being very sincere when asking you questions. The lead singer really cared where we went to school and why were there. There was a strong sense of pride in her heritage that came across when speaking with about her culture. There was also some cross-cultural communication going on at the event. The café owners were not a Latin American heritage but you could feel that they loved the culture that occupied their café. Also, some people from an Asian culture were at the event and it was very interesting to watch their reactions to the provocative, near wild dance moves that the lead singer could do. They looked a little bashful/embarrassed while watching. The communication itself was interesting as well. The Latin America culture includes lots of touching and hand movements which made the Asian couple seem even more reserved. They were both accommodating to each other’s preferred communication techniques and it looked successful overall.  Some values that were represented were definitely on interpersonal relationships. They connected with each other and very much so wanted to get to know each other better. Also many of the songs were about love and happiness and therefore I feel that the culture really embraces the ideas that go along with love and friendship. There was lots of dancing which portrays a cultural value on expression, art and exercise.

            The people were representing their cultural identity really only through language and behavior. There was no certain type of clothing or appearance. The majority spoke Spanish with each other while they could also speak English. They also just exhibited the cultural values I named before. The appearances of different people however were very different across the board. This led to a lack of in-group and out-groups. Everyone was so inviting and diverse that I did not feel like an out group member. At the same time however I did not feel like an in-group member, more so I felt like an observer. My feeling of inclusion could be because I speak Spanish also and could understand things on a deeper level and that made me part of the in group but even before my language skills were made known, I felt as if I belonged. I believe this is just a part of their culture. Latin American cultures are very loving and inclusive, making no one feel excluded.

            This event changed my preconceived notions a little bit but I went with my boyfriend and his opinions were greatly changed. He felt that Cubans were very different because of the communist status of their country. I believe that this event opened his eyes to how loving and friendly the Cuban culture is. I have visited Latin America before and the Caribbean so I knew that we would be embraced but I am still surprised by the welcoming smiles and hellos that I get every time I enter that type of culture.

            The nonverbal communication was very interesting to observe. While singing about love and happiness the lead singer danced. Salsa danced! It was so cool to see how she moved her hips and danced. She was very talented. Also she smiled whenever she sang. For those who do not understand Spanish, the message was clear because of her facial expressions and tone of voice. While the language barrier was up for some members of the audience the meaning of the songs was still very clear to everyone. Also the band members were very interactive with each other, a very open nonverbal communication. The body language showed that they were very comfortable with each other and also demonstrating their culture’s close proximity acceptance. The strongest thing about the nonverbal communication was how the band and singer were able to portray the message of the song even to those who didn’t speak the language.

 

 

            I did not experience any cultural shock. I was definitely a little nervous to get up and start dancing but everyone was very accepting and including. They seemed so happy I was trying that it didn’t matter if I was any good or not. I feel this was possible because of my ethnorelative tendencies. I embrace other cultures, especially Latin America cultures, and love to experience them! In contrast to this though, my boyfriend is very reserved and does not embrace other cultures very well. He seemed very uncomfortable at first when the lead singer started dancing and everyone started to pressure us to join is as well. He eventually loosened up and joined in. It took him a little longer because he is more ethnocentric. After the show, he expressed how he felt the culture shock of being somewhere so different than his normal situation. He also opened up afterwards saying how much fun he had. So while it intimidated him a little bit at first, he was glad he experienced it.

            This cultural event is important because it shows how music can break through language barriers and be a common bond between many cultures. The welcoming, friendly culture that Cuba has is often blocked because of political reservations people have. I think this kind of event shows people that Cuba is not what many people picture in their heads but is instead a culture full of life and love. By hosting events and welcoming outsiders so much to the point they don’t even feel like outsiders, Cubans are able to change people’s views on foreign affairs. Their collectivist values and consideration for each other probably has something to do with their political choices. Rather than looking down on them for their beliefs or way of life (such an individualistic way to thinking) we should embrace the differences and look for the good in this amazing culture. The dancing and music was such a nice change of pace for me and I enjoyed it very much. This cultural event was able to show their cultural values and beliefs by the importance they put on each other.

            I have included videos and pictures of the event. While I was not able to get many pictures of people dancing (mostly because I was out there too and didn’t want to live the night behind a camera lens) there is a good representation of the type of music and dance moves the lead singer had.