Pedro Luis Ferrer, a popular irreverent, underground and critical singer

Saturday, 15 January 2011 06:55 Written by L.Calvo

Pedro Luis Ferrer, cuban singer

Fifty-eight years old, a long, productive artistic career and always noted for the popularity and quality of his work. In his own words, Pedro Luis Ferrer does "art for art; and though it may not rise to satisfy all tastes, art doesn´t respond to those who don´t ask, and that´s what counts;" and he is a believer that artwork not only meets needs, it also creates them.

He defines himself as, "a Cuban artist; but not because I have a aesthetic compromise with Cuban patriotism -- those are values extremely manipulated, even vilified. I am Cuban because I want to be."Equally, he admits, "I´m an incidental immigrant, which means that I live in my country, but I earn money working abroad. If not, I could´t buy equipment or even repair it. I´d rather make that money in Cuba, but cannot because of the many provisions or rather, administrative unwillingness." To give you an idea of what he means, Ferrer appeared in the National Folk Music Center´s catalogue, which earns around $20 CUC monthly, and a set of guitar strings costs around $100 CUC.

In the past two years in Cuba, Ferrer has only been officially scheduled for six concerts. The reason is clear: he says to the public what he thinks. "What I think is what I should say," Ferrer clarifies. "And when I get the chance, I say what I think and play concerts like I want to."

Ferrer has come closer to social reality, which has only made him take on his commitment as an independent operator even more. At no point has he considered himself a prisoner of anything, not even what he´s doing now.

He has many anthological songs such as, "Mariposa" (Butterfly), "Romance de la Niña mala" (Bad Girl´s Romance), "Inseminación artificial" (Artificial Insemination) and "Cómo me gusta 'hablal' español" (How I like to 'hablal' Spanish) to name a few.

This valuable and courageous author believes in the Asian saying: "The artist is the thunder and the people are the wind." Ferrer has the ability to make music, and as he says, "There are many ways to get it to the people. They´d have to create a law prohibiting people from listening to my songs."

Because of his position, Ferrer is practically excluded from grand stages, and has little to no promotion. Accustomed to this reality, he declared that he was pleased to play in a small theater, a café concert or a house patio. "I like a small space, the the festive intimacy. There´s nothing like singing for a group of friends and family," Ferrer said.

When you visit Havana, inquire, find out, investigate where Pedro Luis Ferrer could possibly be playing and see first-hand his quality and nobility.