The Now Sounds of Alex Cuba
Interview by Tom Chandler

photo by Evelyn Molina

Alexis Puentis is an amazing guitarist. You may not get the full effect from his debut album Humo de Tobacco, but when he played live at Rasputin in Berkeley, he was stunning. Accompanied by congas, Puentis (or should we call him Alex Cuba?) brought the new wave of Cuban music to America. This is the music of the sons of the Buena Vista Social Club, rooted in tradition but decidedly forward thinking as well. Humo de Tobacco, besides a smoking band, also features guest spots from Chucho Valdes, Ron Sexsmith and Jason Mraz. Who would've thunk it?

Tom Chandler: You have a good time when you play!

Alexis Puentis: Oh yeah!

TC: Where did you learn to play guitar?

AP: My dad taught me from very early. Right now he's sixty-two years old. He has a band in Artemisa, about an hour from Havana. A very musical town. Many Cuban monsters are from there. Arturo Sandoval…

TC: Is it something in the water?

AP: I don't know, in the air? I'm thirty-one years old now, and I've been in music for twenty-one years. You have eyes, but you don't really need them anymore. Always when you play, you have to get into it.

TC: Do you play music with your dad?

AP: Oh yes.

TC: How often do you get to go back?

AP: At least once a year.

TC: What's better: Cuba or North America?

AP: Ummm…

TC: That's a mean question to ask, isn't it?

AP: Yeah! (Laughs), I have kids and a family here, and I don't really have time to miss Cuba too much. But I do miss it, especially my parents.

TC: How did this CD come about, with the famous guest stars, and all that?

AP: We didn't plan too much. It was just good timing. We went to Havana, and all the studios had dropped their prices, because it was sort of the off-season, not too many musicians around. But the few that happened to be around, we put a band together.

TC: And Jason Mraz?

AP: That's a funny one, you won't believe this, but I haven't met him. (laughs) It happened with Ron Sexsmith as well. He was in London or something. I did my part in Canada, sent him the tape. We met three months after that.

TC: I guess you could do that with everything, right? Just sit in your room and never go out.

AP: Yes! That's why performances like this one are so important, they keep it real.

TC: Had you met Teddy (the conga player) before?

AP: No. This is the first time we ever met. It's easy when you have lots of choices, in a place like Cuba, where you pick up a rock and underneath there's seventy musicians! It's easy to make a band, or whatever. But in Canada, I learned to make it work with whatever you have. In New York, we'll have a band, but this is the first time I've been on American soil, so I have to get it in people's ear. Hopefully by the next time, the political situation between America and Cuba will be over and I can bring whoever I want!