Who needs Spanish when you've got a saxophone? A music-lover proves that disability access is just another improvisation in Havana's jazz scene.
Best viewed as a video
https://youtu.be/Qz9Rm89LHD0
Summary
Danny, Health Hats, chronicles his week-long trip to Cuba in January for a music-cultural exchange. Using a wheelchair and playing baritone saxophone, he traveled with a group of 11 from the States, organized by Dan Fox and Arlington MA's Morningside Studios.
The group participated in a "Band Camp" hosted by the Havana Music School, receiving daily individual lessons, rehearsing in ensembles, and performing Cuban music at a restaurant. Despite Danny's initial anxieties about traveling with his disability and instrument, he found Cubans accommodating and helpful.
The podcast features an interview with Claudia Fumero, manager of the Havana Music School, who discusses:
The school's focus on teaching Cuban music to foreign visitors
How the business began and evolved from connecting students with teachers in their homes to having a dedicated facility
Her dream of expanding with more instruments and creating a small café where people can play music
The episode is interspersed with musical performances by the ensembles, including renditions of "Sofrito" and "Afro Blue" by Mongo Santamaria. The group also attended the Havana Jazz Festival each night during their stay.
Click here to view the printable newsletter with images. More readable than a transcript, which can also be found below.
Contents
Table of Contents
Toggle
ProemPodcast introBlending Language and CultureHavana Music SchoolHavana Music School – Morningside Studios ConnectionManaging the BusinessManaging the StayEmployer of Musicians Call to actionDreamsTraveling with DisabilitiesWhy Cuba?More MusicReflectionPodcast OutroRelated episodes from Health Hats
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Production Team
You know who you are. I'm thankful.
Inspired by and Grateful to
Dan, Peter, Ann, Sonja, Jeff, Deb, Bob, Richard, Pachy, Claudia, Gisselle, Miguel, Alejandro, Mauri, Leo, Adrian, Angelito, Lazaro
Links and references
Morningside Studios
Morningside Studio Tours
Havana Music School on Instagram
The Second Ensemble performance featuring Jeff Stout, Deb Larkin, Bob Salitsky, and Dan Fox
Havana Jazz Festival 2025
Sofrito by Mongo Santamaria
Mambo Inn by Mario Bauza
Afro Blue by Mongo Santamaria
Lagrimas Negras by Miguel Matamoros
Guantanamera by Jose Marti/JoesitoFernandez
Proem
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand. — Stevie Wonder.
My nighttime voices bombarded me. How can you go to Cuba as a musician? You’re not good enough. Your wheelchair won’t make it over their crumbling roads and sidewalks. Your horn is too big and heavy with everything else. You can’t do too many stairs. You don’t speak Spanish. You won’t be safe. I hate those deflating voices.
I should be excited about this chance of a lifetime. I completely trust Dan Fox, our guide and arranger. My disabilities do not define me. Helpful people are everywhere. I’m going with my partner of fifty years. We love music and culture. Who cares about politics?
What the heck? We went. Welcome to the story of our adventures.
Podcast intro
Welcome to Health Hats, the Podcast. I'm Danny van Leeuwen, a two-legged cisgender old white man of privilege who knows a little bit about a lot of healthcare and a lot about very little. We will listen and learn about what it takes to adjust to life's realities in the awesome circus of healthcare. Let's make some sense of all of this.
Blending Language and Culture
Music alone can abolish differences of language or culture between two people and invoke something indestructible within t...