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Article: Cuban-born drummer feels beat from the heart
- Article from:
- Press-Telegram Long Beach, CA.
- Article date:
- October 12, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Press-Telegram Long Beach, CA. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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LONG BEACH -- For 78-year-old master drum-maker Felipe Garca
Villamil, the drum is the heart and soul of Cuban music.
"It's what you feel in your body," the Cuban-born drummer said in
Spanish. "It's in the heart."
Villamil performed with his Afro-Cuban group Emikeke at Long
Beach's Museum of Latin American Art last month as part of a free
event called "Canciones del Alma" or "Songs of the Soul."
Aside from performing for more than 70 years, Villamil is also a
master craftsman who makes his own instruments - a skill that's in
his blood.
Villamil was born in Matanzas, Cuba, to a family rooted in
African traditions. His mother is the granddaughter of drum makers
from Oyo, now the country of ...