An immigrant from Cuba who is famous in the U.S. and Europe will represent aboriginal northern B.C. on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Canada Day.
Was that easy enough to follow?
Alex Cuba was already a skilled musician when he moved from his home country to Smithers several years ago. Since then he has released a number of albums, all in Spanish with some occasional touches of English. They have made him into an international music star. Cuba has been nominated for a pair of Grammy Awards and has won four Latin Grammy trophies and two Juno Awards along the way. He has duetted with the likes of Jason Mraz, Ron Sexsmith and Nelly Furtado among many others.
With that level of power, Cuba was invited to perform at the nation's most prestigious party on July 1. He will be part of the Canada Day cultural festival that happens each year on Parliament Hill, and when he sings Directo, one of his hit singles from his 2009 self-titled album, it will not in fact be exclusively in original Spanish. It will also include the language of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation.
Their traditional territory takes in a large portion of the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District where his community is located. The Wet'suwet'en territory encompasses Telkwa, Quick, Houston, Burns Lake, south to Ootsa and Tahtsa lakes and west to Morice Lake, in rough estimates. Its diaspora is spread throughout northern B.C.
"I'd like to say it's a huge honour for me to be doing this. Ron Austin of Moricetown kindly translated it for me, came to our house and taught me how to pronounce the beautiful words," Cuba said. "It's a big honour to bring a little bit of Wet'suwet'en language, Wet'suwet'en voice to Parliament Hill when we play there on Canada Day."
Cuba said this gesture was one for the nation, but most importantly one for the local community in the Central Interior of B.C.
"Ron is working really hard with others in the community to save their language, creating a dictionary to preserve it," Cuba said. "As the only artist from B.C. performing there this year, it is my honor to bring a little bit of the sounds of the Wet'suwet'en language of northern B.C. - Smithers area - to Parliament Hill. I've been practicing the verse for a few days and really enjoying how musical the language is. From Spanish to English to Wet'suwet'en. Thank you Ron Austin. Viva Canada and its First Nations people."
Some of the other national music stars on the bill, Friday, in the spotlight at the nation's capital include Alex Nevsky, Indian City, Coeur de pirate, and headliners Metric. It is a mix of languages and cultures in artistic form, demonstrating the multifaceted mosaic that is Canada itself.
It's a point Cuba takes seriously, as someone who came to Canada with his brother Adonis Puentes as aspiring young musicians who spoke no English but, in quick order, became warmly embraced by audiences and communities. He recently posted a photo of himself crossing the first rainbow crosswalk in Smithers and said: "When humanity reaches a point where nobody feels threaten and have to hide who they really are, we will have arrived to what we've been dreaming about for centuries, the so called freedom. I'm very proud to live in Smithers."
The Ottawa event is traditionally one of the entertainment hotspots of the summer for Canadians. It includes the 9 a.m. changing of the Peace Tower guard, fly-bys by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, a blazing fireworks show, plus the conjoining Ottawa Jazz Festival and other Canada Day activities all over the capital region.
