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Under the Radar – An Afro-Cuban Music Documentary

Produced & Directed by J. Plunky Branch

For more than 40 years the United States has maintained an economic blockade against the Island of Cuba, restricting travel, investment and the exchange of information between Americans and their Caribbean neighbors just 90 miles south of Florida. At the same time, however, Afro-Cuban music has inarguably been recognized as some of the most vibrant and influential rhythmic music in the world.

Under the Radar - A Survey of Afro-Cuban Music is a documentary film that introduces viewers to the distinct music of Cuba and surveys the enigmatic island's current music scene. The film documents the travels and recordings of its producer/director, jazz saxophonist, J. Plunky Branch, and highlights the musical interactions and collaborations of Afro-Cuban musicians and rappers with noted Afro-American jazz musicians Craig Harris, Hamiet Bluiett and hip-hop producer Sir Fire.

J. Plunky Branch and executive producer, Alvin Bailey, both African-Americans, traveled under the auspices of a number of US universities, and in collaboration with the humanitarian organization, Pastors For Peace, to carry out this project. They traveled with digital recording equipment to Havana, Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba, to study and record a wide range of music and musicians. The results of their work is being disseminated through this 85-minute educational film and a series of three compilation music CD's.

The Making Of The Film

Originally, Alvin “Skipper” Bailey set out to make a documentary movie about the negative effects the US economic blockade is having on various sectors of the Cuban populace. He asked J. Plunky Branch to go to Havana to research and record music that could be used in the soundtrack for Bailey's earlier political film. For much of his 30-year music career Plunky had been performing jazz and African music and had always loved Afro-Cuban music so he eagerly accepted the opportunity to go work producing music in Cuba.

Because Skipper wanted to include some hip-hop and rap music in the soundtrack, Plunky decided to take his son, hip-hop producer Jamiah “Sir Fire” Branch, to Cuba also. Sir Fire would not only be able to produce rhythm tracks for the Cuban rappers, he also would use his skills as a video cameraman to document his and his father's work and the sights and sounds of their travels.

In April 2001 Plunky, Sir Fire and Skipper went to Havana to find and produce music for Skipper's earlier, un-released film. Cuban officials were supposed to have provided logistical support, musicians and a studio to facilitate the productions. In fact when the producers arrived in Cuba little had been done, so the Americans set out to find music groups, rappers and community musicians in Havana to record. Several fortuitous contacts were made, groups were recruited and the government did provide a theater workspace. In addition, recordings were made in a backyard, in private residences and in nightclubs.

After the two weeks in Cuba Plunky took the audio recordings back to his home studio in Virginia for mixing and mastering; and the resulting finished productions were outstanding. Realizing that there was tremendous academic and cultural potential in recording more of the Afro-Cuban music experience, the three producers decided to go back to Cuba three weeks later.

On their second journey, in addition to Havana they visited the eastern cities of Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba. The Cubans were so impressed with the quality of the recordings from the first trip; they were very helpful in providing music groups and facilities on the return trip. In the eastern region of the island where historically much of the Afro-Cuba music originated, several cultural groups were recorded and filmed.

Back in the US, when people would hear the music that had been produced or see clips of the video or hear about the experiences of traveling to study in Cuba, they would often comment about how little is shown or known about Cuba's people and culture. Because of the US government travel restrictions, there are few opportunities for US tourists to visit the island and few chances to see, hear and feel the culture.

The production of Skipper's original movie ran into several political, artistic and financial difficulties and eventually the decision was made to abandon that project. The video footage that Sir Fire and Plunky shot to document their own experiences working on producing music in Cuba would become Under the Radar , a documentary about Afro-Cuban music.

One lesson that the American producers learned is that Africans in the Americas share some common historical experiences as slaves and musicians. Under the Radar is a brief survey of current Afro-Cuban musical genres, several of which having evolved from denigrated folk musics to become highly regarded cultural identifiers and the bases for lucrative music business enterprises.

The US governmental policies of isolating Cuba through economic and political sanctions are designed to create conditions that would cause Cubans to want to change the regime of Fidel Castro who has been in power since the Cuban revolution of the 1950's. Inherent in the US policy is the idea of causing hardship, pain, and suffering of the ordinary citizens there, in order that they might rise up in opposition to their own government to effect regime change.

Often when governments are in opposition, they tend to demonize each other. Often in the propaganda and imagery and political objectives the lives of ordinary citizens are forgotten or at least not depicted. The suffering of a general populace might even be considered a necessary evil or side effect to some eventual positive outcome. People on both sides of a conflict can actually forget that the other side is really made up of other people; men, women and children; families with babies and elders; communities with similar goals and aspirations.

In the case of the United States and Cuba, we have two proximate countries, neighboring people with intertwined histories and a shared love of music. A better strategy for positive change might be to encourage cultural exchange and interaction between the peoples. A US governmental policy of sharing information and culture and being seen as being supportive might be a more effective governmental policy than 40 years of sanctions have proven to be.

Under the Radar offers a glimpse of the dynamic music of Afro-Cubans and the shared culture of Africans in the Americas. Under the Radar shows the music that can be a bridge and a medium of cultural exchange.