Transcript: Ancestors Talk Through Drums

MAN: I think my ancestors talk to me through the drums. They tell me to keep the faith. They teach me to believe.

BOY: When I was little, it just came to me, I want to play drums. I want to play conga, I want to play bongo, I want to play timbales.

MAN: This boy wants to play drums.

MAN: It’s important to me to pass the tradition down to the next generation.

MAN: I remember as a child, we learned the music on the streets. There was a lot of jam sessions around, in the barrio right here, and all the neighborhoods. Because in those days when we came up, there was no schools. There was Joe the barber or Pete the taxi cab driver that were musicians at night. Rhythms carry a lot of power. They are very hypnotic. They carry a lot of wisdom in them and they’ve survived hundreds of years.

BOY: Slave owners never let them talk to each other, so, by playing, they would talk to each other.

CAMILO: One bro would play... [ slapping knees ] and the other one would play, you know... They would be talking, an answer and response. That covers both claves. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. When you do that, you have both claves.

ALMENDRA: It’s very rare that we get a kid like Camilo, who wants to do it, has the drive to do it. I’ve always got every beat from Johnny like this, like in a snap. Bomba.

ALMENDRA: He’s learning a lot of different styles of music. Rumba from Cuba. I teach him Bomba from Puerto Rico, Plena. I mean, you name it, he’s doing it. That was a good class. It’s always good to have something to drink after...

GAET•N: Johnny is the best teacher. Before he played with Timbolia, he played with Jovani Dalgo.

GAET•N : Mostly he talks about music. Sometimes he tells me about when he was young. I played with him as well.

ALMENDRA: camilo started with me when he was 4 years old. He’s really talented. We play a lot of music together. He’s played in my band. He’s becoming a really great soloist.

GAET•N: When I’m drumming, my mind just goes blank. It’s fun.

ALMENDRA: What we worked on, he’s using and doing it on stage. And sometime he will have the opportunity to share, to pass on whatever he’s learned. Because that’s the only way that we will have this music survive.

WOMAN: Camilo Gaetan!