Page B5
November 15, 2000
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Country: The
Arturo
Sandoval
Story
The H BO Film s presentation “For
L o v e o f C o u n try : T h e A rtu ro
Sandoval S tory,” stars A ndy G arcia
(nom inated for an A cadem y A w ard
and G olden G lobe for “T he G odfa­
ther, Part III” ) in the true story o f a
man tom betw een love for his family,
passion for m usic, and a dream o f a
better life in A m erica.
A rturo Sandoval, a brilliant C uban
trum pet player, sacrifices his oppor­
tunity to defect w hen he falls in love
with m arianela, a beartuful govern­
ment em ployee loyal tot he state, and
resolves to provide his fam ily w ith
the best life possible under the op­
pressive C astro governm ent. B ut
w hen he is no longer able to perform
the music he loves, Sandoval and his
w ife devise a desperate plan to defect
with the help o f m usic legend D izzy
Gillespie.
Since his arrival in the U nited
States, A rturo Sandoval has received
12 G ram m y nom inations, w inning
three. A founding m em ber o f the
Cuban group Irakere, S andoval w on
his first G ram m y in 1978; during his
tenure w ith Irakere Sandoval began
his life-altering friendship w ith Dizzy
Gillespie. In the decade since his de­
fection Sandoval has perform ed at
the Super Bow l halftim e show , the
G ram m y A w ards and the O scars. He
m aintains one o f the m ost extensive
w orldw ide tour schedules in the in­
dustry, and is also a tenure professor
at Florida International U niversity.
The film, “For Love o f Country” de­
buts Saturday at 9 p.m. It stars M ia Mae-
strof Tango”), GloriaEstefan(“M usicof
theHeart"),David Paymer(“QuizShow,”
HBO’s “Crime o f the Century”) and
Charles S. Dutton (“Roc, "Emmy-winner
for direc ting H B O 's'T h e C o m e f’).
Michael
Harrison
C ontinued from F ront P age
has alw ays been an outspoken advo­
cate o f higher density residential
developm ent and row houses, and
his proposals for these features pro­
duced civil w ars in the Irvington and
O verlook neighborhoods.
N or did m any businesspeople and
property ow ners care for the rezon­
ing o f m uch o f N ortheast M artin
L uther K ing Jr. B oulevard for high-
density housing. “T here are com m u­
nities that have declared them selves
H arrison-free zones," Janik said at
the roast. Fred M eyer w ent further -
according to H arrison, ch ie f execu­
tive O ran Robertson tried to have him
fired w hen he opposed a rezoning to
allow construction o f the H ollyw ood
W est store. “A s a native O regonian,
I’d love to turn the tap that stops
people from m oving here and having
babies," H arrison said at a recent
meeting. “T he trouble is, no o n e’s
ever told m e w here it is. “H ow ever, he
also has show n a w illingness to listen
and change. D uring the A lbina Plan,
he declared he w ould m eet “ anytim e
anyw here w ith any group o f three or
more people.” A fter such discussions
he reduced the p la n ’s zoning density
considerably in som e areas. “ H e
brings his values to the table, and is
his ow n person,” consultant and ur­
ban studies professor Sum ner Sharpe
says. H e’s som etim es a lightning rod,
but he causes people to think. “ C om ­
m issioner C harlie H ales rem oved
Harrison from the Southw est C om ­
m unity Plan effort w hen a discussion
map calling for higher density pro­
duced a public outcry. H ow ever,
Hales says, “ It’s a pretty big deal to
lose M ichael. He w as a new urbanist
who believed in city life w hen that
was a m ovem ent am ong a very sm all
group o f people. W e ’ll m iss his insti­
tutional m em ory. “Form er Planning
C o m m is s io n
p r e s id e n t
R ic k
M ichaelson says, “ H e ’s been the
hardest w orking, longest lasting per­
son w ith creative ideas w e’ve seen in
som etim e.”
>1
Brazil's incomparable Balé Folclórico da Bahia comes to Portland with their dynamic AJro-Brazilian rhythms, they w ill be at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on
Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Brazil’s Best Dance Troope: Bale Folclorico da
B y C hris P erry for T he P ortland
O bserver
A very exciting perform ance is
com ing to Portland on D ecem ber 5,h
at the O regon Sym phony. Bale
Folclorico da Bahia is the best dance
troupe o f traditional dance in all o f
Brazil.
T he B ale w ill be show ing o ff
Sam ba, Sam ba R eggae, M aculele,
Sam ba de Roda, and C apoiera dances
and m usic w ith all their intricate cos-
tum es and w ild pulsing drum m ing.
T h is in te rn atio n ally acclaim ed
dance com pany finds their talented
dancers and drum m ers through youth
program s they provide to the poor
children in Salvador, Bahia. The closer
listeners can get to the m usical roots
o f everyday life in B razil, the m ore
raw , authentic, and exuberant the
music and dance becom es. Bahia is a
canvas o f constant experim entation,
w here m usicians an d dancers take
their sam bas and fuse them with other
African based music from all o ver the
world. All kinds o f wonderful fusions
o f m usical styles occur. O ne o f the
m ost su c c e ssfu l lately has been
Sam ba R eggae. This is the type o f
drum m ing that becam e so popular in
the U nited States when Paul Sim on
hired the Bahian drum group, Olodum
to back him on his “Rhythm o f the
Saints” album .
U sing large surdo drum s to keep
the reggae pulse, sam ba reggae lay­
ers sam ba riffs over the top and often
uses reggae songs in a call and re­
sponse style.
T he roots o f Sam ba are in Bahia,
w here pow erful drum m ing, singing
sensuality and African religion all get
m ixed up into a raw passion for life in
dance. In Brazil it is not unusual to
dance and sing and play m usic all
night — to be totally sw ept up and a
part o f the music at the m ost basic
level. This concert is the closest we
can com e to that experience w ithout
going to Brazil for C am aval.
The performance is scheduled for
Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets
for this Oregon Symphony non-or­
chestra Special Events presentation
range in price from $ 15 to $50 and may
be obtained by calling 503/228-1353, or
visit the Sym phony’s W eb site at
www.orsvmphonv.org.
First Black in Oregon was Friend to English Naval Hero
B y R on W eber for T he P ortland
O bserver
F our hundred and tw en ty one
years ago, the first A frican A m erican
se t foot on o u r Pacific N orthw est
soil. Som e say it w as near San F ran­
cisco, but evidence is continuing to
m ount that it w as actually here in
O regon. Just north o f N ew port in
W hale C ove, m ight have been the
last resting place o f this m an, a tall
free B lack Pirate and friend o f Sir
Francis Drake.
H is nam e w as D iego. W hen he
decided to defect from the Spanish
w ho treated him so cruelly and later
jo in e d up w ith the enem y, the E n­
glish, he probably had no idea he
w ould becom e so fam ous. D ieg o ’s
brutal uprooting form his n ative A f­
rican country by P ortuguese and
S panish slave traders in the early
1500’ s w ould catapult this unknow n
m an into a fierce struggle o v er the
location o f w here he and an E nglish
ship landed in A m erica.
Seven years earlier, during a v i­
cious on-going struggle for control
o f N om bre de D ios, a rich Spanish
shipping port in the N ew W orld, D i­
ego m et and becam e friends w ith one
o f E n g lan d ’s greatest naval heroes.
S ir Francis D rake. A cting on one o f
his closely held m ottoes, “ A n enem y
o f m y enem y is m y frien d ,” D rake
form ed a bond w ith this 6 ’6” tall
A frican N egro that w ould forever
change the course o f history.
W ith the help o f D iego, a m em ber
o f the C aribbean C im arrone tribe,
D rake w ould deal crushing blow s to
the S panish throughout the C arib­
b e a n a n d W e s t I n d ie s . T h e
Cim arrones (also spelled Cimaroons)
w ere renegade black slaves w ho ran
aw ay from their Spanish captors.
Sickened by the cruel and immoral
treatm ent o f the slaves by the Span­
ish and his m entor, John H aw kins, Sir
Francis D rake turned “ex-slaver" at a
very young age. Instead o f taking
part in the inhum ane acts o f dragging
blacks aw ay from their W est A frican
fam ilies and hom elands to be sold as
slaves for “cheap labor in the N ew
W orld,” D rake had oth er plans. He
knew he could m ake m ore m oney
pirating Spanish boats and shipping
ports. H e also had secrets on how to
do it. B y treating the C im arrones as
friends, he instantly had an arm y on
his side.
A s p art o f this strange and close
friendship betw een these tw o men,
D iego w ould also becom e the first
rep o rted A frican circum navigator
sailing around the w orld. On a trip
alo n g th e w e st c o a s t o f N o rth
A m erica, D rak e’s ships w ould stop
in num erous ports for boat repairs
an d supplies. O ne extended stay in
1579 w as said to be in a port either
near San Francisco or a sm all port in
O regon nam ed W hale Cove. As the
argum ent goes on, a few things are
clear. B esides sailing around the
w orld and being the first o f his race
to arrive on the w est coast, D iego
was know n to stand side by side with
Sir Francis D rake in vicious fights to
the death against the Spanish and to
walk m iles w ith him, sw inging heavy
blades to cut their w ay through snake
infestedjungles. H e served D rake for
m any years, first m eeting him in the
w inter o f 1572. In 1578, it was re­
ported that D iego m ight have died in
a battle w ith Indians w ho thought
D rake and his men were enem ies. An
E nglishm an uttered the w ord agua,
thinking the Indians w ould under­
stand that the English w anted W a­
ter. H earing the S panish word, sev­
eral hundred Indians attacked im m e­
diately. A n E nglishm an nam ed John
B rew ers took seventeen arrow s and
died a few days later. D rake w as
alm ost killed, taking tw o arrow s to
the body and one ju st below his right
eye. B ecause he w as six and a h alf
feet tall, D iego m ade a big target. He
w as hit tw enty tim es. Besides one
report that D iego m ight have died
shortly thereafter, there were several
other accounts show ing him to have
recovered, continuing on with Drake.
T heir next stop was the west coast,
hom e o f the Pacific Northwest. After
D iego helped coordinate repair o f
the boats, getting them read y fo r
th e lo n g trip b a c k to E u ro p e , th e
sh ip s w e re lo a d e d w ith fo o d an d
w a t e r . T h e s e r v i c e s o f th e
C im a rro n e s w e re no lo n g e r
n e e d e d . D ieg o w a s n e v e r m e n ­
tio n e d ag a in . It is a s su m e d th a t
he sta y e d b a c k h ere .
F in d in g a s k e le to n th a t d a te d
to th e sa m e tim e o f D ie g o ’s b ein g
on th e w e s t c o a s t an d m a tc h in g
h im in h is ra re siz e d u rin g th o se
tim e s a d d e d fu e l to th e fire th a t
k ee p s b u rn in g h o tte r.
s un “home run”,
y avanza directamente...
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