Paco Miranda, His Highness on the radio I
Paco Miranda, a name and a physical figure, put together in the history of Contramaestre as if to last for ages.
This kind of artist, broadcaster, radio writer, entertainer of shows and conductor of transcendental public events in Contramaestre, does not seem to grow old in spite of the ups and downs of the times and his immense artistic responsibilities in Grito de Baire Radio.
Francisco Miranda Tasé, the beloved Paco Miranda, walks through the streets of his village, integrating himself with the feelings of thousands of listeners from his second small homeland, but also with the millions of human beings on the planet who connect with digital radio and rightly appreciate the good music and the information that flows from it.
Precisely, as part of his work as a radio broadcaster and staunch defender of the music that identifies Cuba and Cubans, a prize was born that surprised Paco, a man little inclined to direct his steps towards this type of recognition.
Paco does not do radio in Contramaestre; he also takes his artistic work to the provincial sister of Granma. And he does on Radio Bayamo the program “Con cadencia” (“With cadence”).
This program recently obtained 4 prizes in the Provincial Festival of the Radio in Granma. “Paquito” was involved, as his co-workers and friends affectionately call him. He was really surprised, although he narrated the experience as reviewing a norman day of work:
Q: How did you hear about your award?
A: It turns out that I was invited to the 41st session of the Provincial Radio Festival of the province of Granma, at the cultural center Mi Tumbao of ARTEX. Previously they told me that I should be there because it seemed that on this occasion “there was something”. What I least imagined was the great amount of prizes that the program “Con Cadencia” had obtained. And I received the surprise of obtaining the Grand Prize for Musical Programs, Prize for the Best Screenplay, Prize for the program specialized in dealing with Music and Best Male Voice Over.
Q: How was the award-winning program created?
A: The program was dedicated to highlighting the values of the Cuban national dance, the danzón. This is precisely the objective of the “Con Cadencia” program that I usually do on Radio Bayamo. This was an idea that I welcomed with great affection, from a great friend who asked me one day to cooperate in this endeavor. It is about the doctor Jesús Rodríguez Román who is fulfilling an internationalist mission in Namibia.
Around “Con Cadencia”, I have taken advantage of the possibility of learning a little more, because besides doing the program, I have been forced to investigate a little more about danzón, that tremendously Creole genre, because it has strengthened our identity. There are 140 years already of being made official by the master Miguel Failde in Matanzas, since that famous musical Las Alturas de Simpson. Since that date the danzón has had a prominence from the circles of Cuban admirers and dancers that continue in time and space throughout the country.
This is the genre for musicians of the current generation to identify with that genre of the cinquillo and compose around its rhythm.
Paco Miranda, His Highness on the radio II
Written by Angel Del Toro Fonseca
