Alejo Carpentier

“I studied harmony and composition in a very spontaneous manner.”

“Even the pallid daughters of Albion forget for a moment their Pre-Raphaelite poses by burying themselves in the sonorous sortilege of the Antilles.”

“From the beginning, the sensation of the marvelous presupposes faith.”

“I had breathed in the atmosphere created by Henri Christophe, the monarch of incredible aims, much more surprising than all the kings invented by the surrealists.”

“I gladly accepted the commission but was uncertain about what the end result would be. On the one hand, Cuban music was conquering the world; being heard everywhere, and our small island was already producing one of the popular musical genres of the 20th century.”

“Those who have always had faith in its final success can do no less than rejoice as if it was our own triumph after five years of daily struggle to impose Cuban music on the European continent.”

“The concept of the marvelous begins to take form when it arises from an unexpected alteration of reality, the miracle.”