Benicio del Toro Narrates the Story of Carlos Varela, ‘The Poet of Havana’: Watch a Preview
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Thirty years is a long time in the music industry. But for Cuban icon Carlos Varela — a key influencer of Cuba’s people, politics and culture — 30 years represents his journey of musical, spiritual and life experiences. He’s now ready to share memories that belonged to his past with fans, family and friends through a documentary called The Poet of Havana, narrated by good friend Benicio del Toro.
“When the crew filmed Benicio in Los Angeles, they noticed that he knew a lot about my career, and the producers decided to have him narrate my story. It is a blessing!” said Varela, who in December will release a new album that includes his greatest hits performed by his colleagues.
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Directed and produced by Canadian Ron Chapman, Poet of Havana — which is airing on HBO Latino and is also available On Demand — recalls memories of the early days of the revolution and how Varela discovered his voice, secretly listening to American radio by candlelight and dodging government-controlled raids. The footage also includes a series of interviews with American folk-rock legend Jackson Browne, salsa singer Luis Enrique and Brazilian musician Ivan Lins, among others.
Watch a peek bellow:
In a conversation with Billboard, Varela opened up about his life and challenges and shared his thoughts on the relationship between governments and how that benefited his career.
How does it feel to see your own story on TV?
It is a privilege for me to have a documentary narrated by Benicio del Toro where people can see the story of my life and the story of my songs. It has been 30 years already and I wanted to do something special.
How is your relationship with Benicio del Toro?
Benicio del Toro has great knowledge of my music, and of music in general. It’s a honor for me to have him as a friend because I respect him as an artist and I’m glad that I count with his support specially because it comes from his heart.
In one part of the documentary, they mention that in 2004 you had to cancel a concert in the U.S. because your visa was denied. How did you feel at that moment?
That show was sold out in Miami. I could see young people with their tickets protesting on the streets, and I wasn’t expecting that. They said things like, “How fair is to come to the free land [tierra de la libertad] and I can’t have my favorite artist.” But the same year I got the amazing news that [late film director and producer] Tony Scott wanted to use my song “Una Palabra” in one of his movies, and I felt like one door was closed but this opportunity opened a new one, because my music was traveling around the world.
Given the new political relationship between United States and Cuba, will you also make changes on your writing and your lyrical style?
I love Cuba, and I love Havana. Now my songs have more universal lyrics. What’s going to happen is that I’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with American artists which is something I could never do before. I won’t change the way I write or think but definitely I will embark on a new journey.
With whom would you like to collaborate?
I have a long list. But I can mention Paul Simon, Jackson Brown, James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen.
What have you learned during throughout these 30 years in music?
I have learned that I have many songs to be written even when I don’t have any time. But it motivates me to work hard every day.
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