THE Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba (CFN) has reached the mythical age of 50, as full of vitality as ever. Its current director, Manolo Micler, affirmed to Granma International that the company will celebrate the anniversary in the same spirit in which it was founded, "Every time has its aesthetic… We are not a museum; we don’t do ethnographic reproductions, but rather folkloric works inspired by tradition."

That is how they were born, as one of the founders and current advisor Rogelio Martínez Furé said during a press conference, "Our idea was to create a professional folkloric dance company. One which would maintain popular traditions, not doing ethnographic reproductions, since only the people create folklore, no one can imitate a bembé, a Los Hoyos conga, the chants of a street vendor."

He explained that the group aspires "to create a traditional company which, without betraying true folklore, would respect the principles of the performing arts and present works with a script, a set, wardrobe, lights…"

Martínez Furé, 2002 National Prize for Dance winner, added that he now understands the challenge of developing popular instrumentalists and dancers as professionals, but that the group was inspired by "Mexico’s great folkloric companies (Mexican choreographer Rodolfo Reyes was the other CFN founder), Poland’s Mazowce, African ballets, such as Ghana’s, and even the Peking Opera."

Martínez Furé rightfully recalled that, early in the 20th century, Don Fernando Ortiz published his first scientific work which described the fundamental characteristics of folklore and acknowledged the support, in the 1960’s, of Argeliers León, director of the Cuban National Theater’s Folklore Department; Isabel Monal, director of the National Theater at that time; dramaturge Gilda Hernández; Raquel and Vicente Revuelta, "who lent us the rooftop terrace of the theater studio on Neptuno St."

Those first dancers, some 30-40, were selected among bricklayers, homemakers, street vendors, "men and women of the people, who worked in different occupations and had learned these dances as part of their family upbringing, preserving them as traditions. The selections were made on the basis of artistic knowledge and ability, as determined by individual assessments. Among the 56 initial members, the group included those well versed in Yoruba, Congo, Abakuá and Rumba expressions."

On May 7, 1963, the company held its debut at the Mella Theater with a performance which included works entitled as simply Ciclo Yoruba, Ciclo Congo, Ciclo Abakuá and Rumbas y Comparsas.

The company’s launch was a huge success, and took off from there, having now logged almost 100 international tours throughout Europe, America, Africa and Asia, with performances in prestigious venues in more than 300 cities, such as Paris, Moscow, Leningrad, Lima, Mexico, New York, Madrid, Florence, Warsaw, Algiers, Bogotá, Washington D.C., Berlin.

All of the company’s performances are wonderful, their movement, the precision of the dance steps and gestures, the wardrobe colors, the stage lighting, not to mention the drums, both sacred and secular played by true masters of the instruments, including the Batá. With all of these elements, an artistic expression is created, one which elevates popular music and dance to a new aesthetic category.

The National Folkloric Dance Company’s repertory includes more than 60 pieces, with such titles as Congos reales, Bailes populares, Sones y Apalencados, El Alafín de Oyó, Ciclo Arará and Tríptico oriental.

These include dances and chants brought to Cuba by enslaved Africans, ballroom dances, sones, rumbas, comparsas and street venders’ chants, as well as zapateo and sucu-sucu, rhythms from rural Cuban traditions.

Even a brief summary must acknowledge several essential names: Nieves Fresneda, doyenne of the dancers, who died November 1, 1980; Zenaida Armenteros, prima ballerina and singer, 2005 National Prize for Dance winner; and Lázaro Ros, the Akpwon leader of music with African origins (Havana, 1925-2005)

On the many tours he did with the company, Lázaro Ros recorded folkloric music for radio and television in Belgium, Algeria and Spain, for the collection

Chant du Monde in France, and the BBC broadcasting network in London. Included within his extensive discography are several collections of Yoruba chants such as Orisha Ayé; Yemayá, nominated for a Grammy, Oshún and Shangó.

After the press conference, the company’s director answered a few questions posed by this reporter and explained that the company currently includes 24 women and 21 men - the majority graduates of the National School of Arts - five singers and 11 percussionists.

"Every time has its aesthetic, its way of doing and, above all, most recently in the world of dance and in performance in general, there have been significant changes. We are not a museum; we don’t do ethnographic reproductions, but rather folkloric works inspired by traditions.

"As you saw [the company presented brief segments for the press], we have some pieces like Oriki Obbatalá, a chant for peace and justice, for which we’ve taken some very beautiful musical chants of Yoruba origins and added texts related to peace and justice by José Martí, in some ways changing the objective of the expression; as well as Olokum, by Santiago Alfonso, with much more contemporary language. We have choreographies by Alberto Méndez, such as El río y el bosque, which we did for our 45th anniversary. We are open to all aesthetics, as long as they are performed a la cubana. We don’t reject anything, on the contrary, we need to make all techniques our own, to enrich and expand our traditions."

"I would emphasize Rodolfo Reyes, of course, Ana Luisa Cáceres, Ramiro Guerra, Roberto Espinosa and some youth who are taking their first steps." (This reporter would add Micler himself, who has contributed a number of works to the company’s repertory.)

Current repertory?