The Sultasto guitar quartet reached its ninth anniversary on May 25. Behind the curious name that alludes to a code of stringed instruments that means "on the frets" and produces the sweetest sound, there is a whole work of empowered women: mothers, teachers of the El Cucalambé professional art school, and integral artists.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- Elvira Skourtis, leader of this brotherhood, has the antecedent of being part of the guitar quartet in the Cuban capital of the prestigious orchestra Sonantas Habaneras, of which she was the primary instrumentalist. She even participated in the I International Festival of Women Guitarists, held in Costa Rica, with this reduced format.
Upon arriving at Balcón de Oriente and maintaining her passion for chamber music, she became interested in creating a similar group. Thus, in 2014 Sultasto was born, made up of women who are also members of the Isaac Nicola guitar orchestra. In addition to her, Leydi Ramos, Annia Rodríguez de Armas, and Yuritza Hechavarría are members of the brotherhood.
The quartet's achievements to date have found a beautiful chapter in the birth of its first phonogram, entitled Mujer que sueña Guitarras, which was released by the Colibrí label and recorded at the Egrem Studios in Santiago de Cuba.
The album is made up of four sections, the first one dedicated to the piano music of the 19th century, with valuable messages: respect for our identity and the importance of approaching other instruments as well, since they made adaptations for the guitar.
The second block reveres the Latin American pentagram, of which they perform four works from Paraguay, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela. The third includes pieces by Sergio and José María Vitier, which accompany the cinematographic work and the work of some orchestras. En Silencio ha tenido que Ser, Julito el Pescador, and other anthological compositions are included in the selection.
The last section deals with four creations of Cuban trova with women's names, which is a tradition in Sultasto since it has in its repertoire around 20 songs inspired by women. Thus, they chose Para Bárbara (by Santiago Feliú), Giovanna (Gerardo Alfonso), Yisel (Raúl Torres), and Claudia vendrá (Eduardo Sosa), from different generations of authors.
"The album fills us with joy, among other reasons, because Colibrí is the record label related to heritage and concert music. The producer was Rafael Guedes and the sound engineer, was Hamlet Domínguez. In a single day, we recorded 16 songs, which was a reference, because we were the group that recorded there in the shortest time," Skourtis points out.
A singular fact is that Leydi was six months pregnant at that time, but she still participated in such a special process. "Although I was exhausted because of my condition, I felt comfortable, and excited to play and listen to the music being played. I learned a lot about technique. They were intense hours, but everything went well; it was worth it," she said.
"The dream of any artist is to record their work. We recorded during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic. But we rehearsed a lot and there is the result. We are happy," Annia added.
For her part, Yuritza commented: "Although I was not on the album (because at that time Maidelín Mora was taking over my current position), I am very happy to defend it. I am a professional bass player, but I have always been attached to the guitar and, especially, I am proud to defend its classical side".
Mujer que sueña Guitarras was nominated for the last CubaDisco in the Instrumental category and, although it did not win the award, reaching that position is already an achievement because it speaks of the quality of the work. "The nomination motivated our desire to do. Besides the pride in representing the province in this modality. It is a commitment. I believe in people, and in working for dreams. The muse comes, but it has to find you working," Skourtis said.
In this constant challenge of achieving synchrony and expressing feelings through chords, Sultasto advances. The gathering Del sueño a la Poesía (From Dream to Poetry), among other spaces, glimpse the virtuosity of four girls who do not stop their path in defense of culture.
"We are encouraged by the support of the people. Seeing, for example, how a full auditorium stands up, as happened in the Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba. Reaching people's hearts and souls matters to us," Elvira pointed out."
"For their commitment and sound values, the quartet has received applause, tears of emotion, to words such as those expressed by singer Berlis Fernandez: "I am proud of you. You have the gift to move, to place us in time and space."
Today they are working on collaborations with prestigious artists on the national scene. They share the joy that Elvira was approved to pursue her Doctorate in Music at the University of the Arts in Havana. But -above all they devote themselves to work, the key to happiness. Nilian Rodríguez, director of the Empresa Comercializadora de la Música y los Espectáculos Barbarito Díez, from Las Tunas, summed it up recently when she said: "Sultasto is a successful artistic unit. We need to multiply in others the passion they put into their work."
