We recently heard his name through different media, when the percussionist from Cienfuegos Daniel Adel González Padilla won First Place in the Percussion Contest of the XX Edition of the Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam International Drum Festival, an event chaired by percussionist Gerardo Piloto .
Regarding this event, he gave us a few words, in which we can get closer to the career of the young musician from Cienfuegos, who is currently studying his middle level at the National School of Music in Havana and has had very good awards.
“Since I was born I have been listening to a lot of music, because my mother used to put me in the corral so that I could see the rehearsals of the Clave Abierta orchestra, led by my uncle, the bassist Rafael Padilla. Among all the instruments, percussion always caught my attention. From so much looking, the rhythm began to hit me. At the age of five I started in Los Aragoncitos de Cienfuegos, under the direction of Iván García and I was there until they disintegrated. He played keys and sang. They called me the mascot of the group because I was the smallest. Later, when I was 8 years old, I started at Ismaelillo together with maestro Gonzalo Bermúdez. With them I learned many things for my general education. The second one taught me to play the xylophone, I had already been playing pailas in a self-taught way and Gonzalo gave me very good advice. I spent 4 years in Ismaelillo and later became part of the musical group of the Abrakadabra Theater Company directed by Justin Polo, playing mainly the pans.
“At that time I entered the Benny Moré School of Art and started with the teachers Yasel Ruiz Vázquez and Joel Francisco Vives Correa, very good. I had many opportunities, I played with a jazz band at the Terry Theater and in 8th grade at the age of 14, Brenda Navarrete came and I performed with her at Café Terry. All the musicians were professionals, except me. Then I started my intermediate level in Santa Clara, and I had Pututi (Alexis Arce, father) as a teacher, who supported me a lot, especially on the timbale. Later I transferred to the National School of Music, where I have had teachers like Enrique Plá García, one of the great legends of drums in Cuba, from Irakere; Also José Julián Morejón Pino, better known as JJ, from Havana and José Eladio Amat, another important percussionist, has helped me a lot.
“In Havana I played the drums with the Jazz Band of Maestro Joaquín Betancourt. That experience was very emotional, we accompanied the Spanish singer Pilar Boyero, who had been doing a concert dedicated to Rocío Jurado. We went to the Sauto theater in Matanzas, we played at the National Theater and at the Old Havana Amphitheater. It was very beautiful. I have had the pleasure of meeting Giovanni Hidalgo, one of the best percussionists in the world, tumbador, and even playing for him. Another great experience was the Percussion Contest of the Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam Drum Festival 2023. I learned a lot with the other contestants and also from the teachers in charge of the master classes. Oliver Valdés and Alain Pérez gave some conferences that were beautiful. Despite my nervousness, I was happy to have reached the final of the Drum Festival, I had already made myself known to many people and that was important. I turned out to be the First Place of the XX Edition of the Drum Festival. I thank all the teachers, Piloto, Bombón (Roelvis Reyes Simonó), Ruly Herrera, and the production too. The competition began on March 1, on the 2nd was the final and on the 4th the awards ceremony.
“Now I created my own orchestra at school, our goal is to continue representing Cuban music. We have drums, timpani, tumbadoras, piano, bass, the complete brass string, electric guitar and singers.”
My best wishes to Daniel Adel González Padilla, a young percussionist from Cienfuegos who is celebrating his laurels and continues to focus on his professional preparation with all the seriousness that an artistic career requires.