My Life Before Me
My Life Before Me is a documentary short about the life of Afro-Cuban folkloric musician and Lukumi (Santeria) priest Carlos Lazaro Aldama Perez.
Carlos’s life has been dedicated to his cultural music and religion. His story illustrates the idea that culture is a living thing; it is not limited by geographical borders, but exists within people and thrives on social exchange. The film explores how African traditions survived slavery and how they are now thriving two centuries later not only here in California, but all over the world.
Carlos was born in Havana Cuba in 1938. His mother is of African ancestry, and father is mixed Chinese and African ancestry. Though he had a strong traditional education there were not many opportunities for young men of African ancestry prior to the Cuban Revolution (1959). After the revolution, this changed dramatically. Carlos was recognized for his depth of knowledge in African Diaspora culture and was invited to be a co-founder of the Ministry of Culture, Havana Cuba (1959). He then also became the co-founder of Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba (1962).
He also worked closely with Lydia Cabrera one of the most widely published scholars on Afro-Cuban Diaspora religions and producer of the historic Smithsonian Folkway Recordings (1956-57). The knowledge that he has was passed to him orally by his teacher Jesus Perez “Oba Ilu”. Jesus Perez was the original musical director of CFNC. After Jesus moved on, Carlos became the musical director for the next fifteen years of the total twenty-eight years in which he remained with CFNC. During that time he traveled the world with the group performing some of the most prestigious stages in the world, from Paris to Moscow, from Lima to Mexico City, New York to Toronto, Madrid to Florence, Varsovia to Argel, Accra to Kinshasa to name a few. Both the Cuban government and the Ministry of Culture have recognized Carlos for significant contribution to the richness and livelihood of Afro-Cuban traditions.
Directed by
Banker White
documentary short