“One always feels encouraged, I am very happy that I have been publicly acknowledged This is my town… I was born here in Contramaestre, I am from here. I have had many proposals to go to Havana in all these years and I have always remained here and I will die here because my thing has always been the culture and the town of Contramaestre”.
He is Roberto Tejadilla Isaac, a purebred son of Contramaestre. The 45th edition of the Culture Week, which began in this city on January 30 and will last until February 5, the 111th anniversary of the founding of Contramaestre, is dedicated to him.
Tejadilla, as everyone knows this cultural personality, showed an inclination towards music since he was in elementary school at the Willian Soler School in this town. This interest was cultivated in other levels of education, because in Santiago de Cuba, when he was a university student, he was a member of the Granma group of fans of the nueva Trova (New Song). In that journey he participated in several events and festivals that gave him prestige and recognition as a musician.
“I participated in many festivals of the new trova and national festivals of the university student federation, we had concerts on the steps of Havana, with the Moncada group, also in several tours nationwide with the Granma group and the boys of the new song”.
After finishing his university studies and graduating with a degree in economics in 1980, he returned to Contramaestre, where he joined the popular dance music group Los Astros as an amateur.
“I started with Los Astros when they won the national festival of amateur artists in 1984 until now, on May 1st, I will celebrate 35 years of professional work. With Los Astros I have participated in many festivals, in many radio programs, television programs, in several international festivals; Matamoros Son of Santiago de Cuba, of the festival of the Fire that is the festival of the culture of Caribbean origin… for me it has been a pride to have contributed to that the culture was known more through the music of Contramaestre in Cuba”.
Roberto Tejadilla deserved recognition for his contribution to the culture of Contramaestre. Although he was also cultivated in sports; undoubtedly he reached greater connotation as a professional musician, condition that he maintains in an active way.
Some time ago the National Association of the Blind here, an organization of which he is a member, requested his help to train the musicians of the artistic brigade of the ANCI. Its organizer, Lino Remesar Miranda, valued Tejadilla’s contribution.
“Tejadilla is a personality who has devoted his whole life to culture. Within ANCI he is one of the advisors of the musical group, since his specialty is percussion, he gives life to it because where there is a difficulty he says so. He is a very cultured person and knows a lot about music.
Participation in festivals of national and international character, meetings of orchestras of the Charanga and Sonera groups, Raúl Gómez García distinction for more than 25 years in the sector of the culture, member of the Juan Marinello contingent and professional musician of the Group The Astros, among other distinctions, say enough of the contribution of Roberto Tejadilla Isaac, to the culture of Contramaestre that have made him deserving of the recognition during the day of the culture and of his people that admires him as an illustrious son of this city.
