Interview with Arachel Dolphie: The Soul of Cuba in Florence
Arachel Dolphie was born in Havana in 1990, studied at the Conservatory and in 2012 moved to Florence. After a specialization course at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in 2014 she did a major in jazz piano at the Fiesole Music School. Arachel has been the leading star of the Daisy’s project.
creating and debutting various shows from Cuban
Lyrical trios exploring the repertoire of the 19th century colonial period, to developing shows for her full band from the golden age of the 1920s Havana, to the Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban Dance, and Afro-Spiritual & Yoruba repertoires.
1 – As soon as you arrived in Florence you won everyone’s heart. What do you think people loved the most?
The piano. It has always spoken for me.
And then I think it was the joy, the music, the colors… that old Cuba style that made the Florentines feel like they were watching the stories of their grandparents, like a documentary or an old film about Cuba in its golden age.
Once, at the butcher’s, an old man told me: “Look at you, you seem like one of those little dolls they bring from the Caribbean…”
2 – When did you realize that music would be your path?
Music has always lived inside me!!!
I was born in Old Havana, the city that in the ’50s had more theaters, cinemas and cabarets than anywhere else in the world. We are a very cultural people. I grew up waking to the sound of drums, to my neighbor the opera singer rehearsing classical music, to the pregones—the chants of street vendors. This cultural richness surrounded me even from my mother’s womb.
I remember as a child, almost every afternoon, I would prepare our living room and invite the neighbors from the solar. I would come down from the loft—what in Cuba we call barbacoa—with a turban on my head, my grandmother’s colorful skirts, full of makeup and colors.
But like every Cuban child, if you dreamed of leaving the island, you had to become either a musician, an athlete, or a doctor. I was lucky! Because I am not athletic at all… and can you imagine me as a doctor? Ahahahah!
3 – Your energy on stage feels almost magnetic. What does energy mean to you, as an artist and as a woman?
Art is a direct connection with the spiritual world, a way of expression through which God shows His beauty.
A woman is a channel through which God brings souls into the world to see that beauty. I feel very connected—as a mother and as an artist—to the universe.
In ancient times people gave thanks to God through rituals with music, songs, and dance… That’s exactly what I feel when I’m on stage!
Before every show I do a spiritual chant of gratitude and blessing—thanking for strength, protection, connection, and good energy. It is my prayer to enter the channel for which I was created.
This is also a spiritual connection I share with the musicians I work with. We always do it before going on stage. After the ritual we greet each other saying: “See you on the other side.” That “other side” does not mean the stage—it means that once we’re on stage, we enter another spiritual dimension, from beginning to end.
4 – If you weren’t a pianist, what would you have liked to become?
A fashion designer.
I love vintage fashion. As a little girl I was always drawing dolls with period dresses, hats, feathers, fans. Even today I dress and design costumes inspired by the stories I want to tell. This is still a dream of mine:
Collection “Havana ’50” by Arachel Dolphie
5 – Describe your dream show. What would you put on stage if you could imagine without limits?
My dream show I am already creating with Daisy’s—and I am so grateful for this opportunity to realize every project together with wonderful people and incredibly talented musicians. Of course, there’s always something to refine, improve, or grow… new ideas always come. I feel like I am on a journey, carrying my mission in my hands. Always transforming, like the life of every artist. But grateful and sure of my path: to bring my Cuban culture to the world from a wider perspective.
I have a very particular way of building my shows: I always start from a socio-historical and cultural point of view. Coming from an island shaped by so many cultures, there is no better way to tell my story than through music (blending classical with Afro-Cuban), dance (from folklore to Caribbean styles), singing (from zarzuela to Afro chants), and theater (to tell the story of the creole and authentic society of the island).
To structure my shows I mix all of my artistic experiences: from the Classical Conservatory in Havana, to the National Lyric Theater of Cuba, to my jazz piano training in Fiesole, to the cultural environment in which I grew up.
Usually it starts with a spiritual introduction: after the connection we create backstage, we bring the audience into the same energy. Then comes the virtuosity of the classical studies, the traditional Cuban dance genres, vernacular theater woven with Afro-Cuban rhythms like rumba and guaguancó, Afro-Cuban jazz… and we close with a big carnival, like those along the Havana seafront.
The greatest satisfaction is to see how, after this cultural journey, people’s souls feel uplifted and understand the mission.
I believe a life dedicated to art, to one’s roots and culture, is a life well spent. And that is exactly what I am doing with mine.
Check out the calendar at Daisy's Restaurant to enjoy the show and meet Arachel at House Of Nine!
Daisy’s Restaurant is back in full swing — vibrant nights, soulful music, and unforgettable experiences await.
