:45:25
I was ignored, so I lost touch
:45:29
But I wasn't going to starve
:45:31
I polished shoes, cleaned the
streets, sold lottery tickets
:45:37
I had a family to support
:45:39
I'm not ashamed to say that
:45:44
We moved from Santa Clara
to Havana
:45:48
But being in the capital
made me feel insecure
:45:52
I said to myself "There are
lots of pianists in Havana"
:45:59
So, I started studying
other things
:46:03
Playing other instruments
:46:06
But it turned out that
one of my neighbours...
:46:11
...was a man calledcame to know as Arsenio
:46:16
He had a great band
:46:19
And he heard me play
:46:22
But Arsenio was blind
:46:25
Not from birth
:46:28
He had an accident
and lost his sight
:46:31
Anyway, one day he said:
:46:34
Ruben, would you like
to join my band?
:46:37
I said yes, of course
:46:39
He'd had a pianist who'd left
:46:44
He'd gone to Europe
:46:49
I played in Arsenio's band
for about four years
:46:52
I had a few hits