Send a Piana to Havana international brigade. Pianos weigh 500 to 1000 pounds, some as heavy as a polar bear, but Treuhaft, an earthy-looking piano tuner with a bit of a stomach and a bandana on his head, is determined to get them into music schools in Cuba. Ivories were missing, among other things. Pianist Ruben Gonzalez, recently featured in the documentary Buena Vista Social Club , lost his piano to termites. There has not been a lot of money to repair or buy new pianos.
Music is a big part of the Cuban education.
Students have had to train on pianos without bass strings or working pedals. Russian pianos received in trade for sugar and cigars were not very good to begin with. The old American pianos are completely rotted out. Treuhaft has inspired tuners from the States and abroad to go at their own expense to teach the Cubans tuning tips. As in England, most of the tuners are blind.