Love is to blame

A Cuban musician is now at home in Wals

Leo and Medina enjoy making music with their mentor Yinet.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

She has moved from Cuba to Salzburg. With "Cubaboarisch 2.0", Yinet Rojas now even sings at the big "Woodstock of brass music". But she is just as fond of her youngest listeners. And it's all down to love.

They are now a trio at the Wals-Viehhausen childcare center. Leo, Medina and their caregiver Yinet Rojas. The Cuban-born musician grabs her guitar, the children their rattles and they start making music.

The Walser-by-choice has the biggest smile on her face. "It's so nice to work with children. To see how they develop and they give you feedback straight away!" laughs Rojas. She started this job two and a half years ago in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. "I couldn't perform because of the pandemic," she says. Breaking new ground is nothing new for her. She even moved the center of her life from Cuba to Wals in 2016 for love.

There was a spark in the Walserfeldhalle
If it wasn't for love, the 40-year-old wouldn't be touring with Leo Meixner's "Cubaboarisch 2.0", singing in front of tens of thousands of listeners at the major "Woodstock der Blasmusik" event and working in a kindergarten in Wals. "Bernhard appealed to me when I visited Europe for the first time in 2014.

Yinet Rojas recently spread Cuban vibrancy with Marco Duque and Boris von Johnson with a new band.(Bild: zVg)

She also tours with "Cubaboarisch 2.0" - and works in a kindergarten.(Bild: zVg)

Rojas performed with her band "Nueva Imagen" and "Cubaboarisch" in the Walserfeldhalle. Bernhard Robotka organized the concert. The Cuban and the current managing director of the Walser Bachschmiede are now a married couple and have started a family. "I am experiencing my greatest adventure here and have found the love of my life," says the musician. She brought one child into the marriage, her husband already had two and they now have another child together.

Interplay of fast and slow
"Family is very important, it has to be right," says the Walser-by-choice. On the other hand, it was difficult to learn German - and to be punctual, she laughs: "Everything happens so quickly here. In Cuba, we say the world doesn't run away." Her music career is also moving fast. In addition to her current tour with Leo Meixner, the singer recently performed with her own new band "Yinet Rojas Latin Tres". In Wals, of course.