Their music is banned by the state, but rappers Los Aldeanos are still
making a big noise in Havana. Esteban Israel reports
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
It's almost midnight at a roadside bar on the outskirts of Havana as
young Cubans gather to listen to hip-hop. A man with dreadlocks steps
up, microphone in hand, to a roar of approval from a crowd of 150 fans.
"I'm not going to turn my back on reality, even if they censor and
repress me," he chants to a driving beat, as the eager audience, which
knows every word, sings along. "Days go by and I'm still locked up,
censored. They look at me like a renowned dissident, rejected by the media."
The two-man Cuban rap group Los Aldeanos can sell songs on iTunes to
followers abroad, but in Cuba they remain an underground band that has
been playing mostly unadvertised gigs at unauthorised venues for seven
years. They rap about prostitution, police harassment, social inequality
and corruption, delicate issues rarely raised by Cuban musicians in the
socialist state born of Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
Cuba's communist authorities say their anti-establishment songs are too
critical and cannot be played on Cuban radio, that are all state-run, or
sold in the shops. The band has no access to Cuba's record labels
either. Their 20 albums were recorded in a friend's makeshift studio,
two miles from downtown Havana.
Los Aldeanos was formed in 2003 by Aldo Rodriguez and elementary-school
teacher Bian Rodriguez. The rappers have become the abrasive voice of a
disaffected generation of politically numbed Cubans who grew up during
Cuba's post-Soviet economic crisis of the 1990s.
Some of their music is sold overseas through online sites, with the
proceeds going to buy equipment, explains their US-based producer Melisa
Riviere, president of Emetrece Productions. But with no income from
record sales or concerts in Cuba, theirs is a labour of love.
Barred from access to state media, their fans – mainly young people who
revel in the outlaw nature of their shows and their politically risqué
lyrics – hear about their performances by word of mouth or text messages
sent from mobile phone to mobile phone. "They talk about our reality.
That's why we like them," says Pablo, a 20-year-old musician.
While critical of society, Aldo says the group's music seeks to restore
the solidarity and respect Cubans had before they were worn away by
decades of economic hardship.
"Los Aldeanos want to do rebellious music; to say what we feel, what we
see, without limits," says Aldo, who has a huge tattoo saying "Rap is
war2" on his right forearm. "Our work aims at a positive change in
society. Not just in the government, but also spiritually ... today
Cubans step on and humiliate one another."
The group's name means "The Villagers" and refers to their vision of a
unified and supportive Cuban society.
The official Cuban news agency AIN recently accused them of
"hypercriticism" and being the latest tool of Cuba's foes. "Our enemies
make no distinction between mercenaries and naive, irresponsible people
who disagree. Anyone is good as long as they sing the
counterrevolutionary music," it said.
But the Los Aldeanos rappers say their music is actually revolutionary,
and they criticised those Cubans who become critical only after reaching
the safe shores of Miami.
"I wouldn't be a revolutionary man if I didn't say what I think when
asked," said Aldo. "Why do I have to be afraid to express what I feel?
Shutting up means freezing in time."
If their official reception at home is cool, overseas Los Aldeanos are
being warmly embraced. Like most Cubans they have little access to the
internet, but their music is all over the Web and a recent homemade
video got almost 500,000 hits. "Los Aldeanos are YouTube kings. They are
audio-visually pirated throughout the globe," says Ms Riviere, their
producer.
Colombian rock star Juanes wanted them at a huge outdoor concert he held
last year in Havana but the government refused. Puerto Rican hip- hop
heavyweights Calle 13 tried unsuccessfully to sneak them on stage during
their Havana show last month. But things could be changing.
The rappers, who have been denied permits to travel abroad, now have
invitations to perform in Colombia, Mexico and Spain, and they hope to
be allowed to go this time. Ms Riviere said Cuba's authorities have
realised Los Aldeanos are a reflection of the island's culture and it
would be better to give the popular group some slack.
In a hopeful sign things may be opening up, the government allowed them
to perform their first concert in a Havana theatre last month to mark
their seventh anniversary. Entry was tightly controlled by police and
state security agents were inside the theatre, but 1,000 fans attended
the show and hundreds more had to be turned away. "You can't imagine all
we have been through to get here tonight," Aldo told the cheering crowd.
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