The New York Times
At the Yellow Submarine bar, the Beatles provide the decoration and the
inspiration.
By DAMIEN CAVE
Published: August 7, 2011
HAVANA — The hair and accents were wrong, but the audience cared about
just one thing: the house band was singing the Beatles, here, in a new
bar called the Yellow Submarine, in Cuba, where such an act might have
led to arrests in the mid-1960s.
Better yet, perhaps because of that history, the band played like
rebels. Fast and raw, they zipped up and down the bass lines of "Dear
Prudence" as if the song were new. They raced through "Rocky Raccoon,"
and when they reached the opening words of "Let It Be" — "When I find
myself in times of trouble" — the entire crowd began singing along,
swaying, staring at the band or belting out the chorus with their eyes
closed in rapture.
"If there's no Beatles, there's no rock 'n' roll," said Guille Vilar, a
co-creator of the bar. "This is music created with authenticity."
Maybe so, but Cuba's revolutionaries were not sure what to make of it
when it first came out. Though today the bonds between counterculture
rock and leftist politics are well established, back then, Cuban
authorities — at least some of them — saw anything in English as
American and practically treasonous. The Beatles, along with long hair,
bell-bottom jeans and homosexuality, were all seen as cause for alarm or
arrest at a time when green fatigues were a statement of great importance.
Cuba in the '60s and early '70s, says Mr. Vilar, a trained musicologist,
"was a very serious place."
Indeed, many Cubans still recall having to sneak a listen to whatever
Beatles album they could find in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis
and the American trade embargo. Festivals like Woodstock and even
smaller rock concerts hardly ever occurred — all of which helps explain
the appeal of the Yellow Submarine.
Scarcity, as diamond dealers well know, is the genesis of value, and in
Cuba, rock music is a rare cultural gem in its own right. But the Yellow
Submarine, with its pealing guitars, porthole windows, blue and yellow
interior, and Beatles' lyrics on the walls? The full experience amounts
to a short, direct road out of the norm.
Cuba, after all, is still a country of limited media. Just a few
channels can be found on television. The Internet runs on dial-up. And
while music is seemingly everywhere, including clubs and bars, most of
it falls within a narrow spectrum between trova ballads and rump-shaking
reggaetón.
"This place — it's different," said Alexander Peña, a student from
outside Havana, sitting by the bar with three of his friends.
Nonetheless, it is still quite Cuban. The Culture Ministry owns and
operates the club, which opened in March. That means a cheap cover
charge ($2.50), Beatles imagery without official licensing and waiters
in the usual black vests, with the usual requirement of at least three
reminders before any drinks are actually delivered.
Mr. Vilar, who was an adviser on the project, said the government was
trying to do the right thing — to reopen closed spaces and broaden
Havana's nightlife. The crowd seemed mostly pleased. And yet this was
clearly no typical bunch of rum drinkers.
On a recent Saturday, the line of dozens snaking to the corner looked
like it was heading to a college graduation. Only two groups seemed to
be represented: baby boomers (wearing nice dresses and slacks) and
twentysomething hipsters (in jeans and tight T-shirts). In a few cases,
they had arrived together — mothers and daughters included — and each
generation had its own reason for coming.
Older fans said the Yellow Submarine let them enjoy a moment that they
should have experienced decades ago. "You don't understand," Marisa
Valdes, 50, said as she danced with her husband, after taking pictures
with wood cutouts of John, Paul, George and Ringo. "This music, it used
to be banned!"
For the young, however, the Yellow Submarine offered the opposite —
something new. For a few, the bar's existence even suggested the
island's old government was learning some new tricks. "Maybe it shows
that things in Cuba are changing," Mr. Peña said.
But seriously, forget the seriousness for a moment. Inside, with the
music playing loud, such thoughts were rare. Fun is one of the few
luxuries that Cubans have held on to over the years, and whether it is
salsa or rock, dancing is almost always included. So when the band
kicked up again, belting out "How could I dance with another when I saw
her standing there," it took no urging to get people out of their seats.
Ms. Valdes in particular seemed pleased when a young couple jumped up
and began to do the twist. He was tall, thin, with a beard and rubbery
legs; she had tight, bouncy curls and a white dress that looked
remarkably like the one worn by Ms. Valdes. The older woman just nodded
as the young one shimmied. In music and style, in Havana now and of the
past, the two were one.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/world/americas/08havana.html?_r=1
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