The Influence of Rock in Cuba After 1959

MUS160 CRN: 11480 Final Project

The Influence of Rock in Cuba after 1959

When the revolution took place in Cuba in 1959 Cuban culture took a turn from an open culture to one of restrictions and prohibitions for artists, musicians and the like. Restrictions were imposed that first contributed to the absence of creativity and then to a desire to leave the country in the search of freedom of mind and intellectuality. Examples of those are Jose Lezama Lima and Guillermo Cabrera Infante in the field of poetry and novel, who were forced into exile because of the capricious restrictions imposed by the new Cuban regimen. Once Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban revolution, said, “Within the Revolution everything is fine, without the Revolution nothing is accepted.” (Castro, 1961) Due to this statement foreign music was banned from Cuban radio and television, and only national artists were allowed thus, bringing about a divorce between foreign and national culture.

Musicians were hit hard by those restrictions and most had to leave the country to continue their work and to feed their desire to grow. Many examples can be sited of those who left Cuba and became famous and popular. One of those was Benny More, whose talent and amazing creativity has named him “El Bárbaro del Ritmo” (The King of Rhythm). Benny was more famous in Mexico and New York than in his own country. There is also the case of Arsenio Rodriguez who died in Los Angeles and was named the Wonderful Blind because of his skill on the Cuban Tres , which is a type of guitar that was created in Cuba. Many names could be mentioned like Arturo Sandoval and Paquito de Rivera both members of the Irakere Cuban Band. Since they were not permitted to play jazz in Cuba they decided to play jazz in the Jazz Land, USA.

The rejection towards American music was part of the Cuban governments strategy to separate Cubans from Americans. Rock groups from the USA or England were not allowed to be listened to on the Island. Castro’s government aimed to cure Cuba once and for all of ideological deviants, which included long-haired youth, homosexuals and any others the authorities simply had reason to mistrust. For Cuban authorities, The Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and others from the 1960’s and early 70’s were known only by those Cubans who would defy the censorship imposed by the communists. The Beatles were viewed as harbingers of an imperialist offensive out to corrupt young Cuban minds. Despite the efforts of communist Castro and his government, those rock bands were popular and known and the message came across to the Cuban people with a sense of liberty and freedom. I have mentioned two important words, freedom and liberty, something against the ideas of Marx and Engels who knew that when the people are free there is no socialist or Communist regime. Many Cubans were incarcerated just