- Title: CUBA: Reggaeton fever shakes up Cuba's culture
- Date: 1st July 2009
- Summary: (NIGHT SHOTS) HAVANA, CUBA (RECENT) (REUTERS) PEOPLE ENTERING DISCOTHEQUE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DANCING IN DISCOTHEQUE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED CUBAN WOMAN OUTSIDE DISCOTHEQUE SAYING: "It is true, reggaeton can sometimes have vulgar lyrics - but that's something that depends on the style of each singer." REGGAETON ARTIST RECORDING SONGS ON COMPUTER VARIOUS OF R
- Embargoed: 16th July 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cuba
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA6FZGNRD25AFSJJUYFSU4TKGUL
- Story Text: A tropical fever that raises the temperature is sweeping communist-ruled Cuba - reggaeton.
With little official support or air time on state-controlled radio, the songs Cuban reggaeton artists record in makeshift studios lined with egg cartons for sound insulation are mostly transmitted though homemade CDs and on computer flash memory sticks.
And while the country's youth is captivated, the cultural establishment is enraged and alarmed by the vulgarity of some of the genre's lyrics, which include phrases like "Coge mi tubo" ("Grab my pipe") and "Metela" ("Stick it in").
Not all Cubans adults, however, see the movement as a uniformly retrograde development.
"I really just see it (reggaeton) as something that's very fun. I did mention the issue regarding the obscene lyrics, which is something that's obvious. But it's something for young people. It's something that for us is not so appropriate, but for them, it's okay," said Olga Jimenez, a resident of Havana.
Reggaeton, a cocktail of reggae, Latin and electronic rhythms, first emerged in Puerto Rico in the mid-1990s and has spread rapidly though Latin America. In Cuba, it is played every morning on crowded buses, shakes neighborhood windows with its throbbing bass, and packs discos night after night.
Its vibrations even seem to be shaking Cuba's cultural establishment, decades after the island shook the entertainment music world with its native-born mambo and cha cha cha.
Like hip hop, its relative, reggaeton chronicles real life in the streets. But its popularity stems from a catchy, sensual rhythm that is perfectly suited for dance-crazy Cubans.
Some of the partygoers were quick to point out that not all bards of reggaeton were singularly focused on the lewd and lascivious.
"It is true, reggaeton can sometimes have vulgar lyrics - but that's something that depends on the style of each singer," said one woman outside a Havana discotheque.
State-controlled TV recently warned teachers and families not to be "naive regarding this matter" as the screen displayed six-year-olds doing covers of Puerto Rican reggaeton megastar Daddy Yankee.
That was the latest sign of official alarm over what the authorities see as a vulgarisation of Cuban culture.
The official daily Juventud Rebelde called reggaeton a reflection of "neoliberal thinking" and Culture Minister Abel Prieto said it should be "pushed away".
Some from even within the reggaeton world had no qualms assailing their more prurient peers.
"(The lyrics of some songs) are about things like painting nails, going back to someone's room, having sex, but that's not the message of what is reggaeton. Reggaeton is a very beautiful genre, and it's a shame that it's ending up with those groups and their vulgar lyrics," said Reggaeton singer, Yosuandi Izquierdo.
But the beat goes on.
And to record his next hit, El Micha, one of the rising stars of Cuba's reggaeton music scene, just has to knock on his neighbor's door.
A microphone plugged into an old computer in an apartment in Havana's working-class suburb of Reparto Electrico serves as the studio where some of Cuba's most successful reggaeton songs are recorded.
A former basketball player with a broad smile constantly flashing a lower row of gold teeth, Michael "El Micha" Sierra, 27, in fact sees the forbidden nature of Cuban reggaeton as a positive catalyst.
"It's in Cuba where reggaeton is alive. It's unstoppable because it's recorded at home. It is totally independent, thriving through the black market, which is exactly what bothers Puerto Rican (reggaeton singers and Dominican (reggaeton singers) who have full-stocked studios, and who have certain facilities. But that's how we like it - it's the people who are the ones saying look what that fulano composed, get it, burn it, pass it along. That's what makes Cuban reggaeton the way it is," Sierra said, referring to a nickname used to describe Reggaeton artists.
Cuban reggaeton has a distinctive "flow" from its Puerto Rican roots, local musicians say. It is also less violent in its lyrics than the imported version.
But island musicians say prejudices keep them off the recording labels and radio airwaves. Their music cannot be found in stores. Fans simply burn their own CDs.
Some Cuban officials have suggested promoting more traditional Cuban dance rhythms like danzon, son and casino to counter the reggaeton offensive.
After being asked by a journalist "Are you listening to reggaeton now?" one member of the Cuban youth who has yet to be converted into full throttle reggaeton addicts was willing to see the music form evolve on its own terms.
"No, no, no. But I like it. Reggaeton lets you to dance, to enjoy yourself, to have a good time together as Cubans. But I think yes, we can make it better," Cuban music student Lazaro del Sol said.
A beginner Reggaeton musician typically records at a makeshift studio for $2 an hour, burns as many CDs as he can afford to and spreads them around. Some became famous giving free CDs to taxi drivers.
A few have achieved local success like Gente De Zona, Baby Lores or Kola Loka, and some even dreamed of breaking into the U.S. market like Elvis Manuel, a 19-year-old star who disappeared last year while trying to cross the Florida Straits to the United States.
And social workers at greater Havana cultural centers have found that reggaeton can also lift the self-esteem of young Cubans and keep them out of trouble.
On a recent afternoon at a cultural centre in Guanabacoa, a suburb southeast of Havana, kids wore Nike sneakers and New York Yankees baseball caps and rehearsed a song about their love for Cuba at a steaming gym where every weekend the whole neighbourhood gives itself over to reggaeton. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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