Music Videos, YouTube performances, etc.

yukbon said:
I am deeply conflicted about this group and it's music; I do like the music, but seeing them push (and, to my mind, misrepresent) a lot of my culture and heritage to people that will simply miss it completely and knowing how much state backing they must have, really seriously sours me on them.
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I’d really like to know more about this. My understanding is it is a group of musicians from New York and Cuba that met and hit it off and started recording together. I really like Afro-Cuban music but don’t really know much about the Cuban culture and would be interested to know more.
 
TrainFan73 said:
I’d really like to know more about this. My understanding is it is a group of musicians from New York and Cuba that met and hit it off and started recording together. I really like Afro-Cuban music but don’t really know much about the Cuban culture and would be interested to know more.
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There's a lot of signifiers and overt references to Santeria that I wouldn't expect a non-cuban to pick up (e.g.: he's wearing all white which iwayos need to do for a year, the praying and the shrine in the house, the album title itself refers to cowrie shells that are used in santero divination (and in African Yoruba society were used as currency). That they're allowed in an out of the country (and to film within the country) is by the grace and leave of the ministry of culture; meaning any of the cubans associated are party members -- they very much will not make any money for their effort beyond a solid "attaboy" and possibly increased rations or a family member given a cushier job.*

A lot of this smacks of appropriation by the communist party and a cheapening of the culture in a sort of crass and craven way. Which is not to say that I'm laying shade or blame on anyone into it -- it's good music, and fun as fuck, which is why I myself am conflicted about it. On the one hand: fuck those guys and then on the other hand: but this is a jam though

*My best friend in Miami is a white lady of Irish-american background and some time ago she dated a cuban dude; she excitedly told me and a mutual friend about this guy's stories of travel and education in South America and our mutual friend (also cuban) immediately clocked it and started referring to the guy as The Communist. It took some explaining to get my friend to understand: you don't get to travel out of the country and you definitely don't get a foreign education if you're not part of the party faithful. It's just understood that if you get the rewards, it's because you're a member. This would largely just simply not occur to someone that didn't grow up or have family interacting with the cuban government in a personal way; as USians, we just don't do that here, so it just doesn't occur to us that this is a regular occurence in other places. it is why personally i found the Jan6 bullshit so abhorrent: We Don't Do That Banana Republic Shit Here, Dickheads
 
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