this was banned in cuba
According to wiki, Irakere’s break out hit, “Bacalao con Pan” was banned in Cuba. A recording was made outside of Cuba, which then forced the authorities to permit the music. The funky people united will never be defeated.
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Interesting case. We have to remember that the State Department and the CIA actively promoted jazz, and abstract expressionism, abroad, even while conservatives derided these art forms, and the associated “funky” lifestyles, at home. It looks like the Cuban government was hip to this aspect of the imperial grand strategy and sought to contain the spread of the influence. I like this remark in the Wikipedia article:
“Ironically, several of the founding members did not always appreciate Irakere’s fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban elements. They saw the Cuban folk elements as a type of nationalistic “fig leaf,” cover for their true love—jazz. They were obsessed with jazz. The fusing of Afro-Cuban elements with jazz in Irakere is a direct consequence of the poor relations between the Cuban and United States governments.”
So what we really have here is not “funk meets (and beats) state” but “state meets state and funk results”. Or something like that.
Thomas
September 27, 2012 at 6:43 am
God Irakere!!! Gracias ! Thank you so much! We could discuss hours about the stupidity of certain governments.. but.. I prefer to listen to the music of Irakere instead! Thanks for posting this.
romalive
September 27, 2012 at 8:05 am
Socialism is about more than steel mills and healthcare. The theoreticians of the old USSR struggled with Dmiitri Shostakovich — and he with them – as theory met practice. Regarding this popular group, Irakere, socialist realism is based on the universality of social class and class interest. Not all folksy expressions are consonant with that. Nationalism and ethnicity are often contrary to the objective interests of the proletariate. A socialist state looks to its leadership. That is simple democratic centralism and is unarguable. The ministry of music decides what is in the best interests of the people, lest the people be led astray by deviationism or revisionism.
(It is not my own personal theory. I’m just sayin’… One day you tax the rich and the next day someone tells you what music you can listen to. In front of a Congressional committee, John Philip Sousa denounced the victrola, Fifty years later, Congress investigated “payola” in radio broadcasting of rock ‘n’ roll music. Laissez faire is about more than steel mills and healthcare.)
Michael E. Marotta
September 27, 2012 at 9:12 am
“One day you tax the rich and the next day someone tells you what music you can listen to.”
As opposed to, “one day you cut taxes to the rich and the next day someone tells women they can’t get abortions.”
Same (flawed) logic.
krippendorf
September 27, 2012 at 12:42 pm
“Laissez faire is about more than steel mills and healthcare.”
Laissez-faire is about taking control over people’s lives away from government and placing it in the hands of economic elites.
Guillermo
September 28, 2012 at 10:02 am