‘Patria y vida’, the “protest rap” that excites and unites Cubans inside and outside their country

Homeland and life, the “protest rap” that excites and unites Cubans from inside and outside their country and is nominated for two awards in the edition of the Grammy Latino Held this Thursday, November 18, has promoted popular mobilization in favor of freedom in Cuba with a clear message: “It’s over.”

Since its departure in February 2021 Homeland and life it does not stop accumulating views on YouTube (more than 9 million until this Wednesday), nor to resonate in any demonstration to ask for a change in Cuba that is held, whether in Miami, Havana, Madrid or Brussels.

With lyrics and chorus full of direct criticism of the Government of Cuba and messages of support for the San Isidro Movement of young artists, Homeland and life it translates into words and music the feelings of many Cubans tired of hardships, lack of freedom and having “trampled dignity”, as the song says.

A song that is a feeling

“Homeland and life it is a feeling that touches our hearts and it motivates us to express what we feel, it is also the echo of those who cannot express themselves freely “, he points out to Efe Ariel Alón, a Cuban physiotherapist based in Miami who wishes to live in Cuba “with harmony and freedom” and treated with “dignity and respect.”

On July 11, the song was “the soundtrack” of the spontaneous protests arisen in several Cuban cities, as defined Yotuel Romero, solo singer and vocalist of the group Orishas.

The other artists of Homeland and life They are Descemer Bueno, Alexander Delgado and Randy Malcom, who form the duo Gente de Zona, Eliécer Márquez Duany, El Funky, and Maykel Osorbo, El Osorbo, who is imprisoned in Cuba, and will not be able to be with the others this Thursday in the Latin Grammy gala at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas (USA).

‘Patria y vida’, the song that has become the anthem of the protests in Cuba

Homeland and life It is nominated in two categories (best song and best urban song) and its interpreters, as well as exile leaders in Miami, have said that the real nominee is the Cuban people for having taken to the streets to demand freedom.

Boris Larramendi, singer-songwriter and member of the Habana Abierta musical project, vowed that he would win one or both awards. “Hopefully I win. Anything that gives visibility to the fight against the Cuban dictatorship seems good to me, “he said.

A “protest song” had not been a candidate for awards in this category for a long time. and a prisoner nominee is not remembered, such as El Osorbo, who will surely be referred to by his colleagues from Las Vegas as they have done these days on the networks.

“#PatriaYVida higher than ever !! @maykelosorbo this goes for you and for every Cuban who can’t raise his voice,” Descemer Bueno wrote on Instagram from the city of casinos and shows.

The speaker of the Latin Grammy

The wide audience of the Latin Grammy awards, which are broadcast live on Univision to the US and Latin America, this Thursday you will have the opportunity to meet a Unpublished acoustic version of a song that from the title marks distance with those who hold power in Cuba since 1959.

Homeland and life It is a contrast to the slogan “fatherland or death” of the Communist Party, the only one allowed on the island.

Las Vegas, ready for the Latin Grammy awards gala, with Camilo, JL Guerra and C. Tangana at the helm

Pronounced out loud or written on posters, T-shirts and flags, generally next to the SOS Cuba label, the words homeland and life have been present since February wherever there are Cubans who are dissatisfied with the regime, even in attempts to mobilize on November 15. (15N).

The regime prevented the Civic March for Change that day by holding opponents in their homes and arresting those who intended to march.

“Do not think you have won,” wrote Yotuel Romero in a message to the Government of Miguel Díaz-Canel after the 15N.

Cuban singer Yotuel campaigns for two artists of the theme ‘Patria y vida’ to attend the Latin Grammy

He and the other artists from Homeland and life They have not limited themselves to releasing the song and enjoying the success, Rather, they have continued to lash out at the regime from the networks and on the stage and do activism for change.

Before Homeland and life There were other songs that criticized the Cuban regime and announced its end, but none reached the popularity of thisNeither did those that followed in his wake in demanding change, nor did those that brought out artists related to the Cuban Government in their defense.

Freedom, not doctrine

“No more lies. The people ask for freedom, no more doctrine. Let us no longer shout homeland or death but Homeland and Life,” the song says.

The chorus uses the game of dominoes, very popular among Cubans, to launch a message of change: “It’s over, you five nine me double two. It’s over, sixty years locked the dominoes, look it’s over, you five nine me double two. It’s over, sixty years blocking the dominoes. “

“You are already left over, you have nothing left, you are already getting off. The people are tired of holding on. We are waiting for a new dawn,” says the song in reference to the regime that emerged after the triumph of the revolution in January 1959 .

Ariel Alón says that Homeland and life it is a denunciation of a “failed mandate that wants to continue to root its ideology above the values ​​and principles of a devastated people.” (I)