Persecution against independent musicians on the island has increased, specifically against rappers who make protest music.
Right now in the Eastern city of Bayamo, rapper Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga ‘El Critico’, member of The Unwanted Children, has been imprisoned for more than 4 months, while in Havana State Security agents offend and beat members of El Primario y Julito. All these dissident musicians – from the world of rap, rock or of any genre – are censured on all State media outlets.
In this second edition of #PassItOn, audio-visual series which captures the story of Cubans with free minds, we echo the situation of dissident rapper Rodolfo Ramirez “El Primario”, of Havana. El Primario is a member of the hip-hop duo El Primario y Julito. Both have been censured and harassed by the Cuban dictatorship and on July 21st 2013 Rodolfo was brutally beat at El Malecon under the orders of State Security. El Primario’s crime? His free and uncensored rap. In Cuba, there is a movement of young people who make protest music:
The young Rodolfo Ramirez, best known as rapper El Primario, member of the dissident hip-hop duo El Primario y Julito, has been victim of a brutal beating which has left him with memory loss and serious scars on his face and head. The attack occurred on Sunday, July 21st, at the Malecon of Havana.
Julio Leon Fonseca “Julito”, offered declarations to the station ‘Radio Republica’ in regards to the situation, explaining that the repression was part of a series of hostile actions against both rappers that week. Fonseca had been verbally threatened in his neighborhood of Boyeros, in Havana, by a person at the service of State Security on July 16th. But the presence of various friends that came out in his defense forced the repressor to flee.
The ruthless violence, however, was reserved for El Primario while he was sitting along the Malecon of Havana alongside his girlfriend on Sunday morning.
“His girlfriend says that when they were sitting there he told her that there were two men following them and they looked like members of State Security. He told her they should leave that place“, explains Julito in the audio, “but in a little while, when Rodolfo and his girlfriend were already leaving, they see the two men again. One of them starts being rude to his girlfriend and El Primario responds, saying that it is a lack of respect. Quickly, one of the men throws Rodolfo to the floor and they both begin to kick his head“.
The musician has been left in a state where he forgets certain things and with worrying injuries.
“It’s a very difficult case”, expresses Julito, “Because El Primario is suffering from memory loss, he is repeating things and his face is completely disfigured“.
Fonseca says that it’s highly probable that the aggressors were sent by State Security, or that they are officials of some other vigilante organism of the regime. His reasoning is because both attacks – verbal and physical – occurred the same week, and mainly, because when the police arrived on the scene, they did not handcuff the attackers.
On her part, renown opposition leader and mother of Julito, Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo, seconded this opinion in some declarations she made to this blog.
“I have more details about this case. I was able to sneak in through the backdoor of the police unit because they left it open. I could perfectly see Rodolfo. He was in a jail cell with both aggressors. He couldn’t even remember that they were the ones who attacked him. His girlfriend was the one who identified them“, recounts the activist, “both men were very confident and trusting with the political police agents. And it’s obvious that both of them had been trained with the way they beat Rodolfo. In addition, the family of one of them was there in the unit, chatting with the police with much confidence“.
“We do not think this is something casual, that in the same week both members of El Primario y Julito were assaulted. We hold the regime responsible for what has happened“.
El Primario is currently with his family, trying to receive medical attention for the damages on his head. This Monday, July 22nd, the young rapper was still suffering from memory loss. The duo is popular amongst everyday Cubans, mainly the young ones, for their hip-hop music with dissident lyrics. Both have described their sound as protest music and have been arrested and beat in the past by political police agents. Their music is completely censured on all mediums on the island.
–UPDATE– July 23rd, 2013: Independent news agency “Hablemos Press” has published a video-report showing the aftermath of the beating against El Primario. Check it out:
New music straight from Cuba. A collaboration between Primario y Julito and Los Hijos Que Nadie Quiso (The Unwanted Children), two dissident hip-hop groups in the island. This new video is for the single “Mi Delito” (‘My Crime’), from the new CD by Primario y Julito which has the same name.
The video was filmed a few months ago and was just recently published thanks to independent journalist Roberto de Jesus Guerra, director of ‘Hablemos Press’, who posted it on his YouTube channel.
Primario y Julito (Havana) and The Unwanted Children (Bayamo) join forces in this song to rap against government corruption and persecution of freedom defenders in the country.
“Tell me Fidel, tell me Raul, until when are we gonna have to put up with State Security knocking on our doors, to harass and arrest“, raps Primario in the beginning of the song, while the chorus says, “I didn’t assassinate Boitel, I’m not the culprit of Mariel boat-lift, I don’t repress those who think differently, I didn’t lock up 75 innocent people…this is my crime, speaking about what you have never spoken of“.
In a recent interview with this blog, Julito explains that this song is one of his favorites from the new album and is a protest anthem against the abuses committed by the Cuban dictatorship.
Ángel Yunier Remón Arzuaga “El Critico”, member of The Unwanted Children who participates in “My Crime” is a living example of some of these government abuses on the island. He’s been behind bars for three months for his protest lyrics and because he is a pro-freedom activist. (#PassItOn: Ángel Yunier Remón Arzuaga #FreeElCritico).
The Unwanted Children and Primario y Julito collaborate on a number of tracks in the new album. Here’s the video:
This blog recently had a chance to catch up with Julito, independent and dissident rapper from the duo El Primario y Julito, who spoke to us about the group’s new record, an opposition rap agency, the difficulties independent artists face in Cuba and more.
The dissident hip-hop group El Primario y Julito, based in Havana, recently launched their new album titled “My Crime” [‘Mi Delito’], a production which contains 14 songs, among them the first single “Lambon”, which has been accompanied by a music video.
Julio Leon Fonseca, better known as Julito, explains that “My Crime” is one of his favorite projects to date. It consists of a number of “protest songs” and others which are more “commercial and reaggaeton-based“.
Among the protest anthems are “Esteaño si se Cae” [‘This year the dictatorship falls‘], a collaboration with the punk-rockers Porno Para Ricardo, while other invited artists on the disc are Rapper Issac and Los Hijos Que Nadie Quiso [‘The Unwanted Children’]. The latter also form part of a new rap agency, along with Primario y Julito, dedicated to making protest music.
“This agency consists of 5 rappers who are not allied with any government organization and we work completely independent because we are members of the opposition“, says Julito, “The agency is made up by us – Primario y Julito – and also Rapper Issac, from Santiago de Cuba, and The Unwanted Children, from Bayamo“.
The young musician highlighted the situation of Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga “El Critico”, a member of The Unwanted Children, who has been arbitrarily detained for more than 2 months, being held in Las Mangas Prison of Bayamo, for making protest music and carrying out civic activities as a human rights defender.
“Some artists affiliate themselves with certain musical or cultural groups belonging to the government, but we don’t buy that“, expresses Julito, “we make protest music and we have absolutely nothing to do with government agencies. If we are going to protest, we will do so with our means, not with theirs“.
He adds, “in reality, this is not a government… it’s a family dynasty which took over the country and has not wanted to let go. This country, this government, has to change…or better said, this government has to cease existence“.
Some of the other 14 new songs are “Gobierno Tirano” [‘Tyrannical Government’], “Triste” [‘Sad’], “Malo” [‘Bad’], and “My Crime“, which is the title track and recounts how the regime classifies these musicians as being dangerous because they write lyrics critical of the system and publicly manifest their opinions without censorship.
This free attitude has cost independent artists on the island quite some reprisals. Julito says that in the case of his group, “we have been beat, we have been arrested and we’ve been completely censured“. In fact, Primario y Julito also go by the name “Los Censurados”, (‘The Censored Ones’).
“When we started making music as a duo and we launched our first disc, we were summoned various times by the political police. While in the police units, agents told us we would not have access to any stage and that we would not be allowed to perform live“, recounts the Havana-based musician, “In fact, I still haven’t been able to perform live because of this. And it’s something I have always wanted to do as an artist, to see how the crowd reacts to my music. But these things happen under dictatorships“.
Despite the censorship and the prohibition of not being able to present themselves publicly, Primario y Julito still have lots of followers.
“There are many people who listen to us, who know who we are out on the street, especially young people“, assures Julito, who also explains that in order to spread their art, they have to do so through their own means, “burning CDs and handing them out to the population“, while “opposition groups also help us spread our work throughout the country“. In addition, they have to do record in “home studios” which other musician friends lend them.
He points out that an efficient way to assist artists like them in Cuba is to facilitate their access to blank CDs and USBs.
“Our discs are not on sale in Cuba“, says Julito, son of well known dissident and Lady in White Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo. However, anyone can buy the new album on their website, www.elprimarioyjulito.com.
Roberto de Jesús Guerra, director of the Havana-based independent news agency ‘Hablemos Press’, recently published a video-clip of one of the new singles of the rap group, “Este año si se Cae” [‘This year the dictatorship falls’].
“Here we are“, expressed Julito, “My message to other young musicians like us in Cuba is that they join us to keep taking the sentiment of freedom to the people. Here I am…and we have to keep fighting without fear and taking this protest music against the dictatorship“.
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To contact directly with Julito:
Cell Phone: +53-246-070
Primario y Julito, dissident rap duo based in Havana, have joined forces with Raper Issac, from Santiago de Cuba, in a new song and video: “Lambon“.
“My thing is not a whim, my thing is not a vice, my thing is desire for freedom”, says the opening of the new single published on the YouTube channel of Roberto de Jesus Guerra, director of the independent news agency ‘Hablemos Press‘. Guerra helps the young rappers record and promote their work.
Both Primario y Julito and Raper Issac, like all other independent musicians on the island, are prohibited and censored from any air time in the country, yet they are still popular amongst the everyday population, especially the youth. Musicians such as these hand out CDs with their music on the streets.
Other rappers- such as Angel Yunier Remon “El Critico”, based in the Eastern town of Bayamo, are subjected to constant government persecution. In Remon’s case, he has been in prison for nearly 3 months and may soon face charges for making music, carrying out peaceful demonstrations, and hanging up anti-government signs on his home.
Check out the new single by Primario y Julito and Raper Issac, “Lambon”:
The Cuban punk-rock band Porno Para Ricardo has announced the launch of their new album “Maleconazo Ahora” (‘Maleconazo Now’), on sale through the music downloads website “BandCamp”.
Gorki Luis Aguila, lead singer and guitarist of the group, has been promoting the new production through his Facebook page. In an interview with this blog in March of 2013, the rocker described the disc as being “very fluid, very fast…one song comes on and then an interview, and everything kind of gets mixed together and it makes you feel like you are at the place where it happened [The Maleconazo]“.
For Gorki, the Maleconazo of 1994, when countless Cuban citizens took to the streets of Havana to protest, was “a symbol of activism” and was also a necessary cry for “something fair“.
The first single from the new album has been “Este Año Si Se Cae”, where the musicians experiment with the sounds of reggaeton and collaborate with other independent artists such as Primario y Julito and David Omni Zona Franca. The lyrics of the mentioned song assure listeners that if Cubans really want the dictatorship to fall, then it will be possible.
Other songs in “Maleconazo Ahora” include “Yo Odio Mi CDR“, “Amor del G2“, “Yo No Trabajo Para los Castro” and “Mi Bandera“. It also includes an acoustic version of “Este Año Si Se Cae”, with the participation of rapper Raudel ‘Eskuadron Patriota‘.
Porno Para Ricardo, which are completely censured in Cuba but still have a large fan base among everyday people, recently announced a “mini-tour” in Barcelona and Madrid to promote the disc. They have turned to their fans and to the ‘CrowFunding’ network so that they receive at least 1 dollar donations per person to fund this trip to Europe:
To take a listen to the new CD and buy your copy today, click here. It’s only $7 USD.
Pedazos de la Isla 