Homeland and Life Not Homeland Or Death
Borrowing from Vaclac Havel’s famous opening sentence in his essay, The Power of the Powerless and adapting it to the Cuban context, one might conclude that the specter of dissent is haunting the Castroist system in Cuba. To the recent climate of popular protests led by artists and independent civil society groups comes a new released song titled “Homeland and Life (Patria y Vida).” It is the living proof that a new generation in Cuba has taken an unequivocal stance in defense of their liberties and fundamental human rights. The powerful and inspiring lyrics performed by renowned artists such as Yotuel, Gente de Zona, Descember Bueno, Maykel Osorbo and Funky has become an “anthem” for people in Cuba.
By saying “It is Over (Se Acabó),” a new generation is sending a clear message to those clinging on to power that the narrow-minded imposition of an ideology though the slogan “Homeland or Death,” is rejected by Cubans inside the island and abroad who aspire to a free, open, plural and inclusive nation. They are asking for a new Cuba based on the concept of “Homeland and Life,” which evokes choice, empowerment and the power of people to choose the political system in which they wish to live. One that does not force people to choose between the ruling ideology or the opposite, which translates into prison, ostracism, persecution, exile and death.
One of the strengths of this song lies in its ability to connect with ordinary Cubans by using forms of expressions familiar in popular culture. Some of its catchy phrases include “It is Over/Se Acabó,¨ hinting at the will of a people that are tired of asking and are now telling the regime about their position. Likewise, the phrase, “60 years blocking dominoes” is a creative way to connect to people using a popular expression to establish an analogy between a political system that for 62 years has silenced and persecuted the voices of Cubans when the game is blocked because neiter player can play anymore.
Cuban artist and human rights activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara who is featured as a performer in the video clip, described the song as “electrifying.” In a conversation with Otero Alcántara about the song´s impact and perception among people in Cuba, he said
¨The most important aspect is that all artists [in the song] come from the humblest neighborhoods and have international recognition. Many of them are renowned nationally and internationally. They are an indisputable reference for the people. The fact that they care about the people and intend to raise consciences is something that is its very important to me. People feel represented by this song. When people listen to the song in the streets, they get the “yes we can” feeling … Castroism is a culture, a dictatorial culture, and through these cultural attempts we are giving hope even to the elder man in a wheel chair in San Miguel del Padrón. It is a responsibility that we are assuming.
The other important aspect of this song is that it is more than a denunciation of the regime. It does not only tell that the regime is no good or a dictatorship. It serves as an anthem to the people. The “It is over/Ya Se Acabó¨ phrase serves people to assert what they want. It [inspire] people to go for more.”
The Cuban dictatorship’s black and white, robot like and oppressive, soviet based era concept of the homeland/patria. Far from a homeland, this artwork or propaganda piece resembles a prison, a stalinist factory, a torture dungeon, far from the plural, democratic and modern nation that Cuba should be.
Following its release, Granma, the official daily of the Communist Party responded with an article filled with diatribes and a worn-out official speech. Divorced from reality, the article serves as the written equivalent to an act of repudiation. To a new generation´s calls for inclusion and respect for individual liberties, the regime through its mouthpiece daily responds with a ton of rhetoric and demagoguery that erroneously mixes Cubanhood with unconditional acceptance to the ruling ideology. The newspaper tries to fabricate the ideals of José Martí by suggesting that the artists through this song betrayed his ideals. It seems that they forgot that Martí´s ideals are defined by observance to freedom above everything else. For Martí the artists of the song would have been the example that ¨liberty is the right of every man to speak without hypocrisy. ¨ The regime has forgotten all along that Martí never meant to equate sovereignty with dictatorship. Martí did not die in battle to establish an independent dictatorship, but a sovereign and democratic republic based on free elections, separation of powers and the rule of law. The article concludes by reiterating that “Homeland or Death” will continue to be the eternal justification to impose a political system that leaves Cuban no other choice than either forced conformity, jail, exile or death. A system that tramples on fundamental human rights and disempowers Cubans by preventing to participate in free elections and choose the political system of their choice.
However, a new generation is no longer asking, they are demanding and in a loud and clear voice they said: “Se acabó/It is over.”