Art and Identity
Discrimination and Censorship Against a Hip Hop Exponent in Manzanillo
Rudisel Batista Solano Independent Journalist Coordinator of The Progressive Arch Party in Granma Province Manzanillo , Granma , Cuba
I
n the contemporary Cuban culture , there is a new impulse by the youth . Wonderful talents turn to the intellectual content on diverse forms of making urban or street music . Over here this movement encompasses several genres , such as reggaeton , underground rap and hip hop , which are not entirely accepted by the authorities . Punishment and discrimination are a threat to anyone who opposes the official ideals or tries to defend other principles in collision with these ideals . The lyrics are loaded with strong content coming from the crude Cuban reality , which is saturated with social problems . Immersed in a never-ending sea , the severe social criticism is the fundamental flow that fuels this movement of protest . The latter is joined by more and more young people every day . They are the present and the future of the Cuban civil society , which is in transit towards a new Cuba for all and for the good of all . Sometimes these young people are branded as counterrevolutionaries , the most unpleasant adjective for those who lyrically express what they are feeling and living daily in this society under arbitrary doctrines imposed since their childhood . Such doctrines cannot be transgressed because the powers that be punish the cultural discourses that simply say what people really thought and manifest what they are feeling : the need of change . Freedom is an inalienable right of the human being and it must be respected . Nobody should attempt to silence criteria or thoughts . The ideas must be heard no matter what means are used . Those who want to express their feelings , whether we agree or not , must be allowed to do so , because we all are free to choose . In Manzanillo , this movement has a young figure as leading exponent of hip hop . He is very popular in chats and performances . His name is Yorvanis Ramírez Ponce , but he is artistically known as " The Old Mambí ". He was born on October 19 , 1989 , and has become a leader because of his impressive courage . He faces those who censure his artistic way of expressing what he doesn ’ t like about the totalitarian system , which specialized in subjugating the people .
I found him shirtless in the living room of his humble house at 22 San Silvestre , between May 1st and Sariol streets . Of his several tattoos , one encouraged me to comment : the military rank of Commander in Chief impregnated in his skin at shoulder level . He told me it is a kind of protest against the dictator , because " I am also a commander of the youths and the streets ."
84