IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 5 ENGLISH | Page 99

jokes and expressions that circulate all
over and in oh so many comedic acts. In
them, the Afro-descendant always
laughs at himself as if that was normal.
What we see here is a focus on blacks
totally devoid of his culture, so much so
that they criticize Rastafarian dreadlocks and revere straightened hair, as
some pretend to be who they are not.
There is also the expression: “He accepts crumbs from a man who tells him
not to complain, you were worse off
before,” to illustrate the way in which
any attempt at social critique or complain is repressed, this in a country that
continuously repeats that everything is
fine, where there are no popular strikes
or unions with the legal power to propose or demand a necessary change in a
country that belongs to all Cubans. The
song’s discussion of the matter ends
thus: “Black man, understand, bro,
don’t bow your head/don’t let up, don’t
get bitter, don’t humble your black conscience, understand, bro, that the world
is also yours, your color, and that your
race and kink have to be your pride…”

They employed various impressive
styles and produced quality, authentic
music. Their song “Alerta, ” which tells
four different stories about a black man
walking through the city, focuses on
race. It contains many examples of the
kinds of experiences black people have
because of their color. The song ends
with a question: “How the hell can I not
sing about my discriminated color?” It
is important to say that Explosión Suprema was one of the best, Spanishlanguage, Hip Hop groups, and I can
attest to that. But they did not garner the
privileges that their talent deserved.
Instead, they were locked out of institutions that did not allow them to perform, too afraid of their popularity and
number of followers. Constant censorship, as well as financial need and the
impossibility of making do as musicians, caused the disintegration of the
gems and sources of &