Yotuel, a Cuban-born rapper, couldn’t believe that he was receiving the Song of the Year award at the Latin Grammys.
“I was surprised because… songs were much more popular that Patria y Vida, and artists who have reached their peak,” Yotuel Romero, a singer, stated recently in an interview.
It also won a Latin Grammy award for Best Urban Song.
Patria y Vida (or homeland and life) is a joke at Fidel Castro’s slogan “Patria o muerte,” which translates to “homeland, death”
Yotuel performed the song live on a stage lit with candles, almost as if it were a vigil. He was joined by Descemer Bueno and Eliecer MarquezDuany, both Afro-Cuban singers, and the duo Gente de Zona.
This section is dedicated to political prisoners
Marquez Duany (known as El Funky) dedicated the performance to all political prisoners in Cuba. Maykel Osorbo is one of the song’s cowriters and has been held in a maximum security prison since May. He was there for the creation of the protest anthem.
The song, which was banned by the Cuban regime in February after it was released in February, became a rallying call during the largest anti-government protests for decades.
Hundreds of Cubans who were detained during the demonstrations remain in prison as political prisoners.
Cuban regime accused of “harassing” artists
On December 8, many prominent figures in literature, art and entertainment called for the Cuban government “to stop its unrelenting abuses towards artists”. In a statement, they mentioned the role Patria y Vida had played in the protests.
The statement reads, “There is no reason to persecute artists for peacefully expressing themselves,” and its signers include Meryl Steep, Khaled Haosseini, Orhan Pauk, Elena Poniatowska (Zadie Smith), Isabel Allende, Isabel Allende, and Isabel Poniatowska.
“We appeal to the Cuban government for respect of the fundamental role art and artists play within society, and stop harassing artists who engage in social and political critiques not in accordance with the government’s rigid ideology.”
Yotuel announced recently that he is producing a documentary in partnership with Exile Content Studio, and Beatriz Luengo (Spanish musician), about the regime’s reaction to the song, particularly since the summer protests.
Yotuel was one of the first to pioneer urbano, a movement that combines urban genres like reggaeton with Latin American music. Yotuel, who merged Afro-Cuban styles like rumba and hip hop in the 2000s, was a pioneer in this area. He also recorded his debut album A lo Cubano together with Orishas.
“We must replace this slogan.”
Yotuel, along with other Cuban recording artists, collaborated on Patria y Vida after they saw the government crackdown on an artistic protest movement. Osorbo and El Funky, Cuban rappers, recorded their parts secretly in fear that the government would close down the production. The video was shot in an abandoned building, while their friends remained on the other side.
Patria y Vida, a song inspired by hip-hop tradition of “keeping It Real”, is a hopeful and plaintive song that envisions Cuba’s liberation in a near future. Its protest message is directed at Cuba’s communist regime.
“This song sings: Your time has come. … “I was born in this century,” Yotuel stated over Zoom, from his Miami home.
Luengo, also on the call said that she was shocked to see the slogan Patria o Muerte, calling for Cubans’ lives to be sacrificed for the revolution the first time she visited Cuba.
She told her husband, “We must replace this slogan.”
