During the protests of July 11, 2021, in Havana, against the Cuban dictatorship, young artists, such as writers of the San Isidro group, the rappers who released the hit “Patria y Vida” or playwrights such as the group’s leader Archipiélago, Yunior García, now exiled in Spain.
But it is not just the rhythm of young people that the now dormant movement is inspired by. From exile, for example, in Miami, musician Pavel Urkiza released a clip with a song assembled from interviews with the famous singer and dancer Celia Cruz, exiled shortly after the Revolution (1959) and who was never able to fulfill her dream of returning. to Cuba before he died. Persecuted and banned by the regime, she made an international career, and died in 2003 in New Jersey, USA.
“Celia never composed lyrics, but her and
interviews are very rich. We decided to listen to most of them that are recorded, mainly looking for their phrases about their love for Cuba and freedom”, says Urkiza, in an interview with Sheet, by videoconference. The result is “La Bandera que Canta”, which went viral among exiled Cubans on the networks and on the radio.
The representative of the Celia Cruz collection, Omer Pardillo-Cid, states that “Celia’s legacy is more alive today than ever, and her voice is still the voice of a people, her people, her Cuba, and will continue to be, today, tomorrow and forever”.
Among the passages he “sings” in the new hit are phrases that dialogue directly with the island’s present. “I feel very sad that I can’t go to my homeland, I would love to do that someday, but I’m happy that I can represent my land, with the Cuban flag high above it, which no one will be able to take down.” Or: “I don’t forget my land, I don’t forget my people, I try to remember the Cuba I left. Who am I, the flag that sings?”
For next year, when the 20th anniversary of his death is completed, other tributes, books and recordings are being prepared.
Celia Cruz (1925-2003) had been working in Cuba since the 1940s and 1950s, as a cabaret singer, in theater and on TV. She became more interested in music, being one of the first to record commercial pieces with local Yoruba music, before becoming known as the queen of salsa, leading the genre to be known and loved in other countries.
Soon after the 1959 Revolution, Celia Cruz left the island. But she kept it in her heart. Like the writer Guillermo Cabrera Infante, who went into exile in London, she was never able to fulfill her desire to return.
Both ended up being a kind of informal ambassadors for quality Cuban art in exile. Now, however, thanks to Urkiza, Celia Cruz is once again heard on radio stations in Miami, marked by the expression that became her trademark: “Sugar!”.
