There are politics in my songs, but not propaganda, says the musician, who receives EL PAIS on Wednesday at the Ojala studios in Havana. He speaks of the government's orthodox and closed vision in the economic sphere, and of his commitment to a less rigid socialism.
The Cuban Revolution was more successful at exporting its epic narrative than any other tangible commodity. Not even sugarcane, tobacco or rum can compare. The face of Che Guevara transformed into left-wing merchandise, the stoic image of Fidel Castro with a cigar in his mouth defying the 600 assassination attempts orchestrated against him by the CIA, and the slogan that Cuban education and healthcare are the best in the world have been an important part of the global progressive ideation from 1959 to the present.
Sixty-seven years have elapsed, and Havana still remembers the triumphant entry of Fidel Castro and his bearded revolutionaries. After departing from a military academy in the morning, a convoy of trucks advances at midday from the Malecon, traversing the city along the same original route. Riding atop the olive-green trucks are young men and women with red flags, raised fists, and shouts of Long live Fidel!