“Homeland and life” It’s more than just a song. The song, performed by Cuban rappers Yotuel Romero, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, El Funky and the group Gente de Zona, gave this title in reference to the expression “Homeland or death” coined by Fidel Castro in March 1960 , after the triumph of the Cuban revolution.
The song’s lyrics criticize the Cuban government and lay the groundwork for a series of protests in 2021, inspire a social movement against Cuban leaders. Today, this song which sparked widespread protest is presented in the form of a documentary thanks to director Beatriz Luengo.
“I don’t know the reasons why other directors decided to pick up a camera and start filming. In my case, it was fear. Someone advised us to record ourselves to protect ourselves when the song started to be an anthem,” he said. said.
The documentary is the visual legacy of a revolution, as Luengo assures: “This is the first time in human history that a movement was born from a song“.
A song that changed the history of a country. “Each word represented them, each word was a breath, it was their voice which was reflected in the music and the verses,” comments one of its composers, Yotuel.
Recorded in Havana, the images of the demonstrations crossed five borders until arriving in the hands of Beatriz: “When I opened the hard drives and saw the attacks suffered by the rappers who had made the song with us, I I couldn’t believe it. “
The song became so popular that it was banned in Cuba. “We can say homeland or death, but not defending the life of the Cuban is prohibited, it is a sanction. They sentence you to five years in prison for talking about country and life and ten for writing it at home. They beat you, they torture you,” Yotuel laments.
A song that inspired a social movement and which is now presented in the form of a documentary.
