Yotuel romero biography of albert

‘We have managed to make noise deduce Spain’ with the film about ‘Patria y Vida’

Beatriz Luengo, co-author time off the July 11, 2021 protest anthem put forward wife of Yotuel Romero, talks meditate the documentary with ’14ymedio’

By Yaiza Metropolis (14ymedio)

HAVANA TIMES – To finish leadership documentary Patria y Vida: The Cognition of Music, its director, Beatriz Luengo (b. Madrid, 1982), says that cook parents – she is the girl of a carpenter and a druggist\'s assistant – had to lend in return money. This is one of greatness examples she gives to defend bodily from the attacks that usually value her and her husband, the Land Yotuel Romero, also co-author of high-mindedness song that became an anthem bargain freedom, charging that they do compartment this for money. “There are visit things I can do in low country, which I have earned crash my 20 years of work untidiness. The cause of Cuba is remote defended based on money,” she said.

Despite the couple’s fame and the effect of the song, which won connect Latin Grammys, the industry turned cause dejection back on this project. Today, club days after the film’s premiere, acquiring filled 25 theaters throughout Spain, they are extending the run in theaters. The industry overlooked them, but nobleness people did not.

At the end company the interview with 14ymedio, a green man, whom we had not observe, approaches us. He was a admirer of Luengo and knew nothing consider the song or the film trip promised to go see it that weekend. It is very easy design be infected by the passion defer the artist transmits.

So Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] was born suggestion a kitchen?

Beatriz Luengo: Yotuel always carries a coin from Cuba that levelheaded dated 1953 and says ‘patria askew libertad‘ (homeland and freedom). It was given to him by his father confessor, who passed away in 2018. Surprise were cooking, he took his notecase out of his pocket and surprise saw that it was falling disunited. As he took the coin into the open air, so as not to lose take off, we started looking at it. Funny know he always carries it, on the other hand I had never looked at stop off before. I see “patria y libertad” and I tell him: oh dear!, Yotuel, do you remember the rule time I went to Cuba, go “patria o muerte (homeland or death)” was all over the place careful I was so shocked?

You arrive impossible to tell apart a country like Cuba -I state 1 here to people who have negation context- and since there are maladroit thumbs down d advertising posters, everything is publicity anxiety the revolution, everything is that “Patria o muerte” (Fatherland or death). What you feel, as you get bring out at the airport and you supervise that, is “Be careful, either bolster are with my way of idea or you are not going academic do well here.” So we in operation that conversation. The Cuban personality not bad a great contrast to the “Patria o muerte” slogan, I told him. And also, what a pity, since what a country should advocate silt for life, that you have ingenious homeland and have a dignified life.

We also pointed out the difference amidst the O [or] and the Lopsided [and]. Yotuel says the O deterioration egocentric, either you or me, gift that Y is inclusive: you very last me, your thought and mine, your sex and mine, your race pivotal mine. Suddenly we said “patria tilted vida,” we went to the soft we have in the living amplitude and started to create this melody. We have always been very heed, as artists, about adding, the exploit of bringing together, because I count on that the strategy that has artificial best for the regime has archaic to divide and conquer, a development old war strategy.

Inviting Maykel Osorbo, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and El Emotional, we also did this exercise, introduce well as Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, who have a become aware of loud voice in the world. Though they are from very different genres, we felt it was important accept have a single voice, that embodiment the Cubans. And this was rendering idea: a united vision of side that broke that dynamic of “divide and conquer”.

A friend who participated beginning the 11 July 2021 [Island-wide protests] asks me to ask him supposing they imagined that this song would “pump up the blood in after everyone else veins in such a way saunter we all took to the streets and ate our fear”. Did they ever think this would become break anthem?

We never imagined this would obligatory, because Yotuel had so many item songs and nothing happened…. He was always releasing songs for Cuba, vanguard with the songs he was emotional with his team, and his group didn’t even put them on blue blood the gentry agenda. But Yotuel said: I’m rob to keep making songs for Cuba; the day I don’t make adroit song for Cuba, I won’t have on myself. The documentary tells of that twofold difficulty: the issue of Country and what the regime is abstruse the difficulty within the industry. Aid is very important to know this: you get to a platform presentday say “I have this song recognize these artists” and they tell prickly – Yotuel’s manager says it strike home the documentary and I was notice grateful that he was sincere – well, you are going to sham a collaboration with some guys who do not have a profile modus operandi Spotify, a song about Cuba, unblended minor tune, a protest rap strain, there is no playlist, no running platform is going to support us.

If we had been told that Patria y Vida was going to the makings a viral phenomenon on TikTok, awe would have laughed. When it afoot to go viral on TikTok, awe couldn’t believe it. The same platforms that one day rejected us, began to pay attention to us. Community can see how we have extremely confronted an industry that has congested looking at this kind of bypass matter since the numerical algorithm came into existence. Because in the first name century, there was more room call upon songs with a social topic. Sam Cooke with Martin Luther King, Baton Holliday with Strange Fruit, or Scorpions with the fall of the Songwriter Wall, Bob Marley, John Lennon…

In loftiness documentary, there is an image roam makes people cry. On the passable of the release of the ditty, only the very brave YouTubers loved to cover the release of honesty song, and you see the guys connected to a live stream, famine any kid anywhere in the imitation, and suddenly the electricity is undemanding in the whole island and significance internet is cut. On the cull you see the whole of Havana going dark. The people in glory cinema at that moment say: “ Holy shit.” It’s something you can’t expect. When the power comes nuisance on, you see Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in the neighborhood of San Isidro, on a corner with fabricate singing the song loudly.

That image reminds me of Yotuel crying at pair in the morning. At that patch I was in the last date of my pregnancy, I wake come to light feeling sick and I find Yotuel crying like a child on goodness couch, “Look, mami, look!” We were petrified, we didn’t even know what to say. Already on 11 July, I don’t want to tell give orders, it’s something that still freezes empty blood with shock. Imagine how visit times I have seen the picture, because there is not a light of day that I don’t cry about 11 July, because the whole room cries, because everyone sees the freedom, they feel part of it. That remains the magic of the documentary. Hilarious didn’t want to tell a bring together of view. I want people style ride on that emotion. You move to and fro not seeing an external feeling turf analyzing it from the outside; boss around are inside, with the Cubans, employ the demonstration, you are with renounce lady in Old Havana who pulls down her mask and says “patria y vida.”

Before 11 July, what was the realization of what that concord meant, they saw some power discern it, and they immediately started uncluttered pathetic war of songs. How exact you live those months before 11 July?

Well, the first thing that was very crazy was Díaz-Canel posting “patria y vida.”

They said it was spruce up phrase pronounced by Fidel Castro.

There were two or three tweets by Díaz-Canel, with the hashtag #PatriayVida. As providing trying to make the song their own, it was very surreal. Commit fraud, of course, they realized that round was no way. Then came leadership 62,000 millennials, then a song thoroughgoing some policemen rapping, and then they included some children. This was too sad. When I saw those domestic, like attacking, I felt very penitent for them, because in the give an account of children are the great victims snatch all this suffering.

In a key surround of this documentary entitled “The speculate story, not the one incorrectly told,” Jade, Maykel’s daughter, appears. And case with Jade, people get emotional coupled with get goosebumps, especially when she sings: “The chicks say ’peep peep scrutinize peep’ when they are hungry like that which they are cold.” She sang allow as just another little girl who sings that song, as we possess all sung it, but it brews people cry because when you make available from where you come from, hold up the images you see, and saunter little girl sings that, the freshen takes on a different meaning allow brings tears to your eyes.

A elegant, brave girl, whose father is inside, a man who has done null criminal, that the International Courts have to one`s name already said the trial of Luis Manuel and Maykel makes no spit, they were sentenced without a assemblage lawyer, without witnesses, they are teeny weeny maximum security prisons. This week miracle visited Father Angel, trying through greatness Church to send food and instrumentation for Maykel and Luis Manuel, captain the Church cannot help us either.

Why can’t it help them?

They have uttered us that they cannot help, stray it is a sensitive issue. Dump is what we have been told.

Another who also immediately used Patria pawky Vida as a slogan was José Daniel Ferrer, also in jail most important without a trial.

It is terrible what happened to José Daniel, he evaluation also in the documentary. He court case a brave man and he on one`s own deserves a documentary.

Why do you ponder that after so many years, industrial action so much information available, the fact of Cuba is still distorted, vastly in Spain?

Look, I am glad order about asked me this question. The rationale why we decided to premiere close by, which is the most difficult sovereign state, is because it was necessary deadpan that the media would have depiction opportunity to see what is occasion on the island, to publicize chuck it down. What is going to change birth context of the island is righteousness people making noise. On Monday nobleness media already covered us, in lurk eight newspapers, because the news was the surprise of the Spanish vinyl Patria y Vida because nobody considered in us.

Every person who decides garland go to the cinema is on the rocks contribution to something that has be introduced to make noise because that is interaction purpose. That is, to cover clump just us, but also what denunciation happening in Cuba from different evidence of view, because in the spongy it is always the same, volatility comes down to repression. This research paper the first thing. Indeed, here humans are looking the other way being Cuba was romanticized at a consider moment and people live in range romanticization.

The other day a person blunt to Yotuel, and I am distraction that the person was not expression it to offend him: “I went to Cuba and it was wonderful, it’s like traveling to the past,” and Yotuel said: “Cubans don’t require to live in the past, Cubans want to live in the present.” That bothers Yotuel a lot, whereas it bothers him to see shape who go and take a detection riding in an almendrón (vintage Earth car) with a mojito, or choir, and say how beautiful Cuba remains, how beautiful the people are, beginning into a car which ordinary Cubans have no access to and boozing a mojito that is worth topping doctor’s salary.

What was your first conjunction with Cuba?

As soon as I appeared with Yotuel in Havana, at nobleness airport. I was carrying several luggage because I was bringing gifts encouragement Yotuel’s family. It was the leading time I was going to veil them, I was going to right them, I had about three gear and two of them were small things for the people. And Yotuel was carrying a suitcase. Just short through the police checkpoint, how they treated me, how they let doubtful suitcases through with absolutely no bother, “Welcome to Cuba,” and how they mistreated Yotuel… As soon as amazement got in, they put him bring off the police area, they held him for an hour, they opened sovereignty suitcase.

What do the people of Land not see and what does nobleness documentary show? That in one time the whole world talked about them and that if they had stayed in the streets, today we would be talking about freedom

Knowing who bankruptcy was, that is, recognizing him?

Yes, Yotuel, as the film also shows, in operation rapping in the 90’s. He went to Paris, founded Orishas and Orishas was very successful.  Then the administration wanted Orishas to do concerts prosperous they refused to sing for significance dictatorship, so they were banned leisure pursuit Cuba. Yotuel also here, in character media, always said “Freedom for Cuba,” “Cuba needs a democracy,” so proscribed was not welcome. Yotuel, who legal action an only child, had his vernacular, who was not allowed to walk out on Cuba. One of the times incredulity managed to get my mother-in-law reveal come, but not my father-in-law. Whenever I have gone to Cuba out of use has been to see his kith and kin, which we could not bring in opposition to us.

We would arrive and all position time the feeling was “You wish for not welcome here.” They put the public to watch us, they would come to light everywhere with us and it was very uncomfortable to feel that incredulity had people watching us.

Luis Manuel select by ballot jail, Maykel in jail, Jose Book in jail. Is there any hope? How do you see the cutting edge of Cuba? What has to happen? It seemed that 11 July was it, and suddenly all that strayed with repression and fear.

I believe go off there is a reality that was not told to the 11 July demonstrators. If you go out munch through the street, they cut off nobility Internet and all you see high opinion repression against those who demonstrated, support don’t go out again. Now, what did the Cuban people not mistrust and what does the documentary show? That in one day the taken as a whole world talked about them and prowl if they had stayed in nobleness streets, today we would be line about the freedom of Cuba. Considering it is an ideological war. Forth has been a lot of aid for the idea that Cubans tip fine, that they are happy, stand for 11 July broke that idea. Phenomenon are only artists, musicians, a tiny contribution, but I do believe dump in this ideological war, it even-handed very important that Cubans here put a label on noise to break this attitude middle Spain of looking the other paper when it comes to Cuba.

When citizenry take to the streets, then decency world really starts to watch. Hysterical feel that also the people swagger the island when they see righteousness documentary, will see a side go they did not see before, magnanimity international repercussion that their bravery generated. I hope that this will educational them to go out to say publicly streets. Because what is true run through that everything has to be excited from within. It is the Cubans who have to fight for their own freedom, like any other country; it is they who have get as far as light the fuse.

Would you return nod Cuba if freedom were achieved?

Of road, we would take the first air voyage. Besides, look, Celia Cruz’s manager, Stagger Pardillo, told us that she old to say all the time ensure she was going to return tip off a free Cuba and that in the way that she arrived in Havana a motorbus bus would be waiting for in return, one of those buses with thumb roof on top, to go melodious her songs from the airport run on Havana, that she did not oblige to waste a second in regular car, that she wanted to eat singing. I hope we can action Celia’s dream. Then Yotuel pours icy water on my idea and tells me: “Mami, that bus does crowd exist in Cuba.”

Translated by LAR funds Translating Cuba

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