Havana is under fire. This week alone the city is hosting two very significant cultural events: the schooner Amistad docking in Matanzas on Monday and later on by the end of the week in the capitol and the arrival of one of the most influential Latin music groups of the decade: Calle 13.
For the English speaking public and for those who don't subscribed to the urban rhythms of the blend of Hip Hop and reggaeton together with sounds from the Andes and rumba, Calle 13 probably doesn't mean anything other than noisy ruckus coming from the slums anywhere from East Harlem to the South Side of Chicago. But Calle 13 is from Puerto Rico and for Cuba that means the other wing of the same bird.
Taking their name from the street where they grew up in San Juan, Rene Perez and Eduardo Cabra are the front men of a group made up of over 20 musicians whose musical talents have garnered them 12 Grammy awards after only three albums.
Their songs are a blend of Latino Hip Hop woven together with blends of other musical genres that spawn from the heads of Eduardo (Visitante) and René (Residente) spiced up with the rhythmic talents of the multiple percussionists who have already admitted much of their inspiration stems from this other island in the Caribbean.
They are reminiscent of the Young Lords in the very essence of their beings. Their lyrics speak to social injustice and the undue cruelties that they as Puerto Ricans have seen in their homeland. Querido F.B.I. a song telling the infamous tale of the murder of independence fighter and machetero leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios at the hands of federal agents in 2005 is one very clear cut example of their stance.
"We take from all the places where we've been; this fuels our body of work and is the end result of the songs I rap," said René (Residente) during a massive gathering at Casa de las Americas in Havana. "With this mix of music's we push the envelop and help introduce our listeners to new rhythms, musical styles and aspects of the cultures that surround and nurture us all."
When asked about the continent and where it's headed Rene has no doubts: "Latin America is growing for the better, all of it, Central America, South America, its all growing stronger more united. We can feel it."
Tonight Lola Rodriguez de Tió will resonate to the four winds when thousands of young and not so young gather to hear the young voices of Puerto Rico together with young Cuban artists performing live by the water front. The two winged bird will fly, Puerto Rico and Cuba, as one.