Patria y Vida : The Dissident Rappers Helping Drive Cuba s Protests – WSJ

The protesters pouring into streets across Cuba have a common rallying cry: Patria y Vida, or Fatherland and Life. The phrase comes from a hip-hop song released a few months ago by dissident Cuban artists who set out to challenge the government and in the process helped spark a wave of protests against the 62-year communist regime.

In the demonstrations that began Sunday, Cubans have called for an end to the regime, protesting the scarcity of food and medicine amid a surge of coronavirus cases. For Cuba s frustrated youth in particular, Patria y Vida has become a danceable protest anthem and a viral sensation, with nearly six million views on YouTube.

Part of the video was recorded in secret in February by rapper Maykel Castillo and performance artist Luis Manuel Otero, who were careful to elude the police officers who routinely follow them. The pair met in an abandoned house and tapped into a power line to turn on their lighting equipment. From Miami, superstar rapper Yotuel, the founder of the Cuban group Orishas, coordinated production, stitching together images recorded by rappers in Havana and Miami.

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