Thread by @HillelNeuer

On Monday, Cuba takes its UN Human Rights Council seat.

If the UN cared, they would play the new anti-Communist anthem—by @GdZOficial @Yotuel007 @MaykelOsorbo @Descemer_Bueno @LMOAlcantara—that is going viral & sparking the regime's fury.

#PatriaYVida

Gente de Zona, Yotuel of hip-hop band Orishas & singer Descemer Bueno collaborated with rappers in Cuba—Maykel Osorbo & El Funky—who are part of a dissident artists collective that sparked an unusual protest against repression outside the culture ministry.
reuters.com/article/us-cub…

“Homeland & Life” repurposes the old slogan “Patria o Muerte”—Homeland or Death—emblazoned on walls across the Caribbean country ever since Fidel Castro’s 1959 leftist revolution & expresses frustration with being required to make sacrifices in the name of ideology for 62 years.

Lyrics refer to ideological intolerance, partial dollarization of the economy, food shortages & exodus of young Cubans who see no future on the island. “No more lies, my people calls for freedom, no more doctrines” sings Delgado, half of GdZ, chanting “It’s over” in the refrain.

Cuban state media & officials including the president have launched a barrage of attacks against the song, which reflects a surge in overt anti-Cuban-government sentiment among more contemporary generations of Cuban migrants, said Michael Bustamante, of Florida Int'l University.