"Patria y Vida" ("Homeland and Life") is a slogan and song associated with the July 2021 Cuban protests. It is an inversion of the Cuban Revolution motto Patria o Muerte ("Homeland or Death"). The slogan was popularized by a reggaeton song released in February 2021 by Yotuel, Beatriz Luengo, Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Osorbo and El Funky. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The song "Patria y Vida" was released on 16 February 2021, performed by Cuban rappers Yotuel Romero, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, El Funky and the group Gente de Zona. [6] The title of the song refers to the phrase "Patria o muerte ¡Venceremos!", coined by Fidel Castro in March 1960, after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and which has been used as one of the slogans of the Cuban government. [7] The lyrics of the song criticize the Cuban government with phrases such as "My people ask for freedom, no more doctrines". [8] The song also alludes to recent events in Cuba, including the arrest of rapper Denis Solís and the arrest of members of the San Isidro Movement in November 2020 after they staged a hunger strike in protest of Solis' arrest. [1] [9] It also mentions the problems facing the country such as food shortages and the depreciation of the Cuban peso. [9] The video clip of the song, recorded in Havana and Miami, managed to exceed one million views on YouTube within three days of its release. [10] [11]
After its publication, the song received multiple criticisms from the Cuban government. The newspaper Granma, owned by the Cuban Communist Party, published three articles discrediting the song, labeling it as a "rag and cowardly" song, its authors as "rats" seeking to "change Cuba for a million views on YouTube" and calling the song an "operation from Miami". In the 2020 Olympics, the gold medal winner Cuban boxer Julio César La Cruz expressed his support for the Cuban government by declaring after his quarterfinal victory "Patria y vida, no. ¡Patria o muerte, venceremos!". [12]
The Cuban government's criticism caused the slogan "Patria y Vida" to begin to be used by opponents of the regime as a symbol. [10] A few days after the song's release, two Cuban activists were arrested in Havana for writing the phrase "Patria y Vida" on the facade of their house. [13] On March 6, a demonstration of Cuban exiles in Miami used the slogan "Patria y vida" to call for an end to the Cuban regime. [14] Rapper Maykel Castillo, who collaborated on the song's video clip, was arrested in May on charges of inciting public disorder. The Cuban government banned the reproduction of the song. [15]
"Patria y Vida" won Song of the Year and Best Urban Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2021. [16]
On 11 July 2021, a series of demonstrations began in Cuba against the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel. The first protests erupted in San Antonio de los Baños, near Havana, and in Palma Soriano, in the province of Santiago de Cuba, with people chanting "Patria y Vida", as well as other slogans and criticizing the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the island and the subsequent economic crisis. [17] The hashtag #PatriaYVida was used on social networks to spread the protests along with others such as #SOSCuba. [18] The phrase has been considered a symbol of the opposition to the Cuban government and the song as an anthem of the protests. [19]
The slogan was also used in protests in support of Cuban demonstrators in various parts of Latin America, including Argentina, Mexico and Peru, as well as the United States. [20] [21] [22]
By the time the demonstrations began, the song already had more than six million views on YouTube. Its author, Yotuel Romero, has proposed that July 11 be considered "Day of Homeland and Life" in honor of the demonstrations that began on that day. [23]
Nueva canción is a left-wing social movement and musical genre in Latin America and the Iberian peninsula, characterized by folk-inspired styles and socially committed lyrics. Nueva canción is widely recognized to have played a profound role in the pro-democracy social upheavals in Portugal, Spain and Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s, and was popular amongst socialist organizations in the region.
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Orlando González Soto, better known as Orlando Contreras, was a Cuban Bolero singer, known by his fans as "La Voz Romántica de Cuba".
Patria's first issue appeared on March 14, 1892. Writer José Martí played a leading role in founding the paper as the official publication of the Cuban Revolutionary Party. It provided a method of spreading information that could be accessible to Cubans about the Cuban War of Independence.
This article covers events in the year 2021 in Cuba.
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance is a coalition of anti-government human rights groups inside and outside Cuba. Their members are signatories of the "Agreement for Democracy in Cuba" drafted in 1998, and "My Signature for my Dignity" in 2020. The ACR considers the Castro regime illegal, and supports free elections and the release of all political prisoners.
The San Isidro Movement is a group of Cuban artists, journalists and academics formed in 2018 to protest against the government's increased censorship of artistic expression in Cuba. The group's members have staged protests, performances and interventions that have resulted in arrests and retaliatory actions by the Cuban government.
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Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra is a Peruvian politician, civil servant, and lawyer currently serving as the President of Peru since 7 December 2022. She had served as the first vice president and minister at the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion under President Pedro Castillo. She served as an officer at the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) from 2007 until 2022.
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Following the ousting of president of Peru, Pedro Castillo on 7 December 2022, a series of political protests against the legitimate government of president Dina Boluarte and the Congress of Peru occurred. The demonstrations lack centralized leadership and originated primarily among grassroots movements and social organizations on the left to far-left, as well as indigenous communities, who feel politically disenfranchised. Castillo was removed from office and arrested after announcing the ilegal dissolution of Congress, the intervention of the state apparatus, and the forced establishment of an "emergency government", which was characterized as a self-coup attempt by all government institutions, all professional institutions, and mainstream media in Peru while Castillo's supporters said that Congress attempted to overthrow Castillo. Castillo's successor Dina Boluarte, along with Congress, were widely disapproved, with the two receiving the lowest approval ratings among public offices in the Americas. Among the main demands of the demonstrators are the dissolution of Congress, the resignation of Boluarte, new general elections, the release of Castillo, and the formation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. It has also been reported that some of the protesters have declared an insurgency in Punos's region. Analysts, businesses, and voters said that immediate elections are necessary to prevent future unrest, although many establishment political parties have little public support.
Eduardo Antonio is a Cuban singer, actor and producer. His songs have served as a soundtrack, presentation and closing theme for soap operas and films such as Preciosa, Alma rebelde, Yo amo a Juan Querendón, Pecadora, Antes que anochezca, among others, acting as an actor in some of these.
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