The China Mail - Cuban kids resist reggaeton, one verse at a time

USD -
AED 3.67301
AFN 71.021929
ALL 86.757891
AMD 388.845938
ANG 1.80229
AOA 916.000148
ARS 1165.000022
AUD 1.559315
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.70406
BAM 1.718274
BBD 2.002838
BDT 121.45998
BGN 1.72222
BHD 0.376957
BIF 2973.111879
BMD 1
BND 1.309923
BOB 6.907155
BRL 5.619799
BSD 0.999627
BTN 85.145488
BWP 13.647565
BYN 3.271381
BYR 19600
BZD 2.008021
CAD 1.382775
CDF 2877.999765
CHF 0.824198
CLF 0.024644
CLP 945.690142
CNY 7.269496
CNH 7.2656
COP 4197
CRC 505.357119
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 96.873243
CZK 21.90485
DJF 178.012449
DKK 6.56135
DOP 58.908545
DZD 132.288977
EGP 50.801298
ERN 15
ETB 133.81045
EUR 0.87892
FJD 2.256403
FKP 0.746656
GBP 0.74686
GEL 2.745039
GGP 0.746656
GHS 14.294876
GIP 0.746656
GMD 71.492633
GNF 8658.065706
GTQ 7.698728
GYD 209.76244
HKD 7.75695
HNL 25.941268
HRK 6.620396
HTG 130.799
HUF 355.319478
IDR 16646.9
ILS 3.62904
IMP 0.746656
INR 85.090398
IQD 1309.571398
IRR 42100.000211
ISK 128.410025
JEP 0.746656
JMD 158.35182
JOD 0.7092
JPY 142.663004
KES 129.349896
KGS 87.450261
KHR 4001.774662
KMF 432.250121
KPW 900.101764
KRW 1422.724972
KWD 0.30632
KYD 0.833044
KZT 511.344318
LAK 21622.072771
LBP 89567.707899
LKR 299.446072
LRD 199.931473
LSL 18.549157
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 5.468994
MAD 9.272737
MDL 17.203829
MGA 4511.41031
MKD 54.061297
MMK 2099.785163
MNT 3572.381038
MOP 7.98763
MRU 39.575655
MUR 45.229907
MVR 15.400483
MWK 1733.40069
MXN 19.553103
MYR 4.310956
MZN 64.01011
NAD 18.549157
NGN 1601.519845
NIO 36.785022
NOK 10.359235
NPR 136.237321
NZD 1.68312
OMR 0.384995
PAB 0.999613
PEN 3.664973
PGK 4.141482
PHP 55.858498
PKR 280.826287
PLN 3.75155
PYG 8005.376746
QAR 3.644223
RON 4.374502
RSD 102.966435
RUB 82.000422
RWF 1428.979332
SAR 3.751033
SBD 8.361298
SCR 14.651979
SDG 600.501985
SEK 9.643735
SGD 1.305825
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.75021
SLL 20969.483762
SOS 571.328164
SRD 36.849418
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.746876
SYP 13001.961096
SZL 18.542907
THB 33.321501
TJS 10.555936
TMT 3.51
TND 2.990231
TOP 2.342102
TRY 38.501202
TTD 6.782431
TWD 31.975997
TZS 2685.000535
UAH 41.530014
UGX 3663.550745
UYU 42.090559
UZS 12943.724275
VES 86.54811
VND 26005
VUV 121.306988
WST 2.770092
XAF 576.298184
XAG 0.030422
XAU 0.000302
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.71673
XOF 576.29312
XPF 104.776254
YER 245.050187
ZAR 18.54398
ZMK 9001.200989
ZMW 27.965227
ZWL 321.999592
  • SCS

    0.1500

    10.01

    +1.5%

  • RBGPF

    -0.4500

    63

    -0.71%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1300

    10.12

    -1.28%

  • NGG

    0.1900

    73.04

    +0.26%

  • RIO

    0.0100

    60.88

    +0.02%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.58

    +0.1%

  • CMSC

    -0.0800

    22.24

    -0.36%

  • GSK

    0.9100

    38.97

    +2.34%

  • RELX

    0.4300

    53.79

    +0.8%

  • JRI

    0.1300

    12.93

    +1.01%

  • AZN

    1.7800

    71.71

    +2.48%

  • BCE

    0.1100

    21.92

    +0.5%

  • BCC

    -0.8300

    94.5

    -0.88%

  • BTI

    0.4700

    42.86

    +1.1%

  • CMSD

    -0.1300

    22.35

    -0.58%

  • BP

    -1.0600

    28.07

    -3.78%

Cuban kids resist reggaeton, one verse at a time
Cuban kids resist reggaeton, one verse at a time / Photo: © AFP

Cuban kids resist reggaeton, one verse at a time

Forget reggaeton or rap: for children in rural Cuba the epitome of cool is writing and singing a ten-line poem -- a art form honed by farmers and preserved over generations.

Text size:

Improvised oral poetry, known as "repentismo" or "punto cubano" when set to music, was introduced to Latin America by Spanish colonists in the 16th century, and remains an integral part of Cuba's culture.

Poets known as "repentistas" compose ten-verse, octosyllabic stanzas with a fixed rhyming scheme called "decimas" which they perform to music at provincial festivals.

In 2017, the United Nations added the art form to its Intangible World Heritage list.

Aficionados have been battling to keep the tradition alive amid a youthful flight to reggaeton -- the blend of reggae, dancehall and Latino music sweeping the region.

A theatre in the town of Guines, in Cuba's western agricultural heartland, is at the forefront of the battle to keep repentismo alive.

Some 200 budding poets aged between four and 20 recently converged on the town recently to take part in a series of repentismo workshops and verbally joust on stage.

- 'Peasant dream' -

The contestants were dressed smartly -- cotton dresses for the girls, shirts and pants for the boys -- in the red, white and blue colors of the Cuban flag.

Emir Amador, a five-year-old with slicked-back hair, was the picture of poise as he took to the stage and performed his piece, accompanied by a guitar, a lute, a "tres" (a Cuban guitar with three pairs of double strings) and a "clave" (two wooden sticks acting as a percussion instrument).

"I am from a generation that has just begun its journey, with a peasant dream beating in my heart," Amador sang in a high vocal register.

"And here I am like a pigeon between verse and loyalty to tradition, doing with a desire as mighty as the Andes what my elders didn't do when they were my age," he crooned.

Amador's performance ended with a flourish, rhyming "lealtad" (loyalty) with "mi edad" (my age).

"I like singing a lot," Amador told AFP at the theatre, standing in front of a giant photograph of late Cuban folk queen Celina Gonzalez, whose hit "Yo Soy El Punto Cubano" spoke of the "hope and joy" that folk poetry imparts.

Six-year-old Liliet Oliver, who wore white bows in her plaited black hair, said she loved being put to the test in the improv duels that mark the high point of any "guateque" or festival of rural culture.

"I am Liliet, a star in the improvisation sky, and everyone has noticed that I am playful, and that I am beautiful," she sang, her clear voice echoing through the theatre.

- Antithesis of reggaeton -

Lazaro Palenzuela runs one of several schools where children learn the basics of rhyming structures and improvisation.

Very few manage to master the art form.

"Out of 20 children, only two succeed," he said, citing the need to ad lib as the principal hurdle.

Children from farming families where repentismo has been practised around kitchen tables for generations have a distinct advantage.

Brayan Gutierrez, 17, comes from what he calls a dynasty of singer poets.

But the 2024 repentismo youth champion, 20-year-old Brayan Iglesias, said he learned his craft solely through "long years of sacrifice, reading and practice."

These young lovers of verse see themselves as a bulwark against the seemingly unstoppable rise of reggaeton, with its hyper-sexualized, sometimes misogynistic lyrics.

"We are the antithesis of that," said Palenzuela.

Gutierrez said he believed the two musical forms were irreconcilable.

A good stanza is "a marvelous artistic creation," he enthused, contrasting it with the "obscene" lyrics of some reggaeton hits.

Palenzuela and his students conceded, however, that their craft lacked visibility, both on the national and international stage.

"The children and young people of this project will never stop fighting until the decima has been given the recognition it deserves," vowed Iglesias.

Y.Parker--ThChM