Los Aldeanos Analysis

America. Aldo points to the title song from his own solo effort, Miseria Humana (2008): "This human misery, this is how it is for Cubans today; our need for money, our need to help each other." In 2009, the rap duo Los Aldeanos, although banned from performing, their music was consumed more than ever and with the mp3 technology, the whole banning tactic was becoming absurd. In the case of Los Aldeanos, as Baker explains in his article, it might be possible that the duo has gained permission to travel abroad by taking an agreement to soften their lyrics and the critics. On the other hand, they might be simply exploring new artistic ways, because they have openly criticized the Cuban state already so many times, bringing them national and international

The reason I picked this issue is not just because the state finds this way of dancing highly immoral, but also because the way I see it, is the freedom of movement, the young Cubans expressing their way of feeling free and being able to have a control of their own body in a state where everything is controlled by the regime. With reggaeton taking over the island, the moral panic rises among the Cubans. This happens mainly because of the vibe reggaeton gives as hypersexual, but in my opinion mainly because of the lyrics. The reggaeton lyrics tend to be more sexual, poor and even violent. In chapter 2, I am going to give more attention to analyzing the lyrics and talk more on case with Cuban reggaeton and the doble sentido. Last but not least, I used censorship, a method that Cubans are used to; here I give the example of the timba, which back in the end of the 20th century was censored, because of its lyrics and its connection to the poor black barrios. In this part, I am discussing that although music has been censored many times by the state (more on this in relation to reggaeton in chapter 2), this has brought benefits for the artists, who are being censored by the media, but still, thanks to mp3 technology, are becoming really famous in no time and who are actually benefitting from the censorship. In the second chapter, I am going to discuss my

During my fieldwork, there were moments important for the relation between Cuba and the rest of the world. In chapter 2, I will discuss more on these events and the reaction these provoked among the Cubans. In this period of changes, the island is exposed to many influences from outside and what ones was seen as a wish from the scholars, by analyzing the political, economic and social issues via the reggaeton hit Gasolina is now seen as a possible wish come true. According to Fairley, on his research on reggaeton, sexuality and gender in Cuba, the lyrics of Gasolina can be analyzed by the young Cubans as a way of needing gas in order to travel, to leave Cuba and see the world. So, my intention is to analyze the situation in Cuba at this moment and give my opinion, as a result of the research done, on what the whole ‘fuss’ around reggaeton is and whether this Latin American product can find its place in the rich Cuban music