Cuban music is a joyful expression of the Cuban people.
Too bad they aren't welcome in Trumpistan. To be fair, Biden's cold war brain and Trump's Mein Kampf brain are the problem. AI: Surviving members of the original Buena Vista Social Club and related projects tour globally, though U.S. performance bookings often face severe administrative obstacles. Because the U.S. Embassy in Havana has been closed, Cuban artists frequently have to travel to third countries to obtain visas, which can lead to unpredictable delays or cancellations.
https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/trump-admin-cuban-jazz-inconsistent-with-us-policy Trump Admin: Cuban Jazz Music “Inconsistent” with U.S. Policy May 9 The issue. The Washington State Clark College Jazz Band planned to visit Cuba to learn about Cuban jazz and share experiences with local music students, but their trip was blocked at the last minute by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
What happened. Clark’s students were going to travel to Cuba through a general “support for the Cuban people” licence, which, unlike a specific license, would not require authorization from OFAC. But when the school tried to send a wire transfer to the tour company organizing the trip, Bank of America froze the money and reported the transfer to OFAC. Clark College requested the funds be released and applied to OFAC for a specific license for the trip. The school’s request was denied by OFAC two days before the group was scheduled to travel.
Jazz “inconsistent” with U.S. policy. OFAC’s March 25th letter denying the license claimed that Clark’s request “to attend several presentations on Cuban jazz music and participate in musical cultural exchanges with Cuban musical students, as described in the Application, would be inconsistent with U.S. Government policy.”
What to make of this. The letter does not explain how cultural exchanges between U.S. and Cuban students are contrary to U.S. policy. It does, however, hint at who made this determination. The OFAC letter to Clark says the decision was made “after careful consideration, including consultation with the U.S. Department of State.” The State Department is headed by Cuban-American hardliner Marco Rubio, who oversees Cuba policy along with his right-hand man, Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone.
Some context. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, several travelers have reported harassment upon returning to the U.S. Meanwhile, travel from Cuba to the U.S. is also proving difficult. Recently, Cuban music students were denied U.S. visas to visit Berkeley High School.
Cuba-U.S. cultural exchanges boomed during Obama’s opening with Cuba. But U.S. policy toward Cuba under Trump and Biden has cut off relations between artists in both countries.
Don't sing to me praises of the Cuban people. They've caused enough misery to last me a lifetime. And the US DoS was right to block every penny that might sustain the current regime (ie- wire transfer to the tour company).
Hotels and tour companies in Cuba do not benefit the Cuban people. They're for "estranjeros" not "nationals" and regime foreign currency raising purposes only. Cubans aren't allow in them except to "work" or "perform". The government steals most of their money from their performances.
from Google AI:
Cuban musicians touring internationally as part of state-sponsored groups (such as the successors to the Buena Vista Social Club) do not keep all their performance fees. Under Cuban law, their earnings are subject to state taxation and are typically routed through state agencies like a national cultural agency, with a significant percentage taken by the regime.
However, the degree to which this impacts the individual artists varies:
State Taxes and Cuts: The Cuban government considers popular music an export. State-affiliated musicians surrender a significant portion of their international touring fees and royalties to the government.
Historical Royalties: Following the 1997 album's massive international success, the initial musicians did receive royalties, though they were subject to complex global copyright disputes between American and Cuban publishing companies.
The Broadway Show: The stage production based on their story, Buena Vista Social Club, is a theatrical production. The royalties and proceeds from adaptations, licensing, and performances outside of Cuba generally go to the rights holders, the creators of the theatrical work, and the surviving artists or their estates.
btw - Didn't you ever read Kafka's "Josephine the Singer". If you want to ever understand what the life of the artist is under socialism/ communism, you should learn its' lessons. Communism's focus is mostly on providing "necessities". Luxuries are the things that "corrupt societies". And people who want to provide "luxuries" are often treated more severely by regimes.
In the case of the BVSC, they're tolerated because of their hard foreign-currency earning potentials, but their earnings are mostly confiscated. private property "bad", remember? It allows people to "buy their way out" of their social "obligations" (slaving to produce necessities).
In the Buena Vista Social Club song "Qué Bueno Baila Usted" (often misremembered as "Baile Muy Bueno Usted"), "El Castellano" is the nickname for the legendary Cuban singer and bandleader Benny Moré. The song is a direct musical tribute to him, praising his smooth dance moves, signature style, and lasting impact on Cuban music.
Who he is: Benny Moré, famously nicknamed El Bárbaro del Ritmo, was one of Cuba's most influential and iconic vocalists.
Relationship to the singers: The song was originally written and performed by Moré himself. For the Buena Vista Social Club, it is a posthumous tribute. The singer on the famous BVSC recording, Ibrahim Ferrer, was a peer and contemporary of Moré in the golden age of Cuban music. Both men came up through the Havana music scene of the 1940s and 1950s, sharing deep mutual respect within the Afro-Cuban jazz and son traditions.
Notice the dates 1940s-50s (pre-Castro).
more from Google AI:
Before Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, the Buena Vista Social Club was a real, bustling members-only dance hall in Havana, Cuba. Founded in 1932, it served as a popular cultural hub for Afro-Cuban musicians and dancers during the mid-20th-century golden age of Cuban music.
The Pre-Castro History
The Venue: Originally located in the neighborhood of Buenavista, the club later relocated in 1939 to a larger space in Almendares, Marianao.
Musical Golden Age: It operated as a vibrant gathering space and a platform for early son, danzón, and bolero musicians, though like many clubs of that era in Cuba, it was racially segregated (functioning primarily as a "black society" rooted in Afro-Cuban cabildos).
Decline: The club was shuttered in the 1960s following the Cuban Revolution and Castro's rise to power, which drastically altered the island's music scene and nightlife.
The 1990s Revival
The name only returned to global prominence decades later when American guitarist Ry Cooder and British producer Nick Gold traveled to Cuba in 1996. They sought to locate the original venue (though the physical building had faded into history) and instead gathered legendary, retired pre-Castro era musicians. This collaboration led to the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club album and the iconic 1999 documentary.
If you are looking to learn more about the musicians who played in pre-revolutionary Cuba, let me know if you would like me to detail:
The key singers and instrumentalists who defined the pre-Castro era.
The historical and political impact of the revolution on the Cuban music scene.
Details on the stage adaptation, Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway.
While exact figures are closely guarded, the Cuban regime takes the lion's share of international earnings generated by musicians performing under the Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) name. The state extracts these funds through various mechanisms:
Copyright Control: The Cuban state-run agency Editora Musical de Cuba (EMC) has historically laid claim to the publishing copyrights and royalty streams of these legacy Cuban artists.
Touring and Performance Fees: Musicians operating out of Cuba must typically pay a heavy cut of their international earnings to state agencies in the form of agent fees, foreign booking levies, and taxes.
International Lawsuits: The extent of state control sparked massive international legal disputes. For example, a 2005 British High Court battle saw US music company Peer International clash with the Cuban government over the rights and royalties tied to the original BVSC tunes. The US-based publisher argued the Cuban state had illegally seized the copyrights, while the Cuban government sought to secure the US dollar royalties
Joe, OF course communism is terrible for free expression and the arts that don't conform the ruling party's conditions. Look at your Criminal Hero emulating them by threatening and bullying American entertainers who dare mock or criticize him. He's a petty tyrant who would have them all shot if he had his way, but has to make do with censorship, lawsuits, and politicized vendetta by his Injustice Department of Retribution.
Life is tough for most musicians in every country. Even the Beatles were taxed heavily and ripped off by swindlers.
Can you show us on the doll where the Cuban people hurt you?
How do you think families of the uncounted hundreds of thousands of innocent people killed by US bombs feel about the American people? Although, unlike you, many of them understand the actions of the US government do not align with the needs and wishes of its citizens, especially under conservatives. They have never cared to serve the common people or their interests. But the victims have damn well felt the suffering the US government inflicted upon them.
They can sure as hell tell you what American politicians have done to them. An embargo is an act of war, and has been punishing the Cuban people for over 60 years.
All because capitalists hate Castro for driving out THIER dictator, and their casinos and gangsters from Cuba. Trump and conservatives feel entitled to punish the populations of every country where their government doesn't invest in or lend money to the US.
Trump has nothing but praise for communist dictators everywhere else.
Just look at the cruelty in Trump's privatized concentration camps. All of the neglect, abuse, and brutal punishment for being non-violent immigrants.
But, hey, at least your hero makes sure your Epstein Class of rich pedophiles are getting away with their perverted child abuse. That never seems to violate your "Very high moral standards".
The Cuban people hurt me by helping Chavez and Maduro. Many friends and former classmates are refugees. My best friend '66-70, however, is now the Chairman of the Council of the Americas. I await the democratization of Cuba with baited breath.
I wonder if you've ever asked the Iranian people how the US "hurt" them by overthrowing their democratically elected Mosaddegh and installed the Shah.
Or how the Guatemalans felt when the US/CIA replaced the democratically elected Arbenz with Carlos Armas, to the delight of the execs of the United Fruit Company.
The USIC and CIA have committed unspeakable attrocities, against foreigners, and the American people. They must be called to account, yet the Democrats love them (cuz they're both Neoliberal AND "woke" now).
Unfortunately, Tulsi is leaving and few others are willing to stand up to them. Even Trump has gone soft (Epstein files).
Joe, You mean the "mainstream" corpo-dems who often work in tandem with Republicans. Progressives despise the CIA. How does it feel to agree with us?
You won't see Bernie, or AOC, or Jasmine Crockett sucking up to the CIA. Obviously it's NOT "woke". It's the foreign clandestine arm of corporate American and the military industrial complex.
Read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins for his discussion on the CIA's role in corporatocracy. AI The "Three Levels" of Coercion: According to his narrative, foreign leaders were controlled through a tiered system: 1. Economic Hit Men: The first line of attack offering bribes and economic entrapment. 2. (CIA) Jackals: Assassins and paramilitary operatives who step in if an Economic Hit Man fails to persuade a foreign leader (with Perkins pointing to the suspicious deaths of leaders like Ecuador's Jaime Roldós and Panama's Omar Torrijos as examples). 3. Military Intervention: The ultimate option utilized if the first two steps fail. AI:
If the CIA is so "Woke" why do progressives hate it? Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has emerged as the most prominent Democratic critic of intelligence agency overreach. A senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he has consistently demanded transparency regarding classified CIA programs, domestic surveillance, and the scope of executive authority.
Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ilhan Omar, have historically advocated for defunding, scaling back, or heavily reforming the intelligence and national security apparatus, expressing skepticism about covert military operations and global interventions. -- These are very people you call "woke" and you can't see the disconnect in your confirmation bias.
Yes, Trump has gone soft alright. Soft on CRIMES by his donors and thugs. American victims of fraud are shut out of compensation because of Trump pardoning the slimeballs who bribe him with donations.
He's SOFT on cocaine kingpins like the former Honduran President. No wonder he wants to boost his image as a drug warrior by summary executions at sea. This is 100% dictator behavior that has NOTHING to do with the rule of law. But what can we expect from a CRIMINAL president?
But, that's the OPPOSITE of "woke", so you're good with it, right?
The CIA is 'woke" because it is useful. It's "how" NED and USAID capacity build coercive "dissent" through NGOs in foreign countries. It recruits "woke" progressives to coordinate with this astro-turfed "dissent". And if the foreign government doesn't do as the State Department "asks", you get riots or a "colour revolution" in your country. It's organized coercion. That how the Maidan revolution got started.
The CIA also uses fascists and right wing extremists. NED (National Endowment for Democracy) has two branches. The IRI run by Republicans (leans right) and the NDI run by Democrats (leans left-woke). The IRI uses business organizations (like the International Chambers of Commerce) to economically influence and coerce. The NDI uses labour and dissident organizations like AFL/CIO and Internation Women's Forum (IWF) to economically socially influence and coerce.
The NGO's are funded by USAID grants, which then make sub-grants the allow the NGO's to control the leadership of the local social advocacy groups.
In other words, to motivate out allies we use R.I.C.E. techniques. R-Reward; I-Ideology, C-Coercion, and E-Ego. NED's IRI & NDI provide the I. Dept of State tells CIA went to apply the 'C' (demonstrations/ riots). And the Woke agents execute it. Be it "Right" like a fascist KKK mob, or "Left" like Antifa.
Why do you suppose that the DoJ never cracks down on Antifa in the US? Why aren't they breaking up the anti-ICE riots in NJ? Because the USIC is behind all this cooked-up bs dissent. It's ALL kayfabe now. It's ALL Wisner's Mighty Wurlitzer, bought and paid by the US taxpayer.
Trump started out as a loose cannon, but is now a big part of it. Most of MAGA has now been captured as well. Steve Bannon was (and still is) an "influence operation". Cuz let's face it, anarchists make lousy organizers.
pps - The Senate Intelligence Committee IS the problem. ANY so-called reformer in it is a shill. You can't get on a committee without a leadership appoint, ESPECIALLY the SSCI!!!!!!!!!
btw - Why do you think George Soros' NGO funds so many Leftist Group? He picks (and controls $) their leadership. It's the "Alchemy of Finance" thru Soros Realism.... coercion thru finance (R-Reward), not prohibition/ censorship.
-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew btw - Why do you think George Soros' NGO funds so many Leftist Group? He picks (and controls $) their leadership. It's the "Alchemy of Finance" thru Soros Realism.... coercion thru finance (R-Reward), not prohibition/ censorship.
Elon Musk gave $270 million to Trump's 2024 campaign.
The late David Koch and his brother Charles Koch have used their immense wealth to finance an extensive array of right-wing, conservative, and libertarian causes over several decades. Their political network has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to shape American politics, policy, and public opinion
So, please stop your whining and sit this one out.
The capital class working its magic to dive more wealth accumulation to the top 1% to 3% of society. And the ignorant MAGA worshipers cheer their greed.
-FJ declared, "Bernie, AOC, and Jasmine Crockett are ALL shills... magnets to attract dissenters and use to achieve coercive UniParty (Neoliberal global) ends."
Does he really not understand the difference between neoliberalism and progressive liberalism.
Hint: The former abhors universal public healthcare, Constitutional regulation of commerce, taxes, provision for the general welfare, and progressivism, aka progressive liberalism.
https://www.britannica.com/money/neoliberalism
neoliberalism, ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition. Although there is considerable debate as to the defining features of neoliberal thought and practice, it is most commonly associated with laissez-faire economics. In particular, neoliberalism is often characterized in terms of its belief in sustained economic growth as the means to achieve human progress, its confidence in free markets as the most-efficient allocation of resources, its emphasis on minimal state intervention in economic and social affairs, and its commitment to the freedom of trade and capital.
Although the terms are similar, neoliberalism is distinct from modern liberalism.
Soros contributed $8,350 to Kamala. What did Musk contribute to Trump?
America PAC: Musk contributed roughly $239 million to this super PAC alone by the end of the 2024 election cycle.
Trump's Campaign: He also contributed the legal maximum directly to the Trump 47 Committee, which was around $924,000.
Other Groups: Musk gave an additional $20 million to other Trump-aligned PACs, and he later gave $5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc
I know the PRECISE difference between neoliberalism and progressive liberalism. White guilt pride. I also know the PRECISE difference between progressive liberalism and actual Leftism. Identity Individualism (New Left) and Marxist Class Struggle (Old Left). Dylan sold out when he went electric. And Herbert Marcuse, the FATHER of the New Left worked for the OSS, CIA precurser. He traded cultural capitalism (neoliberalism) for socialism.
Who's whining? I'm simply pointing out that it's not just the Republicans (IRI) or the Democrats (NDI) but the UNIPARTY (NED/ USAID) run by the USIC as "overseen" by the SSCI that runs the kayfabe narrative you buy as "partisan politics" every day. And yes, it (USIC and DoS) all serves the "global interests' of the billionaire Koch, Soros, Thiel, Bezos, Musk, Adelson, + international capital class.
Our Constitutional system was designed to pit immoral actors against each other (Separation of Powers). The Imperial UniParty acts as one under the secrecy of NED, the USIC, and SSCI. It wears the cloak of Gyges that shields the action of immoral actors from view (institutional secrecy). It lives well beyond the official license of corrupting Chatham House Rules.
Yes, power corrupts, but... Our Constitution allowed the most immoral president in history who happens to have -FJ as an ardent supporter. But -FJ can certainly sling labels and deflections. Racism, greed, unprecedented corruption, lies, and hate all work towards his ideal of one party MAGA rule.
-FJ is MAGA all the way. And his identity is very, very much drenched in authoritarian white identity politics, aka white supremacy and Christian nationalism.
He needs to distract and deflect by citing obscure philosophers, but fears to address actual liberalism as advanced by FDR, JFK, LBJ, Carter, and Obama.
He'll whine about public healthcare, education, and services being "socialist evil" as he hypocritically supports a sex offender and pedophile protector who would deny healthcare and food for the poor as he praises and pardons thugs and swindlers like himself. This is why he needs to hide in his lofty abstractions and philosophical minutiae.
FDR's Second Bill of Rights and JFK have defined American liberalism:
FDR’s Second Bill of Rights:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation; The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living; The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad; The right of every family to a decent home; The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment; The right to a good education.
JFK's embrace of liberalism:
“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”
Shall we compare that to -JF's MAGA movement?
Feel free to educate us how MAGA makes America greater, and Americans happier, healthier and more secure than liberalism, -FJ.
It's all kayfabe, Dave. It's easier today to believe in UFOs than it is in any integrity in Left-Right Politics. Good people on both side root for the faces and the heels and are taken in by the spectacle, because they WANT to believe that they are on the side of the FACES and NOT the HEELS.
I only want one thing from our government, and it's not any of FDR's "rights". To observe the negative liberty limits placed upon them by the US Constitution. Your SoJus positive liberty based repressive violence is 100% bs!
Liberalism and democratic socialism are NOT authoritarian by their very nature.
But, MAGA, by its very nature is both authoritarian AND fascist. As well as racist, misogynist, and white supremacist all wrapped up in trump's christian nationalist propaganda network.
Your commitment to anti-white liberal repression is admirable. "Women and minorities first" on the HMS Titanic, despite the fact that there is a surplus of lifeboats. Yours is the "nature" of a scorpion atop a frogs back crossing a lake.
There is a rational and fully effective remedy. However, "Christian" Nationalism, Empire Christianiy, Zionism, the capital class, and ignorant deluded politicians of all stripes who support the capital class will never allow it to be accepted to the degree it need be to effect real lasting and positive change.
"Conservative, n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others." - Ambrose Bierce
By lasting positive change I mean change that flows in a positive direction. By which I mean change that is beneficial to all beings. IE: Not just the weathy capital class and oligarchs. This naturally applies to how we treat the planet and non human life
50 comments:
A little Elis Regina?
BVSC- Que Bueno Baila usted!
Cuban music is a joyful expression of the Cuban people.
Too bad they aren't welcome in Trumpistan. To be fair, Biden's cold war brain and Trump's Mein Kampf brain are the problem.
AI:
Surviving members of the original Buena Vista Social Club and related projects tour globally, though U.S. performance bookings often face severe administrative obstacles. Because the U.S. Embassy in Havana has been closed, Cuban artists frequently have to travel to third countries to obtain visas, which can lead to unpredictable delays or cancellations.
https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/news/trump-admin-cuban-jazz-inconsistent-with-us-policy
Trump Admin: Cuban Jazz Music “Inconsistent” with U.S. Policy
May 9
The issue. The Washington State Clark College Jazz Band planned to visit Cuba to learn about Cuban jazz and share experiences with local music students, but their trip was blocked at the last minute by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
What happened. Clark’s students were going to travel to Cuba through a general “support for the Cuban people” licence, which, unlike a specific license, would not require authorization from OFAC. But when the school tried to send a wire transfer to the tour company organizing the trip, Bank of America froze the money and reported the transfer to OFAC. Clark College requested the funds be released and applied to OFAC for a specific license for the trip. The school’s request was denied by OFAC two days before the group was scheduled to travel.
Jazz “inconsistent” with U.S. policy. OFAC’s March 25th letter denying the license claimed that Clark’s request “to attend several presentations on Cuban jazz music and participate in musical cultural exchanges with Cuban musical students, as described in the Application, would be inconsistent with U.S. Government policy.”
What to make of this. The letter does not explain how cultural exchanges between U.S. and Cuban students are contrary to U.S. policy. It does, however, hint at who made this determination. The OFAC letter to Clark says the decision was made “after careful consideration, including consultation with the U.S. Department of State.” The State Department is headed by Cuban-American hardliner Marco Rubio, who oversees Cuba policy along with his right-hand man, Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone.
Some context. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, several travelers have reported harassment upon returning to the U.S. Meanwhile, travel from Cuba to the U.S. is also proving difficult. Recently, Cuban music students were denied U.S. visas to visit Berkeley High School.
Cuba-U.S. cultural exchanges boomed during Obama’s opening with Cuba. But U.S. policy toward Cuba under Trump and Biden has cut off relations between artists in both countries.
Don't sing to me praises of the Cuban people. They've caused enough misery to last me a lifetime. And the US DoS was right to block every penny that might sustain the current regime (ie- wire transfer to the tour company).
Hotels and tour companies in Cuba do not benefit the Cuban people. They're for "estranjeros" not "nationals" and regime foreign currency raising purposes only. Cubans aren't allow in them except to "work" or "perform". The government steals most of their money from their performances.
from Google AI:
Cuban musicians touring internationally as part of state-sponsored groups (such as the successors to the Buena Vista Social Club) do not keep all their performance fees. Under Cuban law, their earnings are subject to state taxation and are typically routed through state agencies like a national cultural agency, with a significant percentage taken by the regime.
However, the degree to which this impacts the individual artists varies:
State Taxes and Cuts: The Cuban government considers popular music an export. State-affiliated musicians surrender a significant portion of their international touring fees and royalties to the government.
Historical Royalties: Following the 1997 album's massive international success, the initial musicians did receive royalties, though they were subject to complex global copyright disputes between American and Cuban publishing companies.
The Broadway Show: The stage production based on their story, Buena Vista Social Club, is a theatrical production. The royalties and proceeds from adaptations, licensing, and performances outside of Cuba generally go to the rights holders, the creators of the theatrical work, and the surviving artists or their estates.
btw - Didn't you ever read Kafka's "Josephine the Singer". If you want to ever understand what the life of the artist is under socialism/ communism, you should learn its' lessons. Communism's focus is mostly on providing "necessities". Luxuries are the things that "corrupt societies". And people who want to provide "luxuries" are often treated more severely by regimes.
In the case of the BVSC, they're tolerated because of their hard foreign-currency earning potentials, but their earnings are mostly confiscated. private property "bad", remember? It allows people to "buy their way out" of their social "obligations" (slaving to produce necessities).
from Google AI:
In the Buena Vista Social Club song "Qué Bueno Baila Usted" (often misremembered as "Baile Muy Bueno Usted"), "El Castellano" is the nickname for the legendary Cuban singer and bandleader Benny Moré. The song is a direct musical tribute to him, praising his smooth dance moves, signature style, and lasting impact on Cuban music.
Who he is: Benny Moré, famously nicknamed El Bárbaro del Ritmo, was one of Cuba's most influential and iconic vocalists.
Relationship to the singers: The song was originally written and performed by Moré himself. For the Buena Vista Social Club, it is a posthumous tribute. The singer on the famous BVSC recording, Ibrahim Ferrer, was a peer and contemporary of Moré in the golden age of Cuban music. Both men came up through the Havana music scene of the 1940s and 1950s, sharing deep mutual respect within the Afro-Cuban jazz and son traditions.
Notice the dates 1940s-50s (pre-Castro).
more from Google AI:
Before Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, the Buena Vista Social Club was a real, bustling members-only dance hall in Havana, Cuba. Founded in 1932, it served as a popular cultural hub for Afro-Cuban musicians and dancers during the mid-20th-century golden age of Cuban music.
The Pre-Castro History
The Venue: Originally located in the neighborhood of Buenavista, the club later relocated in 1939 to a larger space in Almendares, Marianao.
Musical Golden Age: It operated as a vibrant gathering space and a platform for early son, danzón, and bolero musicians, though like many clubs of that era in Cuba, it was racially segregated (functioning primarily as a "black society" rooted in Afro-Cuban cabildos).
Decline: The club was shuttered in the 1960s following the Cuban Revolution and Castro's rise to power, which drastically altered the island's music scene and nightlife.
The 1990s Revival
The name only returned to global prominence decades later when American guitarist Ry Cooder and British producer Nick Gold traveled to Cuba in 1996. They sought to locate the original venue (though the physical building had faded into history) and instead gathered legendary, retired pre-Castro era musicians. This collaboration led to the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club album and the iconic 1999 documentary.
If you are looking to learn more about the musicians who played in pre-revolutionary Cuba, let me know if you would like me to detail:
The key singers and instrumentalists who defined the pre-Castro era.
The historical and political impact of the revolution on the Cuban music scene.
Details on the stage adaptation, Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway.
more Google:
While exact figures are closely guarded, the Cuban regime takes the lion's share of international earnings generated by musicians performing under the Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) name. The state extracts these funds through various mechanisms:
Copyright Control: The Cuban state-run agency Editora Musical de Cuba (EMC) has historically laid claim to the publishing copyrights and royalty streams of these legacy Cuban artists.
Touring and Performance Fees: Musicians operating out of Cuba must typically pay a heavy cut of their international earnings to state agencies in the form of agent fees, foreign booking levies, and taxes.
International Lawsuits: The extent of state control sparked massive international legal disputes. For example, a 2005 British High Court battle saw US music company Peer International clash with the Cuban government over the rights and royalties tied to the original BVSC tunes. The US-based publisher argued the Cuban state had illegally seized the copyrights, while the Cuban government sought to secure the US dollar royalties
Joe,
OF course communism is terrible for free expression and the arts that don't conform the ruling party's conditions. Look at your Criminal Hero emulating them by threatening and bullying American entertainers who dare mock or criticize him. He's a petty tyrant who would have them all shot if he had his way, but has to make do with censorship, lawsuits, and politicized vendetta by his Injustice Department of Retribution.
Life is tough for most musicians in every country. Even the Beatles were taxed heavily and ripped off by swindlers.
Can you show us on the doll where the Cuban people hurt you?
How do you think families of the uncounted hundreds of thousands of innocent people killed by US bombs feel about the American people? Although, unlike you, many of them understand the actions of the US government do not align with the needs and wishes of its citizens, especially under conservatives. They have never cared to serve the common people or their interests. But the victims have damn well felt the suffering the US government inflicted upon them.
They can sure as hell tell you what American politicians have done to them. An embargo is an act of war, and has been punishing the Cuban people for over 60 years.
All because capitalists hate Castro for driving out THIER dictator, and their casinos and gangsters from Cuba. Trump and conservatives feel entitled to punish the populations of every country where their government doesn't invest in or lend money to the US.
Trump has nothing but praise for communist dictators everywhere else.
Just look at the cruelty in Trump's privatized concentration camps. All of the neglect, abuse, and brutal punishment for being non-violent immigrants.
But, hey, at least your hero makes sure your Epstein Class of rich pedophiles are getting away with their perverted child abuse. That never seems to violate your "Very high moral standards".
Ahh, poor imperial USA.
The Cuban people hurt me by helping Chavez and Maduro. Many friends and former classmates are refugees. My best friend '66-70, however, is now the Chairman of the Council of the Americas. I await the democratization of Cuba with baited breath.
That album was life changing for me. A tour de force. I'm forever in the debt of Cooder for bringing the music of such great musicians here.
I wonder if you've ever asked the Iranian people how the US "hurt" them by overthrowing their democratically elected Mosaddegh and installed the Shah.
Or how the Guatemalans felt when the US/CIA replaced the democratically elected Arbenz with Carlos Armas, to the delight of the execs of the United Fruit Company.
There are dozens and dozens more interventions by the US that caused terrible things that hurt people. We believe our interventions in other countries' politics was to prevent Communism, and you believe Cuba "hurt" you by supporting their ideological allies.
Sua cuique res est carior
The USIC and CIA have committed unspeakable attrocities, against foreigners, and the American people. They must be called to account, yet the Democrats love them (cuz they're both Neoliberal AND "woke" now).
Unfortunately, Tulsi is leaving and few others are willing to stand up to them. Even Trump has gone soft (Epstein files).
I love their music as well. It's the Cuban government (not the people) that I can't stand.
ps - The same holds true for the neoliberals in the US government.
Los imperialistas economicos neoliberal son pendejos, carajo!
Joe,
You mean the "mainstream" corpo-dems who often work in tandem with Republicans. Progressives despise the CIA. How does it feel to agree with us?
You won't see Bernie, or AOC, or Jasmine Crockett sucking up to the CIA. Obviously it's NOT "woke". It's the foreign clandestine arm of corporate American and the military industrial complex.
Read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins for his discussion on the CIA's role in corporatocracy.
AI
The "Three Levels" of Coercion: According to his narrative, foreign leaders were controlled through a tiered system:
1. Economic Hit Men: The first line of attack offering bribes and economic entrapment.
2. (CIA) Jackals: Assassins and paramilitary operatives who step in if an Economic Hit Man fails to persuade a foreign leader (with Perkins pointing to the suspicious deaths of leaders like Ecuador's Jaime Roldós and Panama's Omar Torrijos as examples).
3. Military Intervention: The ultimate option utilized if the first two steps fail.
AI:
If the CIA is so "Woke" why do progressives hate it?
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has emerged as the most prominent Democratic critic of intelligence agency overreach. A senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he has consistently demanded transparency regarding classified CIA programs, domestic surveillance, and the scope of executive authority.
Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ilhan Omar, have historically advocated for defunding, scaling back, or heavily reforming the intelligence and national security apparatus, expressing skepticism about covert military operations and global interventions.
--
These are very people you call "woke" and you can't see the disconnect in your confirmation bias.
Yes, Trump has gone soft alright. Soft on CRIMES by his donors and thugs. American victims of fraud are shut out of compensation because of Trump pardoning the slimeballs who bribe him with donations.
He's SOFT on cocaine kingpins like the former Honduran President. No wonder he wants to boost his image as a drug warrior by summary executions at sea. This is 100% dictator behavior that has NOTHING to do with the rule of law. But what can we expect from a CRIMINAL president?
But, that's the OPPOSITE of "woke", so you're good with it, right?
The CIA is 'woke" because it is useful. It's "how" NED and USAID capacity build coercive "dissent" through NGOs in foreign countries. It recruits "woke" progressives to coordinate with this astro-turfed "dissent". And if the foreign government doesn't do as the State Department "asks", you get riots or a "colour revolution" in your country. It's organized coercion. That how the Maidan revolution got started.
The CIA also uses fascists and right wing extremists. NED (National Endowment for Democracy) has two branches. The IRI run by Republicans (leans right) and the NDI run by Democrats (leans left-woke). The IRI uses business organizations (like the International Chambers of Commerce) to economically influence and coerce. The NDI uses labour and dissident organizations like AFL/CIO and Internation Women's Forum (IWF) to economically socially influence and coerce.
The NGO's are funded by USAID grants, which then make sub-grants the allow the NGO's to control the leadership of the local social advocacy groups.
In other words, to motivate out allies we use R.I.C.E. techniques. R-Reward; I-Ideology, C-Coercion, and E-Ego. NED's IRI & NDI provide the I. Dept of State tells CIA went to apply the 'C' (demonstrations/ riots). And the Woke agents execute it. Be it "Right" like a fascist KKK mob, or "Left" like Antifa.
Why do you suppose that the DoJ never cracks down on Antifa in the US? Why aren't they breaking up the anti-ICE riots in NJ? Because the USIC is behind all this cooked-up bs dissent. It's ALL kayfabe now. It's ALL Wisner's Mighty Wurlitzer, bought and paid by the US taxpayer.
Bernie, AOC, and Jasmine Crockett are ALL shills... magnets to attract dissenters and use to achieve coercive UniParty (Neoliberal global) ends.
Trump started out as a loose cannon, but is now a big part of it. Most of MAGA has now been captured as well. Steve Bannon was (and still is) an "influence operation". Cuz let's face it, anarchists make lousy organizers.
pps - The Senate Intelligence Committee IS the problem. ANY so-called reformer in it is a shill. You can't get on a committee without a leadership appoint, ESPECIALLY the SSCI!!!!!!!!!
Acta non Verbs, bsby!
Your problem, Pandora, is that you still have "Hope" stuck to the bottom of your jar.
Mine just resigned as DNI.
btw - Why do you think George Soros' NGO funds so many Leftist Group? He picks (and controls $) their leadership. It's the "Alchemy of Finance" thru Soros Realism.... coercion thru finance (R-Reward), not prohibition/ censorship.
-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew
btw - Why do you think George Soros' NGO funds so many Leftist Group? He picks (and controls $) their leadership. It's the "Alchemy of Finance" thru Soros Realism.... coercion thru finance (R-Reward), not prohibition/ censorship.
Elon Musk gave $270 million to Trump's 2024 campaign.
The late David Koch and his brother Charles Koch have used their immense wealth to finance an extensive array of right-wing, conservative, and libertarian causes over several decades. Their political network has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to shape American politics, policy, and public opinion
So, please stop your whining and sit this one out.
The capital class working its magic to dive more wealth accumulation to the top 1% to 3% of society. And the ignorant MAGA worshipers cheer their greed.
-FJ declared, "Bernie, AOC, and Jasmine Crockett are ALL shills... magnets to attract dissenters and use to achieve coercive UniParty (Neoliberal global) ends."
Does he really not understand the difference between neoliberalism and progressive liberalism.
Hint: The former abhors universal public healthcare, Constitutional regulation of commerce, taxes, provision for the general welfare, and progressivism, aka progressive liberalism.
https://www.britannica.com/money/neoliberalism
neoliberalism, ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition. Although there is considerable debate as to the defining features of neoliberal thought and practice, it is most commonly associated with laissez-faire economics. In particular, neoliberalism is often characterized in terms of its belief in sustained economic growth as the means to achieve human progress, its confidence in free markets as the most-efficient allocation of resources, its emphasis on minimal state intervention in economic and social affairs, and its commitment to the freedom of trade and capital.
Although the terms are similar, neoliberalism is distinct from modern liberalism.
Soros contributed $8,350 to Kamala. What did Musk contribute to Trump?
America PAC: Musk contributed roughly $239 million to this super PAC alone by the end of the 2024 election cycle.
Trump's Campaign: He also contributed the legal maximum directly to the Trump 47 Committee, which was around $924,000.
Other Groups: Musk gave an additional $20 million to other Trump-aligned PACs, and he later gave $5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc
I know the PRECISE difference between neoliberalism and progressive liberalism. White guilt pride. I also know the PRECISE difference between progressive liberalism and actual Leftism. Identity Individualism (New Left) and Marxist Class Struggle (Old Left). Dylan sold out when he went electric. And Herbert Marcuse, the FATHER of the New Left worked for the OSS, CIA precurser. He traded cultural capitalism (neoliberalism) for socialism.
...suckers!
Identity politics is PMC surplus-salary financed cultural capitalism. One-Dimensional Man on steroids.
Who's whining? I'm simply pointing out that it's not just the Republicans (IRI) or the Democrats (NDI) but the UNIPARTY (NED/ USAID) run by the USIC as "overseen" by the SSCI that runs the kayfabe narrative you buy as "partisan politics" every day. And yes, it (USIC and DoS) all serves the "global interests' of the billionaire Koch, Soros, Thiel, Bezos, Musk, Adelson, + international capital class.
The $270m Musk and $hundreds of millions from Adelson bought Trump AND the MAGA brand.
NatCon (Thiel/ Vance) is their "future" bet. Marco Rubio is their "past" bet. Billionaires are "hedgers"... they cover ALL their bets.
:P
;p
They are unethical and sometimes immoral actors. As are the majority the capital/political class.
Our Constitutional system was designed to pit immoral actors against each other (Separation of Powers). The Imperial UniParty acts as one under the secrecy of NED, the USIC, and SSCI. It wears the cloak of Gyges that shields the action of immoral actors from view (institutional secrecy). It lives well beyond the official license of corrupting Chatham House Rules.
More on Herbert Marcuse's role in the birth of Identity Politics, Repressive Tolerance (Oxymoron), and the New Left.
Yes, power corrupts, but...
Our Constitution allowed the most immoral president in history who happens to have -FJ as an ardent supporter. But -FJ can certainly sling labels and deflections. Racism, greed, unprecedented corruption, lies, and hate all work towards his ideal of one party MAGA rule.
-FJ is MAGA all the way. And his identity is very, very much drenched in authoritarian white identity politics, aka white supremacy and Christian nationalism.
He needs to distract and deflect by citing obscure philosophers, but fears to address actual liberalism as advanced by FDR, JFK, LBJ, Carter, and Obama.
He'll whine about public healthcare, education, and services being "socialist evil" as he hypocritically supports a sex offender and pedophile protector who would deny healthcare and food for the poor as he praises and pardons thugs and swindlers like himself. This is why he needs to hide in his lofty abstractions and philosophical minutiae.
FDR's Second Bill of Rights and JFK have defined American liberalism:
FDR’s Second Bill of Rights:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
JFK's embrace of liberalism:
“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”
Shall we compare that to -JF's MAGA movement?
Feel free to educate us how MAGA makes America greater, and Americans happier, healthier and more secure than liberalism, -FJ.
I dare you.
It's all kayfabe, Dave. It's easier today to believe in UFOs than it is in any integrity in Left-Right Politics. Good people on both side root for the faces and the heels and are taken in by the spectacle, because they WANT to believe that they are on the side of the FACES and NOT the HEELS.
I only want one thing from our government, and it's not any of FDR's "rights". To observe the negative liberty limits placed upon them by the US Constitution. Your SoJus positive liberty based repressive violence is 100% bs!
In other words, I don't just Act with Empathy. I filter Empathy through the Theological, then Cardinal Virtues, first. ;)
-FJ,
Very funny! MAGA IS your FACE, pal.
LOL!
Liberalism and democratic socialism are NOT authoritarian by their very nature.
But, MAGA, by its very nature is both authoritarian AND fascist. As well as racist, misogynist, and white supremacist all wrapped up in trump's christian nationalist propaganda network.
-FJ is MAGA on display.
Your commitment to anti-white liberal repression is admirable. "Women and minorities first" on the HMS Titanic, despite the fact that there is a surplus of lifeboats. Yours is the "nature" of a scorpion atop a frogs back crossing a lake.
Liberalism may very well be rational. But the platform that it runs on, mankind, is NOT.
There is a rational and fully effective remedy. However, "Christian" Nationalism, Empire Christianiy, Zionism, the capital class, and ignorant deluded politicians of all stripes who support the capital class will never allow it to be accepted to the degree it need be to effect real lasting and positive change.
There's no such thing as "lasting positive change". There's only "change".
"Conservative, n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others."
- Ambrose Bierce
By lasting positive change I mean change that flows in a positive direction. By which I mean change that is beneficial to all beings. IE: Not just the weathy capital class and oligarchs. This naturally applies to how we treat the planet and non human life
Oh, you mean progress? An immanentization of the eschaton? lol!
^^💩^^
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