took them away or broke them in the middle of the street . The police used to burst into private parties and to scratch the acetate records without remorse . In the black market , a long play could cost up to 60 pesos by that time . The cultural ties between Cuba and the United States were forged for decades . Since we were little children , we watched comics and movies by the big Hollywood stars ; baseball was the national sport in both countries and it could not be less in the music world . The first influences came from the jazzband and then rock n roll was inoculated in the veins of millions . Rock bands such as Los Llopis , The Peaceful People , Vertiginous Souls , Kent , New Generation , and Ocult Session appeared in the musical scene . They played in clubs and their performances were frequently sabotaged by the police . The equipment was seized or simply kicked out . Some bands prematurely disappeared , but others enjoyed privileged status , like The Dada and The Magnetics , which performanced on TV with light repertoires and more pop . Thus , they could get their foot in the door under the protection of government officials . During the Mariel Exodus ( 1980 ), the escape of hippies and rockers practically triggered the resurgence of police repression . The climax came in 1981 at the Social Club Fatherland or Death ( Santa Fe , east of Havana ). Almost all those attending the concert by Vertiginous Souls , and even the musicians , went to jail . In 1986 , the only Spanish-language rock band , Venus , could emerge from the dark with concerts at the Havana Amphitheater on Harbor Avenue . The public was growing as Venus ’ amazing success grew . Nevertheless , after enjoying a certain fame , the band dissolved due to the usual cause : it has become a thorn in the side of some government officials . Another remarkable event was the First
Annual Meeting of Rock Arroyo ( 1987 ). The lyrics were reviewed by officials from the Young Communists Union ( UJC ) before the musicians could interpret them . Despite all the cautions , a police raid swept away the audience and everyone was brought to the 14 th Police Station , including the journalists from Granma and El Caimán Barbudo who were covering the festival . Thus , this event went down in popular history as the Festival of the Fourteenth . The golden age of rock finally came in the 90s , with the recession called Special Period , which forced to provide smart official coverage for diverting attention away from the economic and energy problems . The Minister of Culture himself , Abel Prieto , and Robertico Robaina , then UJC Secretary General , joined efforts with some supporting institutions to lend a hand to the musicians . Thusly , Patio de María came to life as an emblematic site where you could listen to the bands from Havana and even from the inland . The functions are still remembered with romanticism by the around-30-to-40 year generations . The rockers not only had a place to listen to the music , to dance and to shake their hair . Also , other possibilities opened up , like recordings in TV programs and videos . The Cuban rock laid its foundations in the international arena . The alternative rock emerged with interesting proposals , but in the long run they became unsustainable due to the lack of equipment and production . One of the surviving bands is Porno for Ricardo , who cultivates alternative punk rock . Its leader , Gorki Águila , has been imprisoned on several occasions because of his statements against the political system and his lyrics , which narrate , in a transgressive manner , both the social nonconformity and anti-government events as the Maleconazo . In 2003 , Patio de María was closed . Although the reason was not explained , some rumors pointed to
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