| "Ooh those
evil Manics shaking hands with a dictator" might be one response to playing a
gig for the people of Cuba, whose hearts were not cynical and who were
happy that musicians would come and play for them, later speaking of "before
Manic Street Preachers and after Manic Street Preachers". A positive time in
modern history. We met many beautiful people
there. They are the ones whose opinions count most in the good thing/bad thing
argument. The friends that Manic Street Preachers went to play for. (Fidel Castro
never figured in the gig until a few hours before the Manics went on stage, it seemed as
impossible that he would come to a rock gig as it did SEEING him at a rock gig!). If he
hadn't gone, the show would have happened still, would have been brilliant still, and
filmed, but not so many people would give a flying duck. Hopefully most Cubans saw it as a
positive thing, we met friends who had heard of the gig in the paper and on tv, they
thought it was a very good thing too.
Besides I was pretty ignorant of all the facts
before going, didn't know enough about the place before going there to have many
pre-conceptions so sussed out further info on the net. Reading on the way to work and
back, cos I always manage to say or do the wrong thing and didn't want to insult anybody.
After all, it was their country and culture. The Manics were going as guests.
Without any politicians, royal family or other tv/tabloid celebrities there, mutual
respect wouldn't be a problem.
"UK/USA great/safe/free etc, Cuba
baaaaaaaad... etc".... Fact is that nowhere on earth is perfect as far as
human rights and human nature is concerned, and nobody truly free. Even our media and
law will call anti fascists and other good people power demonstrators, thugs and
trouble makers - we don't always swallow their lies whole. Yet the police are
supposed to protect and serve the many people that they have victimised over the years.
We can only ever try to learn from each other. The
cultural exchange was a good way to see how alike we all are. The Cubans we met
though, thought that Britain and Ireland generally had the broadminded character of
creative people like John Lennon, Radiohead and Manic Street Preachers. Sadly not
everybody has, even now, but at least so many people still do that we can make a
difference when not apathetic.
In fact it
probably helped us not being as educated on Cuba as everybody else seems to be. We didn't
take the words of any media, tourism guide etc. We took the words of all the different
people that we met, the same people whose opinions haven't come into many of the arguments
about Cuba. We were humbled and inspired by the people we met and saw (and for a few days
lived with), and believed what THEY had to say about THEIR lives just as they believed our
personal opinions of our lives.
I certainly hope that nobody will ever judge our
characters by what Tory Blair does, in the way that everybody snipes "Castro"
when you mention Cuba. Each to their own opinion. My hope lies with the salt of the
earth. It is always the common people of any country that are it's true character
and with music and love in their hearts like all our other friends have, we had great hope
for the people there.
They said they are a progressive country and we
believe them. Some said that their system is at least open to suggestion, and that
although not everybody likes Fidel or his system, they can all respect what he has
acheived if not all he has done. Some saw him attending a rock gig, as a good sign of the
times and certainly homosexuals and rock fans have seen progression over the last decade.
Cocooned from the rise of money as the
world's new god, for so many years, there is the innocent magic of stepping back in time
in Cuba. "But there's so much poverty there." bleats the world
where money is god! Well give them money then, and while at it, ask them how to improve
education, racial tension, health, housing etc in your land where the rich and poor divide
grows alarmingly.
We can all learn from each other but it will take
the hearts of peace makers to prove that love and kindness are the only things that can
truly win over the human soul.
What Cuban people lack in material wealth, they make
up for in two basic human gifts of spirit and soul. Sharing what little they have, instead
of copying the behaviour of the rich and hoarding to yourself as the poor fall by the
wayside all around you, they have long life expectancies.
Its easier with other basic human needs like
sustenance and shelter, let alone true freedom of speech. If the rest of the world
looked after each other we would actually have a future. As it stands, nobody can truly
see one...
Cuba is a unique part of the planet. everybody has
their opinion on the island and are entitled to it. This is just mine. Not everybody is
for the revolution, but if we are to learn from history then peace and friendship ar ethe
great achievers.
There is still an innocent part of the human soul,
where the planet and life on it are more important than money. Many people in the rest of
the world lost it over the last few decades, but not all and I know nobody, (personally as
friend or family) that isn't salt of the earth.
This was what inspired me, to step back in time
before my views, had become outdated leftism. Modern life is rubbish: Ensnare em young
on greed, loss of self image and credit, then cage them in debt right up to their pension,
increasing business and merging continually. privatise and put profit above safety.
pollute and destroy. The human virus left me alone for a while and I sat by the sea.
felt at peace and unafraid.
The appreciation of the crowd at the Karl Marx
Theatre, for the Manics coming to play for them, is one of the most amazing and heart
moving things I have ever witnessed. It felt like Paul Robeson was there in spirit when
they sang "Let Robeson Sing", like there was hope for mutual understanding
between the people of the world, if not their leaders. Tonight the Land Of Song and
the Land of Salsa declared peace. To witness the power of rock and roll is an amazing
thing. The minds of cynics can't be changed. there is no hope for their world...
But there is hope for the salt of the earth. The
child like souls and spirits that have flavoured this modern, money mad world with arts,
music and charity. The brave sporting hearts. Arts not arms. Arts, sport, charity and
common sense. Better ambassadors than most politicians.
To see the Cuban and Welsh flag together was to see
how easy it is to make friends. Like it used to be a school. Peace talks are great but
peace gigs are more fun and do the job by the last song. The other years could be spent
doing something more fun. Now that's a design for life!
The Cubans hoped that many other bands would follow
Manic Street Preachers and come and play for them, make friends with them. Enjoy the
Glastonbury-like atmosphere coupled with sun, scenery and salsa. I guess most Western
bands will be put off by the cost of getting band/ gear/ crew over there or feel unsure
(after considering the history of the island, let alone it's future), fearing bad
publicity. The Manics were both cheered and booed for their visit.
Besides, you don't go to Cuba to make money or sell
records, it's a cultural exchange of friendship for which the reward is possibly a life
affirming inspiration and the weather is great!
Manic Street Preachers weighed up the pros and cons
of their trip, they know more about Cuba than most, have done for years. Human rights and
lack of them, is an international thing so let the nation without blemish cast the first
stone.
The pros easily outweight the cons, and hopefully
will go towards helping lessen the cons in future. In Cuba, as visitors, we encountered a
wealth of love, smiles and friendship that gave us hope for a better 21st century than the
one that money is shaping into evil, debt ridden hell for the majority. We met highly
educated and articulate people with the good grace, self respect, and manners that are now
considered old fashioned by most (not us, or MSP mind).
We didn't see everything that goes on in the jails,
we didn't meet all the homeless people, we didn't visit the resorts which only tourists
can be in or houses with many people in little space. We were aware there were things
visitor's don't often experience, so we used our senses to take in what we could.
I'm sure that visitors to Britain don't see so
everything about the daily lives of the masses, including the disgraces (and there is no
shortage of them!). We could only comment on what we experienced and
balance it with what we learnt before and after our trip.
We saw children playing safely and happily all over
the place, front doors open at night, coloured lights. dancing, hitch hiking, laughter and
everywhere we heard music. We saw beautiful art everywhere, so many colours, instead of
ugly bill posters everywhere eroding self image. When we said we came from London
"Aah, Ali G!" said one friend who was helping us find a place for a late night
drink.
We felt safe at all times, marvelled at the
resourcefulness to keep the journeys in the old 50s cars so smooth. You can at least fit
better than a kwik fit fitter it would seem, if not quicker as like on the ad. One car was
45 years old and was expected to run another 45 years. I believed it. No theme park can
authenticate a ride in such a car on basic roads along miles of palm treed beach. On the
basic roads were places to pick up hitch hikers. Resourceful with the limited fuel supply.
We couldnt have made them imagine how genetic
mutation (including herbivores to carnivores) and fuel strikes bring a country of people in debt, with bad health, housing, education, employment,
policing policies yet blessed with toasters, videos and champage to it's knees. to road rage and stress counselling (just build more
coffee houses, that's it!), reduce the kind of spirits that once fought off nazis, to
becoming bigoted themselves.
How self image disappeared under the weight of the
pressure advertising put on it. I guess I'm just saying long windedly that I saw how easy
it was to be friendly and feel safe again with complete strangers. We each had things
about our lives that we did and didnt envy but none of that mattered sitting outside at
night, looking at the stars and talking. A feeling not felt for years that if we all look
after each other it's all going to be alright.
I used to hitch hike. So did all my friends. It was
a safe thing to do then and the only way that we could afford to follow bands around the
country. People would come from all over the country to one spot, usually just a small
town for a gig and they would all have a great adventure getting there, a big social
occassion all day as people turned up, sometimes every now all manner of vehicles would
pull up at a venue (a cow truck being one of our favourites) just to see a band play for
about one hour, pack up their gear and head off for the next night of the tour.
We slept out in shop doorways, bus stops, hedges
(the springy bushes outside some supermarkets), with feet against the dryers in motorway
services, on the back of a coach full of miners, in attics and once 17 young girls in a
couple's front room without the missus knowing tho the curtain twitchers must have
thourhgt they were still dreaming if they looked out about 7am... they were pretty safe
adventures then, but those days are gone.
The Manics used to get stuck out following bands
around. At the recent Manchester gig we met a guy who now works for the BBC. He remembered
a gig in Cardiff, he and his friends had gone travelled their small town to see The Stone
Roses. There were some lads there from another small town. They said that they had a band
called Manic Street Preachers...
People still follow bands around but a little of the
innocence is gone if you let cynicm steal the stardust from your daydreams, and of course
it's potentially lethal to hitch hike and the motorway services no longer have queues of
people at their exits.
Although much of that innocence has still gone, some
of use still have stardust in our daydreams. Like music is one of the most positive forces
to ride the waves of earch.
I wouldn't hitch anywhere nowadays, and we
were looking for Glastonbury signs on the motorway for the last two years on the way to
the festival, and saw none.
The world has changed and not always for the better.
Common sense sees that, and things are not weighed in the favour of what is right above
what is profitable. If the empire strikes then you get jedi I guess.
At the Manics gigs we met up with friends that used
to hitch hike. One of them was with the guy who met them years ago in Cardiff. They agreed
there was not a chance of them hitch hiking these days either especially after watching
the news.
The news is real life, it's the most horrific thing
on tv without a watershed. But modern life has not seeped into our 20th century souls, and
as soon as we felt safe again (i.e. from landing in Havana), we hitch hiked home one
night, a motorbike and side car speeding under the stars along the sea front with the moon
lighting the way between the beautiful faded glory of the old town. Hitch hiking is part
of the Cuban culture...
I wish we could trade with Cuba because I loved the
vibrant art and crafting and could perhaps live out old days selling such beautiful wares
at a little market stall to take care of business more than the latest pension fund could
ever guarantee. I'm all for the simple independent life, but it is lost... almost. It's an
old fashioned concept but for millions of years it managed not to kill the planet. 21st
century "civil"isation studied history for many years. Unfortunately didn't
actually learn anything real. not even that only arms dealers win wars.
Sometimes just leave it to the ordinary person on
the street to suggest what to do, for common people have common sense.
Our friends that we stayed with told us there is no
archetypal Cuban, and it's a mostly harmonious unity of all combinations of races. We are
all Cubans they said. We fell in love with Cuba, it's beautiful scenery, it's beautiful
people. Manic Street Preachers were slightly naive to expect everybody to understand the
romantic dreams of rock and roll.
We caught a week long glance at a completely
difference culture and fell in love with such a spirit. Yet still no difference between us
all. Many humans have side-stepped the alien's mentality of money worship. I mean, why
hoard money at a time like this?
Humans can't eat paper and metal - that's all money
is. They can't shelter under it or wear it so they exchange this cumbersome
secondary product of nature for things they can use. It is the thorn in their side and yet
their provider when exchanged.
It is the earth that truly provides everything we
need as has been passed down the human species for thousands of years. Everything! Even
mobile phones arent from mars!
Common people, the inspired and inspiring, common
good, common decency and common sense. Only when you are followed are you a leader. Only
when inspired will they follow. I'm inspired by music and to go to a country with so much
music in the air was to feel safe again all the time and not because we had passports -
frankly, being too lazy to get my own learn-spanish tape instead of trying to lend one at
the last minute meant the most basic of spanish i.e. pleasantries, beer and cocktail. we
learnt more as we went along. better educated, nearly everybody we met could converse well
with us but smiling and enjoying company are instant international languages like using
sounds.
That most international of human languages is the
smile. This survival of the most sensible puts you muturally at ease from the start and
friendliness brings good karma in a safe situation. An instinctive first reaction of every
day people who have learnt from history, if not paid attention during the lessons (from
the corner of the class room, pretending to do snogging noises like the other bad thicky
kids in the other three corners.
The University Of Life taugut us: smile! be nice!
good karma! peace! care! share! humanity! and common sense - it's led to keeping safe
under all sorts of circumstances. Also to making friends worldwide, some for minutes, some
forever. Still nothing like speaking the lingo tho, so next step is to make "I will
not be lazy" a mantra, and learn Spanish before going again!
Even after weighing up the pros and cons, MSP could
only ever be naieve a little about the visit, for who can see into the future? The trip
was idealistic, it was also an amazing gig, and a successful gesture of multi-cultural
friendship, and I think they deserved that. I'm glad they tried.
Rock and Roll is a better ambassador than politics
in my eyes. Peace or war? leading the world where? My faith, personnally, is in
musicians. The only true world leaders left are
the children and those who never lose the child within. Which would they choose? A child shall lead them all. Would children choose
peace and beauty or war and urgliness? They can see history as "the past",
instantly, and start again.
In the movies they heroes would know which choice to
make. Also in dreams and daydreams, but wake up, this is real life. In the movies there is
usually a future... in real life right now without the broader vision that modern everyday
people have in bucketloads, it will be as if the world were flat again. We'll all fall
over the edge. Now we know that human spirit can do anything, the simpler, the less
complicated, the better.
Minxy
x
* Back to Love's Sweet
Exile main page
* Cuba Love : report from The Gadaffi's trip
to Havana to rock and roll |
welcome to