Hip Hop festival to kick off in Havana
Campaign News | Tuesday, 22 November 2005
11th annual contest under way
Havana, Nov 22 (AIN) The 11th Havana Hip Hop Festival will be running in this capital from Wednesday November 23 until Saturday November 28.
According to Granma newspaper, hip hoppers from all over Cuba are in Havana to participate in this festival which will take place in the East Havana suburb of Alamar and the Salon Rosado de la Tropical dance center - the traditional hubs of this event in Cuba.
Havana Hip Hop Festival is sponsored by the Cuban Institute of Music and the Hermanos Saiz Association -a Cuban cultural organization that promotes the most important artists under 35 year-old.
Likewise, the first Hip Hop Symposium will be held by the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. The Cuban research institute will organize lectures every morning at 9:00 am about hip hop and popular education.
The influence of rap in national culture and its presence in the mass media will be the main topic of discussion in theses workshops. This could be also a good chance for recording companies interested in this musical genre.
Rap music became popular among Cubans in the nineties though the first visible roots of hip hop in the island were break-dance competitions in the streets in the early eighties.
The greatest boosts to this movement came from the Hermanos Saiz Association's support, the Orishas phenomenon, the foundation of the Cuban Agency of Rap and an increase in public appreciation.
The aesthetics and style of the Cuban rappers draw from Afro-Cuban rhythms and roots, the influences of jazz, reggae, funk, soul and rock and roll, and social
consciousness.
Among the premier bands participating in this festival are Obsesion, Doble Filo, Hermanazos and Anonimo Consejo.
http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/2005/nov22festival-hiphop.htm
