Anti-Free Speech or Anti-Bad Music?

Now, we all know Cuba is no paradise.  In fact its bad politics, social policies, and a crazy leader who apparently found the fountain of youth during the revolution in the jungle, drained and bottled it, and didn't share.  This post is inspired by an event to be held by GWUs Students for a Free Cuba.  Elena Ros-Lehtinen (ERL) will be speaking...I'm sure you guys can imagine how I feel about her...and a Cuban punk band will be performing.

ERL frightens me for a number of reasons.  One is superficial, she has no neck.  People with no necks and people with yahoo email addresses can't be trusted, ie: Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin.  (It is not confirmed that ERL uses yahoo, but she does fit the first criteria for mistrust).  The second reason she scares me is because of her ardent, hard lined stance against the Cuban government, seemingly forgetting that there are other people aside from the Castros on the island.  Check her out on Fox "news":

Cuba needs to be a part of the OAS, was never a true threat against the United States (and in my opinion, we kind of made this mess for ourselves as Castro was once a moderate nationalist a la Eddie Chibas), and the OAS for the good of the whole of the hemisphere, needs the U.S., its largest donor, to continue contributing. PS: The Cold War is over.

Gorki Aguila is a punk rocker that has been jailed for his outspoken and deep lyrics like "I'll piss in his soup" and "I don't want to be a cosmonaut" and is now on trial for "dangerousness." These bad lyrics and bad music to put them on, lead me to believe that Castro didn't jail him for speaking out...but instead for adding to the misery of the island with this hideous musica:

Now if you actually watched that video, I'm surprised he wasn't jailed for disrespecting the Comandante, I mean am I the only one who noticed the floating penis in front of a post-op Fidel's mouth for the entire first video? In all seriousness though, not cool Fidel, let him be. You should have just taken his amp away or something, or exiled him to Europe; he'd have freedom and they'd have more bad post-Cure era music.

 Miki Flow has never been arrested and to me has a more compelling and more peaceful form of social protest in his music, his stuff also pleases the ears...or at least mine.  He's from the poorest region of Cuba, which is also the capital of Cuban Hip Hop, surprise surprise, that this part of the island also has one of the largest concentration of Afro-decendents. Miki Flow is pretty freaking amazing.  I actually met him last year at a Cuba conference in Miami, very well spoken and politically involved, he wants to see a free Cuba and criticizes those who make this such a divisive political issue while forgetting about the people. Bravo, and pay attention ERL! The music? Put Calle 13, Common, and the Roots in a blender and tweek it a bit, oh and put it in Cuban (hey they speak faster than your drunk grandma at New Years) and then you have Miki Flow:

For those in the DC area, Miki will be performing at GWUs upcoming Festival for a Free Cuba, come check him out, and of course it will be covered by Poplitics. And if you're glutten for punishment Gorki and the crazy Congresswoman will be speaking next Wednesday, luckily I'll be in class.