HAVANA– He was the poetic voice of the Cuban Revolution, an inspiration to millions of Latin Americans who lived under dictatorships throughout the 1960s and 1970s and who dreamed of the ideal Cuba that he – and his guitar – helped to evoke.
Cuban troubadour Silvio Rodríguez, 77, one of the most famous musicians in Latin America, has released a new album, his first in three years. But life on the island, which is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, has changed a lot since the time he wrote “Vivo en un country libre cual solamente puede ser libre” (I live in a free country, which can only be free). .
“Now I feel uncomfortable singing this song,” Rodríguez said during a rare interview with the Associated Press at his Havana recording studio.
The Cuban revolutionary project to which Rodríguez has dedicated most of his music and lyrics since his debut 56 years ago is going through a serious economic crisis which brought inflation, hunger, unproductive land – and forced hundreds of thousands of Cubans to abandon the island.
Rodríguez, who considers himself a man of the left, says that this is no excuse for ignoring the economic crisis that Cuba is going through and that worries him.
“It’s terrible,” he said repeatedly when asked about the ongoing crisis in Cuba. “It’s very strong, very strong.”
Rodríguez’s new album, “Quería saber” (I Wanted to Know), includes 11 songs written between 2019 and 2023, some of which express disappointment with the path his country is taking.
“And although they imagine themselves to be cold and conscientious, the reality is a demonstration of inefficiency. Young people flee en masse”, read the lyrics of “Para botar el sofa”, in which Rodríguez sings about the young people who left the island.
While he is aware of his country’s challenges, he says he remains loyal to at least some of the revolution’s principles, including universal health care and education.
“Most people around the world just want to live their lives in peace, make a little progress, have some opportunities,” he said.
Born in the small town of San Antonio de los Banos, near Havana, on November 29, 1946, Rodríguez was a teenager when the revolution led by Fidel Castroa figure he continues to admire, triumphed in 1959.
Like many young people of his generation – and others who came after him – Rodríguez embraced the call to work for his country. He became a literacy teacher, a militiaman, did military service and was sent to Angola as part of Cuban military missions in the war against groups supported by the South African apartheid government.
He debuted in the mid-60s with what would become his inseparable guitar and went on to perform in dozens of countries, including Germany, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Nicaragua and the United States.
He released 20 albums and wrote more than 500 songs, filling stadiums and theaters around the world with fans who idolize him for his music and the weight of his poetry, full of powerful metaphors.
“I never took myself seriously,” Rodríguez said of his enduring fame. “One is the result of your work.”
When asked about his legacy, he responds with the same frankness. “The virtue that songs have is that they keep people company. If any of my music serves that purpose, who could want more?”
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