CUBAN TRANSITIONS

“Hay un son, hay un flow, hay un son que se oye en Habana” words that will be forever engrained in our memories as the theme song to our experience in Cuba. Hay un son by Orishas must have played over a dozen times on our trip, enough times for us to begin to understand and question the lyrics laid out by the French based group.

When we first were introduced to Hay un son by Orishas in class and it was explained that son was a style of Cuban music, that seemed the simplest explanation for the song title but there was a deeper meaning behind the son and while in Cuba I think we found a bit of what Orishas was talking about.

Hay un Son is a mix of traditional Cuban son and modern hip-hop creating a distinct and unique sound that allows Orishas to mix their own personal raps about life in Habana into traditional sung lyrics about the feelings and rhythm of the music. After one of the numerous chorus repetitions one of the band members sings a more traditional verse sounding more like the singers and guitarists we heard in the restaurants and streets than a member of a hip-hop group. His verse is immediately followed by the chorus and a rap verse touching on topics of Yoruba, an african culture and people that has been integrated into Cuban culture, transcending the limitations of Habana, and continuing the flow.

The last rap verse of the song brings up some hard realities about Cuban life, in their last lines they say “I am of Law, but today I took a break … if Cuba is not like it was yesterday, dress the way you walk…” hinting at the difficult truths behind government corruption and the desperate things that cubans have been driven to do to provide for their families.

The music video provides further insight into the meanings and messages behind the music. The three members of Orishas appear in black and white which begins to blur the racial lines that Cuban society has constructed. Throughout the video the three members literally morph back and forth into one another as they sing and rap the lyrics we know so well, but along with shifting between band members Orishas shifts between different animals, objects and symbols. These symbols include, traditional Yoruba masks, skulls, spiders, cats, and construction trucks, strategically placed during certain lines and raps of the song that correspond and enhance each image’s impact on the viewer. The video is carefully constructed to enhance the messages that Orishas is trying to convey to the Cuban people and the world.

For us Hay un Son was the anthem to our Cuban experience, for Cubans it represents the heart, soul and struggles that cubans have in dealing with their everyday lives.