Sawt Falasteen - Cuban kids resist reggaeton, one verse at a time

Improvised oral poetry, known as "repentismo" or "punto cubano" when set to music, was introduced to Latin America by Spanish colonists in the 16th century, and remains an integral part of Cuba's culture.

Poets known as "repentistas" compose ten-verse, octosyllabic stanzas with a fixed rhyming scheme called "decimas" which they perform to music at provincial festivals.

In 2017, the United Nations added the art form to its Intangible World Heritage list.

Aficionados have been battling to keep the tradition alive amid a youthful flight to reggaeton -- the blend of reggae, dancehall and Latino music sweeping the region.

A theatre in the town of Guines, in Cuba's western agricultural heartland, is at the forefront of the battle to keep repentismo alive.

Some 200 budding poets aged between four and 20 recently converged on the town recently to take part in a series of repentismo workshops and verbally joust on stage.

- 'Peasant dream' -

The contestants were dressed smartly -- cotton dresses for the girls, shirts and pants for the boys -- in the red, white and blue colors of the Cuban flag.

Emir Amador, a five-year-old with slicked-back hair, was the picture of poise as he took to the stage and performed his piece, accompanied by a guitar, a lute, a "tres" (a Cuban guitar with three pairs of double strings) and a "clave" (two wooden sticks acting as a percussion instrument).

"I am from a generation that has just begun its journey, with a peasant dream beating in my heart," Amador sang in a high vocal register.

"And here I am like a pigeon between verse and loyalty to tradition, doing with a desire as mighty as the Andes what my elders didn't do when they were my age," he crooned.

Amador's performance ended with a flourish, rhyming "lealtad" (loyalty) with "mi edad" (my age).

"I like singing a lot," Amador told AFP at the theatre, standing in front of a giant photograph of late Cuban folk queen Celina Gonzalez, whose hit "Yo Soy El Punto Cubano" spoke of the "hope and joy" that folk poetry imparts.

Six-year-old Liliet Oliver, who wore white bows in her plaited black hair, said she loved being put to the test in the improv duels that mark the high point of any "guateque" or festival of rural culture.

"I am Liliet, a star in the improvisation sky, and everyone has noticed that I am playful, and that I am beautiful," she sang, her clear voice echoing through the theatre.

- Antithesis of reggaeton -

Lazaro Palenzuela runs one of several schools where children learn the basics of rhyming structures and improvisation.

Very few manage to master the art form.

"Out of 20 children, only two succeed," he said, citing the need to ad lib as the principal hurdle.

Children from farming families where repentismo has been practised around kitchen tables for generations have a distinct advantage.

Brayan Gutierrez, 17, comes from what he calls a dynasty of singer poets.

But the 2024 repentismo youth champion, 20-year-old Brayan Iglesias, said he learned his craft solely through "long years of sacrifice, reading and practice."

These young lovers of verse see themselves as a bulwark against the seemingly unstoppable rise of reggaeton, with its hyper-sexualized, sometimes misogynistic lyrics.

"We are the antithesis of that," said Palenzuela.

Gutierrez said he believed the two musical forms were irreconcilable.

A good stanza is "a marvelous artistic creation," he enthused, contrasting it with the "obscene" lyrics of some reggaeton hits.

Palenzuela and his students conceded, however, that their craft lacked visibility, both on the national and international stage.

"The children and young people of this project will never stop fighting until the decima has been given the recognition it deserves," vowed Iglesias.

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST