Patria y Vida: The Power of Music

A hip-hop song becomes a cry for the repressed people in Latin America.
The documentary has very harsh images that are unpublished and clandestine audios from the maximum security prison "Kilo 5", one of the most dangerous in the world. The documentary tells the powerful story of six Afro-descendant rappers who have rewritten Cuban history and unleashed a lyrical battle for human rights through a song called “Patria y Vida.” An inspiring story about the value of music as a social transformer.
The song has become a revolution in the streets of Cuba and the world, and it has been banned by the government, which imprison people for the simple fact of listening to it. Maykel Osorbo, one of the rappers of the song, is in a high security prison in Pinar del Rio because during the massive protests of July 11th, 2021 in the island, “Patria y Vida” was the loudest cry heard from the crowd. Meanwhile, Yotuel, leader of the Orishas band and the creator of the song, is forced into an exile that bans him to come back to his country. Alexander Delgado and Randy Malcom, from the duet Gente de Zona, admit that after the release of the song they received a phone call from the FBI warning them of a kidnapping order.
The protest anthem “Patria y Vida” have won “Song of the Year” and “Best Urban Song” at the Latin Grammy Awards. The lyrics have been immortalized in the Congressional Records of the United States to ensure that future generations will always remember that it was an anthem for Freedom. The songwriters have entered to be part of the prestigious Hall of Fame. “The song has turned into a symbol of freedom” (The New York Times), “The Cuba of the future belongs to Patria y Vida” (The Washington Post), “The sound of liberty” (The Wall Street Journal) are some of the headlines that the international press dedicated to the movement. Former president Barack Obama also recognized the song as one of his favorites in 2021. President Joe Biden has received the artists in the Whitehouse shocked by the wingspan that music is able to achieve.
Six brave musicians achieved a social media phenomenon with an independent record company, without playlist support, radio stations or marketing strategies, in a really difficult moment for latin urban music, collapsed by an algorithm that favors sexual or danceable thematics, a protest song of sad melody that managed to exceed 300 million hits on the hashtag of the tik-tok platform and more than 110 million interactions under #Patriayvida.
The struggle of independent art trying to give a voice to the people
A story for today, a legacy for posterity.