Rock in Cuba

Walking up the narrow park in the middle of "G" Street on a Saturday night might just be as common as taking any other big street in Havana. Also called the Avenue of the Presidents, this street starts at the Malecón and climbs several blocks into the heart of the Vedado area. I listen to the sounds of the late evening while enjoying the cool breeze from the sea at my back.

Then, little by little, as I get closer to 23rd Street, the park starts to get busier and busier with a crowd of youngsters sitting on benches and on the grass. Some speed around on their skateboards showing off for their friends. At first, you might think that it is just a bunch of kids hanging out in a park but it is more than just that. These are the alternative music and rock fans of Cuba.

Generally called Rockeros or "Freakies," they are one of the most underground urban tribes in a country known for and monopolized by Salsa. More than 70 percent of the music played on Cuban radio stations is that mix of African and Spanish music. It remains so popular that Cubans say, "we like to put it on our bread."

Being a rock fan myself, but not entirely deprived of the thirst for different types of music, I feel pretty much attached to this group of people and their interesting history. The rock scene here has one of the most peculiar musical histories in Cuba. To get a deeper insight into the genre's background, there is no better source than Humberto Manduley's book Rock in Cuba. Manduley is a journalist, radio program director, and a specialist on Cuban rock.

Rock and roll in Cuba began in