In the midst of blackouts affecting the entire country, the artist will have his island of light tonight at the University of Havana
Havana, Darío Hernández, September 19, 2025 — Two red mastodons stand out in front of the University of Havana this Friday. Although the stage for the concert that Silvio Rodríguez will offer tonight is visually more striking, passers-by only have eyes for the generators that will prevent the show from being interrupted due to the lack of electricity. With a greedy look, some with gestures of bewilderment, others with resignation, and the great majority, those who approach, cannot help but say something about the robust power plants.
“This is so you can see the blue color of the unicorn,” said a woman with a bag of groceries who crossed the street just to read the signs on the devices. “Geysel, 30 years of putting energy in your hands,” stands out in a poster on the generators, which are remarkably well-kept compared to the rust-eaten and often broken devices that you see outside some polyclinics and public offices. “It seems that these are the ones they have for political events,” pointed out a woman who joined the visual inspection.
In a city that since last week has suffered the longest blackouts, when the national energy system collapsed and left the entire nation in darkness, a generator sets off a frenzy of desire. “With one of those I could sleep several full nights without having to scare off the mosquitoes,” speculated a young man who, laughing, agreed to meet up with his friends later to try to get into the performance. A few meters away, most of the lights, scaffolding and sound equipment were now placed at the foot of the wide staircase of La Colina.
Rodriguez started to sing amidst the glow of lamps that are a strong symbolic charge in a country where even baseball games must be suspended for lack of power. Cuba expects a deficit of 1,760 megawatts today, so it is unlikely that El Vedado and the surroundings of the concert will not be affected. “If the light goes off I’ll come here,” said an elderly woman who was waiting for the bus a few meters away.
The singer-songwriter says he chose the place because he recently saw “very positive attitudes” among students of the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria in their protest against the increase in State telecommunications company Etecsa’s massive rate increased, known as the tarifazo. But his intention to approach the younger generations, consumers of other musical styles away from the New Trova, could include a very contradictory message. Used to doing their homework by the light of a candle while fanning themselves in the heat, these boys will see before them a display of lights and generators that only the powerful can enjoy in Cuba. The composer of Ojalá will create an island of electricity within the Island of shadows.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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