‘Get Out!’, the New Anthem from Willy Chirino for the Freedom of Cuba

The six artists appear dressed in a pristine and symbolic white broken only by Chirino’s guitar, with the stamped Cuban flag, and Srta Dayana’s braid, with the colors of the national flag. (Capture)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana 10 September 2021 —  “We are waiting for the time of your retirement, what people want is a break (…) pick up and go assassin.” That is how forceful the lyrics of ‘Que se vayan ya’ [Get Out] are, the new song by Willy Chirino and the reggaeton artists Lenier Mesa, El Micha (who raps the phrase), Srta Dayana, El Chacal and Osmani García. All of them have joined in this song that aspires to be part of the soundtrack of the July 11 protests in Cuba.

The popular singer released the video this Thursday, in which the six artists appear dressed in an immaculate and symbolic white that is broken only by Chirino’s guitar stamped with the Cuban flag, and Srta Dayana’s braid of the same colors.

“These are the things of destiny. We can already see the light lighting the way, there is no more going back, it goes forward, what the people want is freedom,” they sing. The image of the musicians contrasts with those that alternate, in black and white, of Fidel Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara and Miguel Díaz-Canel, and the repression of the anti-government marches that took place two months ago and that left one person dead, shot by the Police, and more than 700 people arrested.

“This break is over, may you go to hell,” continue the lyrics, and as the song progresses it shifts towards a more optimistic tone until ending with the persistent refrain “what the people want is freedom.” The musicians close by making the L gesture with their thumbs and forefingers, a symbol which, for a long time, the Cuban opposition has used to express the demand for Libertad — Freedom.

Eight hours after its release, the video already has almost 40,000 views [over 330,000 at the time of this translation], arriving just two weeks after the song De Cuba soy [I’m from Cuba] by the reggaeton artist Roberto Hidalgo Puentes, known as YomilThat song and its video, by Yimit Ramírez, sowed controversy among officialdom for the use of images of historical figures, such as José Martí and Antonio Maceo, and Cuban artists such as Celia Cruz and Benny Moré.

Chirino specifically expressed solidarity with Yomil a few days ago for the attacks on him from officaldom, highlighting that he has the courage to oppose the authorities from within Cuba. “Another Cuban artist feeding the bonfire that was lit in Cuba on July 11… Well done Yomil, especially since you did it while you were inside the prison island, knowing the risks that this implies,” Chirino said.

The song follows the trail started by Patria y Vida, released in February 2021 and turned into an anthem of the Cuban opposition. That song, by Gente de Zona, Yotuel Romero and Descemer Bueno with Maykel Castillo Osorbo and El Funky, was premiered to honor the San Isidro Movement and has paved the way for others such as Libertad, by Emilio Estefan, or Libertad y Amén, by Amaury Gutiérrez.

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