As is customary, El Grito (The Scream) is behind the most notable and substantial movements in the island’s musical scene. We attended the recent concert by singer-songwriter and instrumentalist X Alfonso at the Fabrica de Arte Cubana, the venue of which he is a founder and director. The concert, in a reasonably intimate venue, was a luxury for an aspirng gonzo journalist, as X Alfonso is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians on Cuba’s contemporary music scene. And for El Grito, I made my way to the front.
He has shared the stage with artists such as Carlos Varela, Santiago Feliú, Descemer Bueno, Meshell Ndegeocello, and ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman (supporting his three Havana concerts in 2005 with his family group Síntesis), James T. Slater, Montell Jordan Cibeles and Bebe. He also supported grunge rock supergroup Audioslave in their groundbreaking 2005 concert, the first in Cuba by an American rock band.
To be honest, when I recalled my previous thoughts about him, they were dominated by the lyrics of the song Habana Blues:
‘Today, I look through you, at the streets of my Havana. Your sadness and your pain reflect their facades, It’s your soul and loneliness, the voice. The voice of this weary nation.
This song became very famous in 2005 after the success of the Cuban film of the same name, for which the musician worked as the soundtrack composer, and which won a Goya Award for Best Music in 2005.
But to be truly honest, for my generation, 2005 is a long time ago. We’ve been fed a diet of increasingly commercial music. So I went to the concert wondering what X Alfonso was going to do to show relevance to the present day.
At the Fábrica concert, I was able to update my long-held perceptions of the legendary musician. I saw a 360-degree multifaceted artist, a vibrant X Alfonso, enjoying his music alongside his band as if it were his first time on stage. His contagious joy reached the group of young people who accompanied him, humming his songs. I was certainly surprised by how much his music had evolved and, in fact, how Cuban rock was advancing toward a new image, distinct from American and British classic rock.
We were also able to hear new songs. In recent statements on his social media profile, he expressed his gratitude for the affection with which the public received him and said ‘I released new songs that made the stage vibrate and I rescued those classics that never go out of style’ So we can say with certainty that a new album is coming. For a start, here is El Grito’s footage of striking new music (we are still searching for a song name!!)
I’m from a generation where the craze for Reggaetón (and its Cuban counterpart Reparto Cubano) completely overshadowed the tastes of the prior generation of college students who listened to other types of music like trova and alternative music. And since Reggaeton is the genre that generally dominates musical taste in my generation, it was very gratifying to attend a concert where alternative rock was the norm and see young people my age fill an auditorium as if we were in the 90s, where music reigned with a social and creative objective at the expense of commercial necessity.
X Alfonso gave us songs that reclaim identity and question the future and the present of an audience with a harsh reality. One of the songs that moved me most while listening to the concert was “No Se Puede Pensar Como Un Prisionero” (You Can’t Think Like a Prisoner), a song from the 2020 album Inside. The phrase “To walk your feet and to draw strength from your faith. You have all that power, to be able to grow, fist in the air, I wasn’t born to be a lamb, heart of steel, to start over, you can’t think like a prisoner” is a cry for change, for resistance, a silent protest sung to the melodies of alternative rock. It made me think that not all is lost, that there is a future for Cuban music beyond the craze for reggaeton consumption.
X Alfonso is a musician who has played with various genres throughout his career, from alternative rock, hip hop, pop with Afro-Cuban roots, and electronic sounds. His versatility captivates anyone who listens to his songs.
El Grito 