The problem when you're a friend of Gorky, is that you always feared to hear of his arrest. That is what arrived yesterday.
. This time they were released soon after - but that, of course, you never know in advance.
was already happened last summer: one evening in late August, blogs and foreign media had reported his detention. He would be tried for dangerous pre-delicti. Seen from France, it sounded like a sentence already achieved ...
The first time I met Gorky, was at a party from a friend in a ground floor close to Centro Habana. There was more talking in the kitchen, under the wan light of a neon, standing next to a sink that was leaking.
was pretty surreal, one of the guests was part of the Hermanos Saiz Association, and spoke of the "alternative position" of the organization official. Gorky was rather taciturn, not very interested in such talk. He was released a few months ago, after two years in prison
.
His name was telling me something (and what a name ...), but I never heard anything his band, Porno para Ricardo
(besides the question Ricardo was there too: I think he finished the evening with ethyl sleep, stunned by the Guayabita) .
Over the years, I saw Gorky repeatedly organized happenings in people's homes and at parties at his job - a silkscreen studio behind the Place de la Revolution.
Everywhere he dragged his nonchalance, his elegance just dandy, and its "entirety", a strange mixture of gravity and extravagance. His laugh, mocking glare, surprising. Stubborn, moody, funny. As
they could no longer be together, not having access to a scene, I went to hear the band in the apartment where Gorky lived with his father, an old Communist disoriented by his son. At the entrance, a room almost empty, a battered sofa, chair, tile cost of the tropics. In the back room, the walls lined with egg cartons to cushion the noise. That's where they repeat.
(Photo by Johannes Frandsen ) That day, Ciro (the other founding member group) sang "Do not you cry
tonight," pronouncing the words in Cuban (
dono yo criiii Toniii ) - the salt of its takeover syrupy. Then he had
laughed when I told him I did not know the original song. I am wrong audience, I never really listened to rock, much less hard rock.
For cons, the musical eclecticism of Ciro and Gorky surprised me. I remember discussions with Ciro where he spoke of songs of Brassens, whom he knew from Vissotksy, great Russian bard, or Silvio Rodriguez, the rebel trovador become a member of the Popular Assembly ... was rather unexpected for a punk libertarian in Cuba.
I had a car, they asked me one day to take them to a hard rock festival in the provinces, where they hoped to take to the stage. They were overjoyed at the prospect of playing again before an audience
(arrived after the detention of Gorky, bassist and drummer Hever Renay had never played on stage with Porno ) . But the festival had been canceled at the last minute. The amazing thing was to believe. It remains
a mystery to me understand where they are not only energy to continue, but even just do not get mad.
Living amid relentless surveillance (neighbors, acquaintances, authorities) to be caught in a net of paranoia, see friends move away, out of fear, pressure ... When I spoke to Gorky, he shrugged his shoulders. There comes a time when the election is over anyway. In a recent interview, he spoke just briefly
loneliness that he always felt around
Porno .
But really, why the animosity against them by the authorities? Because they do not comply. Because they refuse to play the game like everyone else.
Initially, this was causing a punk, mocking all.
Intolerable.
Two years later in prison for Gorky, a group that uses more metaphors, and that is something unheard of in Cuba. Really. He must have seen the physical reactions of people who listened for the first time the song El Comandante
at the very beginning when she was traveling in late 2006 in a version sung by Ciro ...
They pushed the boundaries further, for everyone. But they must be heavy, these limits, when to push them alone ...
Exactly, they are no longer quite alone "dar la cara". I do not know if it changes much everyday, but in case of blow, a feeling of vulnerability should be less oppressive. Last summer, at the time of his arrest, mobilization conducted in Cuba by
Yoani ,
between other, and relayed to
abroad, had resulted in quite unexpectedly a few days after his release prevention, with a mere fine for civil disobedience.
With a sense of detail, Gorky had paid
the MN 600 pesos (about 25 euros) in parts of five centavos, or 12 000 pieces
- and several hours to recount the cash. Apparently, the account was there.
On their website
more details on the group's history, and some videos on the first page. I think you can also buy their albums, the last
Rojo (desteñido) .
And on Youtube, you can find some videos, which shows the evolution of a group provocative and decon ...
