紐約時報今天有則有趣的新聞：Cuba’s Rap Vanguard Reaches Beyond the Party Line。

Alarmed by the number of young people in baggy clothing and ill-aligned baseball caps rapping around the island, the government created the Cuban Rap Agency four years ago to bring rebellious rhymers into the fold.

古巴政府成立Rap部？這不太像我們以為的古巴吧～這是共產主義國家的行為嗎？

繼續看下去，有更令人驚訝的表示：

“We are not in agreement with any political system, the one here or the one you have,” said Aldo Rodríguez Baquero, 23, who teams up with his friend Bian Rodríguez Gala in a popular group called Los Aldeanos, or The Villagers. “We want liberty and freedom.”

The governmental rap agency has begun promoting reggaetón artists, whose messages are often intended more to get people on the dance floor than to protest. It is harder than ever for rappers to find a stage.

“Reggaetón is about sex and girls and that’s it,” grumbled Mario Gutiérrez, 19, who criticizes his fellow rappers who have speeded up their beat and gone reggaetón. “We are singing for change. We want freedom. We want a better Cuba than this one.”

一個共產政府成立一個機關，輔導音樂的發展，或是把音樂當成社會福利的一部份（輔導和疏導青少年的怒氣？）。而這樣的機關所輔導的對象，是希望一個自由的古巴？如果不是出自紐約時報，我還真認為這是一則假新聞。但是，看來現在古巴似乎有點鬆動的感覺，看看這則BBC的報導：US congressmen in rare Cuba trip

The US delegation will spend three days in Cuba, during which time members are due to meet several high-ranking Cuban officials.

The BBC’s Americas editor Emilio San Pedro says the timing of the visit, coming as Cuba undergoes what could be described as its most significant internal political transformation in decades, is important.

美國重新打開對古巴的關係。自從費多．卡斯楚掌權後，美國就關上了對古巴的大門。古巴在蘇聯解體後面對到極大的經濟問題。於是在90年代中期開放觀光，希望以觀光帶來的收入彌補因為美國實施的貿易制裁，以及其貿易結構的限制。但觀光帶來財富，也帶來社會問題。古巴雖然擁有世界上稱羡的醫療資源，但是社會底層並沒有真正獲得太多好處。只是在共產主義底下，相當程度的回應壓力被疏散在到古巴全體人民上。現在，這樣的問題在費多．卡斯楚政權隨著領導人的疾病而狠狠暴露出來。

但就英美媒體這兩篇報導，看得出來美國對於古巴的態度轉為積極，尋求在費多．卡斯楚之後美國與古巴的新關係。於是在紐約時報的這篇報導也就不足為奇了：一邊是政治，一邊是音樂。音樂與政治的結合，總是令人激動難耐。