Cuban HipHop: Desde el Principio (2006)

Major media attention has been given to Cuba's version of Hip Hop culture-a culture originally developed in the Bronx, New York during the late 1970's as a vehicle of expression for disenfranchised youth. Serving the same purpose within socialist Cuban society, Cuban Hip Hop is defying numerous misconceptions about censorship in Cuba (via its highly critical lyrics), while at the same time reaffirming certain limitations that Cuban society faces under Castro's regime (i.e. the lack of commercial success for artists). International attention to Cuban Hip Hop grew after the first annual Cuban Rap Festival, held in 1995. However, this film indicates that the foundation for the growth of Hip Hop in Cuba was set in the 1970's, contemporaneously with the US. Based on a first-hand investigation carried out over the course of five years, including participation in Cuban Hip Hop concerts and colloquiums at the eighth annual Cuban Hip Hop Festival in Havana, and interviews with the most influential Cuban Hip Hop artists and producers, this documentary traces the development of Cuban Hip Hop step by step in a way that has yet to be formally recorded or published.