With the seizure of power by Fidel Castro in 1959, the visits of American and British artists to Cuba were also temporarily over. Castro and his communist party firmly closed the door on artists from capitalist countries, including rebellious pop artists. That the rules slowly but surely became more relaxed became clear when in 2001 the Manic Street Preachers succeeded in being the first western
… rock band to perform in Cuba. It was the illustration of the "thawing" in the relationship between Cuba and the West that eventually led to the state visit of Barack Obama in 2015. In the wake of the American president, the circus of The Rolling Stones followed. The Stones settled in a city park in Havana to play a free show for an estimated 1.2 million Cubans. It will be an evening to remember for visitors and band. Especially during Gimme Shelter and Sympathy For The Devil (including Mick Jagger in red boa) the band is in good shape old-fashioned. Chances are that the Stones will be allowed to return to Cuba again. (PdK)more
