‘This is history’: Rolling Stones rock Havana with free concert
HAVANA — Tens of thousands of jubilant Cubans swarmed the site of the Rolling Stones’ free concert in Havana on Friday, calling it a historic moment for a country that once forced rock fans to listen to their favourite music privately.
Coming two days after Barack Obama finished the first trip to Cuba by a U.S. president in nearly 90 years, the evening concert cemented the Communist-run nation’s opening to the world. Organizers expected at least a half-million spectators to see the biggest act to play in Cuba since its 1959 revolution.
“After today I can die,” said night watchman Joaquin Ortiz. The 62-year-old said he’s been a huge rock fan since he was a teenager in the 1960s, when Cuba’s Communist government frowned on U.S. and British bands and he had to hide his Beatles and Stones albums in covers borrowed from albums of appropriately revolutionary Cuban groups. “This is like my last wish, seeing the Rolling Stones.”
Small groups of people slept overnight outside the Ciudad Deportiva, or Sports City, where a massive stage had been set up for the British rock legends. Tens of thousands more people streamed toward the outdoor complex throughout the day.
Many of those waiting to get in were foreigners, for whom seeing Cuba was as novel as seeing the Rolling Stones is for Cubans.
Tara Mascarenhas, a 43-year-old business consultant from Chelsea, Que., said David Bowie’s recent death inspired her to catch the Rolling Stones while they were still playing, and the historic nature of the Cuba concert provided an extra push.
“It’ll be quite nice to be able to see Keith (Richards) in the flesh,” she said, adding that she decided to come with only two weeks’ notice. “It’s a slight crazy opportunity.”
On arrival in Havana, lead singer Mick Jagger indirectly referenced the recent changes in Cuba. Obama re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba last year and called for the two countries to move toward full normalization in order to end the legacy of the Cold War.
“Obviously, something has happened in the last few years,” Jagger told reporters at Jose Marti International Airport. “So, time changes everything ... we are very pleased to be here and I’m sure it’s going to be a great show.”
Some Cuban concertgoers said it made them more optimistic about the future of their country.
“This is history,” said Raul Podio, a 22-year-old employee of a state security firm, who was joined by a group of young friends. “I would like to see more groups, for there to be more variety, for more artists to come, because that would mean we are less isolated.”