How The Beatles inspired me to rock against Cuba鈥檚 regime
On his tenth birthday, Nilo Nu帽ez heard his first original Beatles鈥� song, and it changed his life forever. He set up a band which defied Cuba鈥檚 censorship with their rock music.
Nilo Nu帽ez was born in Castro's Cuba, where English-language rock music, considered a decadent symbol of capitalism, was marginalised by the state-run radio broadcasters. Miraculously, however, on his tenth birthday, Nilo managed to catch an original version of The Beatles song 鈥楤irthday鈥� on the airwaves. The sound inspired him to study at music school, and form the rock band 鈥楻hodas鈥�. After graduating, Nilo and the band started recording songs in secret and stealthily acquired their own musical instruments. They were eventually authorised as a professional group by the authorities, and played to screaming crowds across the island. However, a run-in with the police and an opportunity to leave Cuba would see Nilo starting out from scratch once again, thousands of miles from home.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: June Christie and Olivia Lynch-Kelly
(Photo: Photograph of Nilo Nunez holding his guitar. Credit: Juan Miguel Larmart)
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