ESTO ES LO QUE HAY, CHRONIQUE D'UNE POÉSIE CUBAINE

In 2005, Aldo and Bian started Los Aldeanos, a Havana hip-hop group whose popularity among the locals and reputation outside Cuba are on the rise. When the country’s leadership changed hands in 2006 as Fidel Castro handed over the reins of power to his brother Raul, the rappers seized the opportunity to make their voices heard through their politically-charged rhymes dealing with such risky subjects as censorship and freedom of expression. The voice of a rebellious generation that’s defying the Castro regime, the group is shaking up the establishment. Fuelled by protest against a political system that tramples on basic rights, Los Aldeanos try to raise the Cuban people’s consciousness by singing of freedom even as they celebrate the island’s new artistic, musical and digital revolution. Director Léa Rinaldi, a Jim Jarmusch fan, has directed two previous documentaries about the iconic white-haired American filmmaker. With Esto es lo que hay, she trains her camera on a unique group of young artists who, despite a ban on performing live, use every means at their disposal to promote change within a society in transition.