“Study, work, rifle” and rock in Cuba: music of the Beatles in Noticiero Icaic Latinoamericano (1965-1972)

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to understand the significance, from a cultural and political point of view, of the presence of the Beatles' music in Noticiero Icaic Latinoamericano in a context of restrictions on the dissemination of rock music in Cuba, at the same time that the youth protagonism was flourishing and the cultural products aimed at youth were proving to be indispensable, to the Cuban government, to stimulate political engagement and the formation of the “new man”. Through the research and analysis of the soundtrack of several editions from the period between 1965 and 1972, marked by Beatlemania, we reflect on the use of songs, in their multiple formats and versions, demonstrating the different roles that the music assumes, when combined with the visual material, in dialogue with the bibliography on the subject. We aim to demonstrate how this polysemic musical score, sometimes permeated with ambiguity, sometimes with explicit political discourse, allows us to explore the potentiality of Noticiero as a historical source of the Cuban Revolution, so marked by searches, clashes, and challenges.