Beat goes on Changüí musicians defying Cuba's crisis

In the city of Guantánamo, a festival celebrates a vibrant and joyful hyperlocal musical tradition holding out despite economic hardship

- Gianluca Tramontana

It's 1.30am and the band El Guajiro y su Changüí, led by freestyling lyricist Celso Fernández, are cooking on all burners.

They're onstage at an open-roofed venue in the city of Guantánamo in Cuba - 30km from the infamous US-owned prison - and playing changüí, the region's hyperlocal music. Changüí is reportedly a mashup of a Congolese word meaning "jump for joy" and the Guantánamo slang for "party", and this is some of the most exuberant, party-starting music imaginable.

Changüí is not for spectators - anybody can be part of the show. Havana star Elito Revé jumps on stage and joins in on the scraped-metal guayo and vocals, soon followed by Yarima Blanco, a hotshot on the guitar-like tres. On the first day of the 11th edition of the festival Changüí Elio Revé Matos - named after Revé's father - these musicians, performing for a nine-judge panel in a competition, are playing changüí the way it's been done for more than 150 years. For three days and nights in late June, the city of Guantánamo comes alive with music, and more than 20 mostly local groups will play multiple times a day.