Los Pacificos
Havana 1967
'THE ONLY KNOWN RECORDING OF A CUBAN ROCK BAND FROM THE SIXTIES' - An old tape missing for more than 30 years in warm and humid Cuba. Nine rock songs recorded in 1967 in two hurried hours, with borrowed instruments and without previous rehearsal. Four students, each about 17 years old, who filled the Havana student underground with the peace logo and forbidden music for two years. Music that sent people to jail, or provoked strong discrimination just by listening to it. An incredible performance with professional standards, recorded in a completely censored environment. A musical program with covers from the Kinks, Beatles, and more, to original Cuban rock songs written by Los Pacificos. A unique session stolen from a system that locked doors to rock and peace. The only known recording of a Cuban rock band from the sixties. "At a time when people are talking again about the Beatles, it is important to some people to recall that there was a Cuban Version of the Beatles during the 1960's. The difference was that the Beatles lasted almost a decade and left its mark on the world; Los Pacificos [The Peacemakers] lasted less than two years and were never remembered until their surviving members received the John Lennon Award. The Beatles made many concert appearances; Los Pacificos played one. Fans of Los Pacificos love them for their music and love them for daring to record rock music in a repressive environment, with impromptu tape recorders, borrowed musical instruments, no rehearsal, and in an area where people could not go to see and hear them: Los Pacificos clandestinely recorded their only concert in La Habana in 1967 at the height of the cultural repression in Cuba. The concert [for obvious reasons] was never televised nor transmitted via Cuban Radio. Los Pacificos were able to record their concert in two hours before being discovered by the Secret Police. Los Pacificos spent time in jail and one of their youngest members Carlos Davila died in Angola in the 1970's. The recording itself was hidden by a distant relative in a closet until he was able to leave Cuba with the recording [by boat]. The relative was able to remaster the recording and convert it to digital form and CD. The fact remains that Los Pacificos were able to bring Peace and Love to at least a piece of La Habana with their rock music."