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    Explaining 'Patria Y Vida,' The Song That's Defined The Uprising In Cuba

    The song, released in February, packs in plenty of historical and current references. The Alt.Latino team translated and decode the lyrics.
    by Anamaria Sayre Jul 19, 2021 5 minutes
    Gente de Zona's "Patria y Vida" (pictured, right: Randy Malcom in Miami) reclaims a slogan made popular at the birth of the Cuban revolution, "Patria o Muerte" (Homeland or Death), 62 years ago.

    Cries for Cuban liberation reverberated throughout the world this past week as protests took over Miami and the Caribbean nation. On both sides of the Florida Strait, one phrase rose above the noise again and again, coming to stand as a unifying cry for the largest uprising in recent Cuban history: "patria y vida," or homeland and life.

    The phrase comes from a hip-hop song of the same name, "Patria y Vida," released in February as a collaboration between Cuban musicians in exile: Alexander Delgado and Randy Malcom of the duo Gente De Zona; Yotuel Romero, founding member of the pioneering cuban hip-hop band Orishas; and singer-songwriter Descemer Bueno. Contributors Maykel Osboro (Castillo) and Eliécer "el Funky" Márquez are both still on the island.

    A deeper dive into the protest song

    The lyrics pack in plenty of historical and

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