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Los Beatles / The Beatles

Since its early days, rock became an excellent ambassador of British culture

n the England of the late 1950s, the music listened to by youngsters was a poor imitation of the remains of that powerful American rock ‘n’ roll, a rhythm that was only attractive to that sector of the society. Nevertheless, it is at the port city of Liverpool where four rookie musicians were not only destined to transform the trading concept of popular music, but also to stretch out the borders of British culture to unforeseen limits.
Since the very first professional recordings culled by The Beatles in 1962, it became evident that something new had come up with this music labeled as rock. With the cheerfulness that characterized the members of the band, they used musical elements taken from other genres and high doses of strong will to make innovations.
The Beatles were immediately followed by a world of fellow British musicians, and the band not only led the so-called British Invasion to the United States in mid-1960s, but they also went global and, of course, Latin America couldn’t escape from such musical epidemic.
The motivation was so significant that even today such countries as Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil are penciled in as must destinations for seasoned stars and new performers of Anglo-Saxon rock; a musical style with lyrics that might not be understood at a general level, but it’s attractive enough to be admired due to the expressive power and rigor of it.
Everybody still recalls the intense days of Rio Rock Festival or that memorable concert given by the Rolling Stones in Brazil, where these musicians, contemporary with The Beatles, gathered a million people.
And talking about historic cultural moments of great significance, we all know for sure that when the Rolling Stones come to perform in Cuba in March, all records of attendance, enthusiasm and commitment are going to be shattered by generations of Cubans that haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy them live, but they shiver when they belt out Angie or listen to Paint It Black.
The members of the most famous rock band ever on earth will simply feel like they have given the concert of their lifetime. And the same is going to happen with those that have been expected to come for decades. Make no mistakes about it; some of them, like Paul McCartney, will wonder why The Beatles didn’t come to the Cuba in the first time. That’s when we’ll thank them being among us for forever more.