The Rolling Stones Perform Tonight in Havana

The Rolling Stones arriving in Cuba for their historic concert.
The Rolling Stones arriving in Cuba for their historic concert.  Photo: cubadebate

HAVANA TIMES — The Rolling Stones hold their first concert ever in Cuba tonight at the Havana Sports City grounds.

The outdoor event is set for 8:30 p.m. and is free.

“We have played in many special places during out long career, but this show in Havana is going to be a historic event for us,” said the band on announcing the concert.

Listening to rock music, and especially in English, was branded as ideological deviation for decades by Cuba’s leaders.  Considered a launching pad of capitalism by Fidel Castro, the music was banned on Cuban radio and television.

But now the times they are a changing and the Rolling Stones concert is expected to draw hundreds of thousands tonight on Good Friday.

The band had planned the concert for months and Mick Jagger was seen in Cuba on a private trip back in October, 2015. It was known in Havana that he wanted to perform here, noted dpa news.

The Rolling Stones concert was made public at the beginning of the month as the last stop on their “Ole” tour of Latin America, which took them to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico.

4 thoughts on “The Rolling Stones Perform Tonight in Havana

  • I hear that a lot, “before Cuba is changed” What is it you don’t want changed about Cuba? Poor barefoot children? Crumbling infrastructure, people running around trying to get wifi? A place you can escape from the real world, because Cuba is stuck in a time warp? Those picturesque crumbling homes were once beautiful. We Cubans are not zoo animals to be looked at for your enjoyment. I wish you could experience the way Cubans read live, it would be a totally different experience and not one you would likely want to repeat.

  • Fidel Castro was such an idiot to rail against rock music. He also declared racism no longer existed in Cuba. He spoke for hours against professional sports. This has been a great week for Cuba but a really bad week for the Castros.

  • Well from the photos that I have seen there was a huge fenced off section at the front of the stage for the rich and elite… With Raul Castro’s son Alejandro playing host… Figured as much… Though well done Rolling Stones… Now let the 3rd invasion of Cuba begin… Though I bet the drug dogs at Jose Marti were working overtime… Wonder how many foreigners got to check out a Cuban jail for being stupid and trying to bring drugs into the country… I hope this all works out for the people of Cuba… Though I feel privileged to have visited Cuba 12X before it will all be forever changed by the USA…

  • I hope that every Cuban that wants to see this historic show is let in to the venue before even one tourist is allowed to enter. This show is for Cuba and the people of Cuba… Though unfortunately I doubt this will be the case and the front will be a who’s who of government officials, embassy staff and the rich and famous that will be in Havana to see this show. With the actual Cuban people at the back…

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