:17:27
We called ourselves "Irakere."
:17:29
It's an African word meaning, " jungle."
:17:32
We played jazz...
:17:34
...but we gave it our own swing.
:17:36
Wait a minute, excuse me.
:17:39
They didn't stop you.
:17:41
And this band was a success.
:17:43
Yes.
:17:44
The camouflage we had worked.
:17:47
You toured extensively.
:17:49
You did a record for CBS.
:17:51
You even won a Grammy.
:17:54
It seems like the government
didn't care what you were playing.
:17:58
They chose not to notice because we
were making a lot of money for them.
:18:04
I imagine you were making some money
for yourself as well?
:18:09
It doesn't work that way.
:18:12
The clubs pay
the Ministry of Culture directly.
:18:14
All we got was meal money.
:18:16
You know you can make a lot more
money if you weren't in Cuba.
:18:20
It's not about the money.
:18:22
It's about the music.
:18:24
They let you play the kind of music
that you wanted.
:18:27
American jazz and Gershwin and Ellington--
:18:30
You're always taking a risk because in
Cuba you never know where the line is.
:18:36
You can play Gershwin once too often.
:18:39
Not being able to play Gershwin
does not constitute persecution.
:18:43
It is if they decide it's
counter-revolutionary and you're put in jail.
:18:47
In Cuba you live with that fear every day.
:18:49
Someone might come to you,
your house, your family...
:18:52
...and hurt you because of a song.
:18:55
Just a song.
:18:58
And that is persecution.