Puerto Rican University of Turabo screens Documentary on Cuban Hip Hop

(Prensa Latina) Turabo, Puerto Rico – Inventos: Hip hop cubano,
a documentary by brothers Eli and Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, on the
development of hip hop in Havana, was presented Tuesday night at the
Museum and Center of Humanistic Studies of the University of Turabo.

Inventos: Hip hop cubano (Inventions: Cuban Hip Hop,) is a
reportage of the everyday life of Cuban hip hop acts since 1997 to
2001. It does not only show the particular characteristics of the genre
in Havana, but also documents, with excellent cinematography, life
inside a suffering city, a local publication reported. “The impact
of US blockade has been so big that Cubans have to ‘invent’ to survive.
Young rappers have to tie wires and juggle for their music to be
listened to. That is why everything is an invention and that is
precisely what we wanted to show,” director Khalil Jacobs explained.

According to Jacobs, in Puerto Rico to attend the presentation, hip hop in Havana is unique. “The
lyrics they sing are particularly attractive. They speak about deep
social problems and I think this is because of the high quality of the
Cuban education system,” he added.

The documentary was made to be presented as Eli Jacobs’ Master in
Cinematography senior thesis at the University of New York. “To film
the material, we moved to Havana for more than three months. We chose
to live in a family house, instead of a hotel, to have a closer contact
with the people and its daily lives,” Khalil commented.

Inventos: Hip hop cubano was premiered in the Havana Hip Hop
Festival 2003 and, ever since, it has been screened in different
universities and international festivals in Austin, Denver, Miami, New
York, Paris, London, Rio de Janeiro and South Africa