With Ozzy in El Submarino

In no other cultural center of the Artex Company, the Anglo-Saxon rock music of the 1960s and 1970s has been addressed in view of the impact that this irrefutable cultural event has left of the Cuban fans that follow this genre.

With the performance of different groups every night of the week, it has been proven that the rock music made at that time is not only appropriate to be danced, but also that it carries a renewed validity—something that makes it attractive to those youngsters that look for authenticity.

Saying that most of the times we’re forced to close because we are filled to capacity is the precise and exact confirmation to describe a pleasant atmosphere of fraternity, in which everybody is pleased with the quality of music, the excellent service and the exquisite decoration of the place with images of The Beatles.

For this reason, it wouldn’t be rash to say that the rock personalities that visit our country want to leave their imprint in our famous “submarine”—some by performing in our stage; others by being interviewed. That is the case of Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary British heavy metal singer who was recently in our country.

We knew about Ozzy’s interest to visit El Submarino, accompanied by the film crew of an important foreign TV channel, after visiting Villa Soberón’s John Lennon’s statue, at the park that carries his name, a few meters from our institution.

Scheduled under the strictest discretion, as requested by the said TV channel, the presence of the Black Sabbath singer at our facility was tinged with the performance of guitarist Luis Manuel Molina, a kind of a mythological music centaur whose admiration for concert music and intimate relationship with rock cannot be separated.

To Ozzy’s surprise, in his refined style, Molina played Changes, a theme included in Black Sabbath’s repertoire at the beginning of the 1970s. He also played Dee, a theme by the deceased guitarist Rhandy Rhoads, and finally Mr. Crowley, an essential piece in Ozzy Orbourne’s work, and in which our guitarist was able to show the Renaissance and baroque features that characterize this piece.

Fascinated by the welcome, Ozzy was interviewed by three of our most prestigious critics from the radio and the written press: Michel Hernández, Juanito Camacho and Joaquín Borges Triana. Michel was intrigued by Ozzy’s affinity with the work of The Beatles, particularly with Lennon and his song Imagine. Camacho amazed him while talking in details about his extensive career as a soloist. Joaquín, however, wanted to discover Ozzy’s ability to choose the renowned guitarists that have worked with him.

With the satisfaction of having had an intense dialogue in which our critics’ knowledge predominated, Ozzy referred to whether rock would be valued again in the future as classical music is valued today. In this sense, he said that it will certainly be, as the rock tendency today has nothing to do with the creative spirit of those memorable years of the second half of the 20^th century.

Just before leaving, we let him know that with his unexpected visit to El Submarino Amarillo, our facility would reach such a prestige that we are sure other relevant colleagues of his would visit us. Let’s so be it.

Translation: Yanely Interián (Cubarte)