Growing up under the oppressive regime of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Mario López-Goicoechea found solace and inspiration in the unexpected – the music of the legendary rock band Queen. In a personal account shared with The Update Desk, López-Goicoechea recounts how a single song helped him break free from the stifling conformity of communist Cuba.
In the 1980s, as Castro’s presence loomed large over every aspect of Cuban life, López-Goicoechea, like many of his peers, had been raised to believe in the ideals of communism. However, a chance encounter with a battered cassette player and the epic “The Prophet’s Song” by Queen would prove to be a transformative moment.
“From the opening notes, it stopped me cold,” López-Goicoechea recalls. “Freddie Mercury’s voice had this beautiful urgency, singing about a vision he had. Then came the moment that changed everything – Brian May’s delay effect multiplied Mercury’s voice, so it echoes into itself, ghostlike and disembodied.”
Even through the tinny speaker, the song’s otherworldly quality transported López-Goicoechea, allowing him to escape the “noise of Havana” and the oppressive political atmosphere that had hitherto defined his existence. “Suddenly, I too felt the freedom to imagine something different,” he says.
The song’s inspiration, a fever dream experienced by Queen guitarist Brian May, resonated deeply with López-Goicoechea, who saw it as a personal “convalesence” from the stifling conformity of communist Cuba. “The Prophet’s Song” became a kernel of rebellion that would sustain him through the turbulent years that followed.
While he did not immediately become a dissident, the song’s influence proved pivotal in shaping López-Goicoechea’s path. He went on to pursue a successful, albeit risky, career as a black-market translator, eventually making his way to the UK in 1997, where he now lives as a writer, teacher and cycling instructor.
“I still listen to The Prophet’s Song,” he says. “It opened my ears not only to rock, but genres such as jazz. Most importantly, it spurred my curiosity, and the idea that life could be lived in a way that didn’t conform. In the middle of all that noise, it was the one thing that cut through.”
López-Goicoechea’s story is a testament to the transformative power of art and the ways in which cultural moments can inspire individuals to challenge the status quo, even in the face of immense adversity.
