LL: How did the group come about and why did you call it “la Reyna y la Real”?
La Reyna: When I met La Real in 2010 she was already using that as her stage name, and Reyna is actually my real name, so what better than to use it to represent what I do. Reyna is a big word and I believe all women are Queens. La Real is also a fitting name because we include so many real things from our real experiences in our lyrics, and our challenges are very real. We met in 2010, became friends, began to collaborate and launched La Reyna and La Real in 2012. We didn’t want to change those names because we were already known by them individually.
LL: …and is Real also part of her real name?
R: Her name is Yadira Pintado Lazcano and I’m Reyna Mercedes Hernandez Sandoval.
LL: Why Rap? The stereotypical concept people outside Cuba have of Cuban music is Buenavista Social Club and so on. You’re doing something very different. Why did you get involved with the Rap world instead of another genre?
La Reyna: At home I always needed to express myself. I’m an industrial chemist by training, nothing to do with music, and I worked in laboratories for a long time but I always kept a notebook where I wrote songs and poems and I needed everyone to know about the work I had kept it hidden for many years, work I knew many people would identify with as it included experiences very close to my own life which I knew would also be close to that of others.
LL: Who were the first rappers who influenced you?
La Reyna: Back in the 1990’s when I first heard the music I listened to a lot of Rap from the United States - Cuban Rap is strongly influenced by the USA. Members of the Merchant Marine would bring the music back and we could also hear it via clandestine satellite dishes. We didn’t know what the artists were called and we couldn’t understand the lyrics because they were all in English, we just knew we liked it! Later we found out who they were – Tupac, Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Eminem and many others gradually we learned what they were singing. We were also influenced by Spanish Rap and other parts of Latin America but the strongest influence has been the USA.
LL: What kind of reception have you had in Cuba? For example in 2017 you won a prize in the Cubadisco competition.
La Reyna: At the start it was difficult. It’s very unusual to see two women rapping in Cuba and there’s machismo in the rap movement. There are very few women rappers and a lot of men. It’s a difficult field for women. People comment that women are weak or sentimental, that we’re not made for hip-hop and we should sing salsa, son, ballads, that it’s an underground movement and that we are not ready for it, but we’re proving the opposite. At the beginning a lot of doors were closed to us and many people didn’t believe we were capable of doing good work. In 2017 when our album “Miky and Repa” came out and we won Cubadisco and other prizes. After that we started to get more respect from many musicians, Rrap fans and music fans in general. We became more known both internationally and nationally. Thanks to that we were able to travel in 2018 and do two concerts in Washington at the Kennedy Centre, the high point of our career so far.
LL: Here in Cuba, it’s common that musicians are paid a salary by the state. Is that the case for you.
La Reyna: Here musicians can present themselves to an institution which evaluates you and decides if you are professional or not. After that you can do gigs in venues which belong to the government and get paid for your work. We belong to the Cuban Rap Agency to which some other rappers belong but there are still lots of rappers in the street.
LL: You won the Cubadisco prize with an album called “Miky and Repa”. Those words have certain meanings in Cuba. Could you explain?
La Reyna: There’s a song on the album called Miky and Repa which are references to two Cuban female stereotypes. The “Miky” woman is very materialist, always concerned about her image, always wearing the latest fashions, going to the best places in Havana, has the most expensive things, a car. The “Repa” woman is from the “barrio”, making do with what she has, playing dominoes in the street, shouting and playing her music loud and is happy that way. The song is about what they are in society and how we see them. They are women who believe they are very different from each other, but we’re all women and not so different. That’s what the song is about.
LL: Your songs reflect the realities of Cuban daily life. I know that you live in the Luyanó area and you’ve arrived quite late today for our interview because despite not being far away you’ve had to change transport three times. How is the area today, given that it was affected by the recent tornado which hit Havana?
La Reyna: I was born in Luyanó and have never left. My mum moved here when she was eight . My son was born here and Luyanó has had a big effect on me. All my songs are based on my experiences here. I carry the barrio with me and I’m very proud of it. Unfortunately the area was hit by the tornado and severely damaged. I really appreciated the solidarity of the people both inside and outside the area but we are still recovering.
LL: Finally, what’s next for La Reyna y La Real in 2019?
La Reyna: We’re working hard on our next album but we don’t yet know which label it will be issued by. La Real is working on a solo project and I am working on my own album called “La Reyna Rap”, so we’re both working hard on our work together and individually.
LL: There was a recent visit to Cuba by members of the British Royal Family which was perhaps a missed opportunity for two royal families to get together ….
La Reyna: Haha, the British Royal Family and the Queen of Luyanó!
LL: Any message from the Cuban Royal Family of Rap for the British one?
La Reyna: Well, thanks for visiting our country, we also hope to visit yours. Come back any time, the door is always open!
LA MIKY Y LA REPA
Coro: Yo soy repa mi jevito tiene un eribanga
No hay pase me sirve malanga.
Yo soy miky mi jevito mira muñes mangas,
¿Papi cómo me queda la tanga?
Mi jevito, tiene un carro híper volado,
Para el fresa, para el Sangrilá, me lleva para todos lados,
Me gusta cuando llega y toca el claxon,
Es que lo veo súper fashion.
Sencilla, pero toda mi ropa es cara,
De arriba a abajo, marca Kitty, Zara.
Estoy en forma a ver déjate de guara,
Gimnasio en Kolhy 30 fulas, dime quien los paga.
Mi jevito claro, no es tremendo palo
Pero está chuly cantidad y tiene tremendo varo,
Ultra cool mi china, puedes estar tranquila
El con su Wii Y su plasma y yo mojito en la piscina.
Todo está fresa pero hay veces que se pasa
Mira que se lo he dicho, voy a irme de tu casa,
Que valla al Club Habana, pero que me perdone
Como se le va a olvidar el money de mis extensiones
Coro: Yo soy repa mi jevito tiene un eribanga
No hay pase me sirve malanga.
Yo soy miky mi jevito mira muñes mangas,
¿Papi cómo me queda la tanga?
A ver cómo te explico pipo
Quiero irme para el bonche con el yin apretadito,
Con la blusa esa sexy con brillito
Y lo que se lleva ahora los tenis clasiquitos.
Tú, hazte el moñito, bien paradito,
Con esos cortes repas que pareces un chinito,
Qué lindo tito, mi chocolatito,
Ponte tus lupas verdes y el pulóver rosadito.
Para que sepas no estoy para canchan fleta,
A la que marque voy a darle una galleta,
Te lo advertí, después no me digas
Que a tus amigas yo les formo intriga.
Él es tan limpio que no se puede pisar,
Estuvo en el tanque, se dio a respetar,
Cumplió un poquito por lesiones graves,
Por robo con fuerza y lo otro que tú sabes.
Coro: Yo soy repa mi jevito tiene un eribanga
No hay pase me sirve malanga.
Yo soy miky mi jevito mira muñes mangas,
¿Papi cómo me queda la tanga?
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