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La teor a dorada de popeye havana cultura
La Teoría Dorada de Popeye (Popeye’s Golden Theory) is a Cuban performance collective founded by Josuhe Pagliery, Noel Serrano and David Beltrán Domínguez. Since its creation in 2003, the group has performed at numerous music festivals, at times in collaboration with some well-known contemporary Cuban rock musicians.
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Founders
Two of the founders, Josuhe Pagliery and Noel Serrano, both started by studying painting at the San Alejandro Fine Arts Academy, and then both completed their MFA degrees at the ISA (Higher Arts Institute) of Havana, Cuba. In 2003, Pagliery and Serrano joined with Domínguez and created the performance collective “La Teoría Dorada de Popeye” (Popeye’s Golden Theory) in Havana.
History
La Teoría Dorada de Popeye (Popeye’s Golden Theory) was created in 2003 in Havana. Their sound, which could be described as Cuban grunge, aims at fusioning art and music and it’s evident in their music videos and their live performances. The artists’ identities have remained anonymous since they each hide behind their cartoon character masks. They refer to G. K. Chesterton, an English writer known as « the prince of paradox » ; claiming that their masks reveal more of their identity than they conceal. The band both critiques pop culture and accepts their status of rock stars and they therefore play two roles : youth idols and infiltrators. The band’s name refers to Popeye the Sailor Man’s motto : “I Yam What I Yam”. Music lovers have accepted PGT as a punk band.
None of the group’s members are trained musicians, increasing the public’s admiration towards their unique fusion of music and art. Critics of PGT, such as authorities in Cuba and to seekers of ‘authentic’ Cuban music, say their music is « too North American ». PGT also rejected because of their hard core lyrics. Pagliery’s training in animation at the ICAIC (Cuban Cinema Institute) has resulted in some of their music videos to win awards, including the Lucas best rock video for 2007.
Another major characteristic of this band is that they sing in English. The reason for this choice, they argue, is that each language has a specific style and that the music they sing would not work with the Spanish language.