Saturday, November 13, 2010

Why Did Beatniks Resemble Fidel Castro and Cuban Revolutionaries?


Ok, maybe Fidel didn't wear turtlenecks in the Caribbean climate. Maybe he and his troops got to wear combat boots instead of sandals.

The rest of the look - berets, sunglasses, and beards is 'spot on', as the Brits say. Fidel and his troops liked their strong coffee, regardless of what name it was given. They like to smoke. And they liked their music. Bongo music was not foreign to the Cubanos, and Conga drumming was familiar to Beats. I'm sure both groups used marijuana and played guitars.

Was their a possible connection between the two? Were The Beats as much related to Marx as they were to Thoreau or Kerouac? Or was it all just one big coincidence?

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