Preserving Cuba’s Musical History Is No Easy Matter, Even In 2018

EGREM, the state recording label, has sound archives capturing thecomplete history of Cuban history from 1964 onward as well as a lot of what came before the Revolution. Maintaining those archives remains a struggle, thanks to very tight money and the still-not-lifted U.S. embargo. Even a clogged air-conditioner filter presents a major danger: if it can’t be repaired or replaced quickly enough, EGREM’s tapes and records could literally melt.