The Metal Islands: Culture, History, and Politics in Caribbean Heavy Metal Music (2016)

• 85%
• 2016
• Documentary
• Osvaldo González Sepúlveda

The countries that comprise the Caribbean region are immensely diverse, which is evident from their history, culture, and geography. For the past forty years, the Caribbean has spawned a massive array of metal music, which for the most part has remained under the radar from the rest of the world. It is nearly impossible to capture the entire history of metal in the region given its prolific output. Nevertheless, this documentary sheds some light on three metal scenes in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean: Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The documentary examines how each island's metal scene has been influenced by history, culture, and political context. This documentary is the product of an extensive research, led by Dr. Nelson Varas-Díaz, that aims to explore the particularities of small metal scenes in the Caribbean. The film explores issues related to the origins of these scenes, social stigmatization, media persecution, the integration of local culture into the metal scene, the relationship between the state and metal, among other topics.