Alamar

Alamar is a district in east part of the city of La Habana in Cuba, part of the municipio of Habana del Este. This district is constituted with prefabrication construction in the sovietic architectural style.

Hip-Hop Scene

Alamar is one of many barrios (housing projects) in Cuba that is home to a growing Hip-Hop scene. Located at the periphery of Havana, Alamar was identified with Cuba's Hip-Hop movement on a large scale when it hosted the first annual rap festival in 1995. Often referred to as the "home of Cuban rap," Alamar is a Hip-Hop hot spot known especially for its frequent peñas, or multiple performer venues, which are even more commonplace during the rap festival each year. According to Reebee Garofalo and Deborah Pacini Hernandez, authors of The Emergence of Rap Cubano: An Historical Perspective, "the Alamar festival has also stimulated rap festivals and concerts in other parts of Havana, typically in local cultural centres. East Havana, however, has remained rap's stronghold, and the Alamar rap festival is still the most important."