Times are changing fast for Cubans, and today they saw another first -- a massive free concert by The Rolling Stones.
It came despite one of the world's most powerful religious leaders asking the band not to play.
Hundreds of thousands rolled into the Ciudad Deportiva Stadium in Havana as The Stones capped their Latin American tour with a momentous free concert in Cuba last night.
After US President Barack Obama's visit a few days earlier, it was cultural proof that Cuba's isolation from the West was ending. No one was going to stop the historic concert, not even the Pope. Yes, Francis, speaking at Friday's Way of Cross ceremony in Rome, had sent a letter to The Stones pleading with them not to play on Good Friday, even suggesting they postponed till midnight, so as not to coincide with the holy day, Pope versus pop star -- the battle of the seniors.
Sir Mick Jagger, clocking a sprightly 72, snubbed the 79-year-old Pope, proclaiming on stage that, "Finally, the times are changing."
The concert marked a significant moment for Cubans living under the constraints of the country's communist regime, where listening to foreign rock music was once banned.
Now it seems that Cuba has finally got some satisfaction.
Channel 4 News
