Gorki Águila is a Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 musician and dissident

Dissident

A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....

, who has publicly criticized communism

Anti-communism

Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...

. He is the leader of the Porno para Ricardo

Porno para Ricardo

Porno para Ricardo is a Cuban punk rock band founded in 1998. It is considered to be one of the most visible examples of young Cubans disagreement with the Castro's regime....

 band.

Águila lives with his father in a small apartment in Marianao

Marianao

Marianao is a town and municipality in the province of the city of Havana, Cuba, 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway. , the municipality had a population of 133,016. Marianao is on a range of hills about 1500 ft. above sea level,...

, where he also has been recording his songs with the band since they were forbidden to have concerts. His mother and sister live in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Águila has a 11-year old daughter, Gabriela.

Initially, his band was well-received by the Cuban authorities, being even featured on television, but as his lyrics became bolder, he was banned

Censorship

thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 from performing in public and the songs being put on the internet with help of a friend from abroad.

In 2003, Águila was jailed on drug charges after a policewoman posed as a fan and asked him for amphetamines, after which he gave her two pills. He argues this was entrapment

Entrapment

In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit. In many jurisdictions, entrapment is a possible defense against criminal liability...

 and an attempt to silence him. After serving 4 and a half year in Cuba's 5½ Kilo Prison, Aguila became an even more outspoken critic of the Cuban government, his lyrics growing more political. In an interview with CNN in 2007, Aguila said that "Communism is a failure. A total failure. Please. Leftists of the world -- improve your capitalism." In an interview with exiled Cuban anarchists PPR described anarchism

Anarchism

Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...

 as being "very seductive."

In August 2008, Águila was arrested by the Cuban police with the charge of "dangerousness

Social dangerousness

Social dangerousness or Pre-criminal danger to society is a legal charge under Cuban law which allows the authorities to detain people whom they think they are likely to commit crimes. The charge carries a penalty of up to four years in prison...

", which allows them to detain people whom they think they are likely to commit crimes. The charge carries a penalty of one up to four years in prison. Signs of a "dangerousness state" are habitual drunkness and anti-social behaviour. He was eventually ordered to pay a $30 fine for the lesser offence of public disorder, after prosecutors dropped the more serious charge.

In 2007 Gorki featured in the documentary Cuba RebelioN, a film by Alessio Cuomo and Sander de Nooij about Cuban underground rock musicians who rebel against the Castro-regime. It shows the painful reality of musicians who are not allowed to express themselves publicly but are nevertheless willing to put their freedom at risk by playing their music.