Cabaret Guanimar, an open-air night-club on the outskirts of Havana, is heaving with bodies, lights and sound. A low cement wall separates the kinetic energy inside from this otherwise mundane thoroughfare in Guanabo, a small coastal town on the eastern shore.

The drive here from the city centre is long and dark; our 1950s diesel car the only light on a dusty road. But there’s a reason so many have made the pilgrimage. Tonight, Cuba’s most infamous reggaeton duo, Chacal y Yakarta, will grace the stage.

Beyond security guards and the long line outside, the club pulses with flashing neon, smoke machines and the muffled uno dos tres of sound-checks as a DJ plays innocuous reggaeton beats barely audible from the street. Chacal, Yakarta and the band sneak in through a secret backdoor and climb the rickety wooden stairs to a small office perched above the crowd.

text by Lisette Poole for HUCK Magazine

I photographed the reggaetón scene in 2015 & 2016 and directed the documentary “Reggaetón Revolución” — photos were published TIME, The New York Times, WIRED, WORLD PRESS, La Repubblica & 6Mois, among others.