Rolling Stones Thrill Huge Crowd at Historic Havana Show

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In the recent series of monumental arrivals in Cuba — Netflix, Airbnb, a U.S. president — none looms as large as the Rolling Stones, who played to an estimated 500,000 Cubans in Havana on Friday. On an island overlooked by time for more than a half century, the group became the focal point of life for at least a day. The iconic tongue logo sprouted up on T-shirts across Havana, and cabbies, bartenders and friendly locals asked almost anyone, "Do you know the Rolling Stones will play tonight?" as if to confirm that the concert was indeed real. Not only was it real, it was free. In front of the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana, there were no ticket touts or T-shirt vendors. For a convertible peso you could get a cone of popcorn or a bootleg Stones CD outside the gates. Men in traditional green military uniforms were present but unnecessary despite the charged atmosphere leading up to Cuba's largest concert ever.

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