Earlier today, it was announced that the United States and the island nation of Cuba have formally restored ties, marking the first time in 54 years that such diplomacy has existed between the two countries. In literal terms, it means that Havana now has an officially active U.S. embassy, while D.C. now has a Cuban counterpart. Part of the ceremonial grand openings of the two embassies was the raising of the Cuban flag in Washington, an immensely symbolic gesture that speaks to the easing of tension between geographical neighbors long since caught in a heated (and sometimes deadly) feud. According to NPR, the Cuban flag hasn’t flown there since 1961, when the United States (under the leadership of President Dwight D. Eishenhower) opted to discontinue political and economic ties with the Communist government of Cuba.

Despite the decades-long embargo on U.S./Cuban relations, the cultural contributions of Cuba in the United States have never fully disappeared. From food items like the Cuban sandwich to the Cuba Libre cocktail, the Caribbean flavors of a former foe have long since appeared on our menus. Cuban music has undoubtedly infiltrated American culture, as well. The 1999 documentary Buena Vista Social Club – about the musical culture of Cuba – was a huge success stateside. More recently, Cuban Hip-Hop has served as a metaphorical bridge between two nations, with American popular music finding its way to Havana and its outlying cities. As it did in nations around the world, Hip-Hop became a vocal facet of revolutionary rhetoric within Cuba, particularly in the early aughts.

According to a 2002 CNN article, Hip-Hop really started to develop in Cuba in the mid-’90s, when musicians began adopting the genre to create music that the government felt was too critical of its policies. However “the Cuban government changed its stance against hip-hop, declaring it ‘an authentic expression of Cuban Culture,'” in 1999.  In the fall of 2002, “the government formed the Agencia Cubana de Rap (The Cuban Rap Agency) that provides a state-run record label and hip-hop magazine, and began supporting the annual Cuban Hip Hop festival.” More than 10 years later, the Cuban rap world has been documented in several films, perhaps most notably in 2004’s East of Havana, a visceral depiction of the lives of 3 Cuban rappers who come from the same place where people have been arrested just for listening to Los Aldeanos, a Cuban Hip-Hop group.

For many, Cuba’s extensive history of Hip-Hop as a tools and means for political progress may be news, but perhaps the recent melting of frost between the two governments will allow that rich history to become more well-known amongst American Heads. In the meantime, check out East of Havana in its entirety here.

Related: Questlove Goes on a Musical Quest for Culture in Cuba (Video)