By Sara Gomez Armas

Havana, Mar 26 (EFE).– A sea of cellphones lit up the night in this capital’s Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva sports complex from the first chords of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” with many in attendance eager to capture an image of The Rolling Stones taking the stage for their much-anticipated free concert in Cuba.

“We know that years back it was difficult to hear our music in Cuba, but here we are playing for you in your lovely country. I think times are finally changing,” a Spanish-speaking Mick Jagger, the band’s lead vocalist, said near the start of the show, referring to the Castro regime’s disapproval of foreign rock music following the 1959 revolution.

But two and a half hours of one of the world’s legendary bands was sufficient for the Communist-ruled island to pay its debt to the island’s rock fans, hundreds of thousands of whom attended Friday night’s massive open-air concert – the Stones’ first in the Caribbean nation.

Jagger, still a bundle of energy at age 72, strutted back-and-forth countless times along the 80-by-56-meter (260-by-180-foot) stage, in front of A-list celebrities such as English top model Naomi Campbell and American actor Richard Gere.

After getting the crowd moving with hits such as “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It),” “Angie,” “Paint It Black,” and “All Down the Line,” the venue turned quiet to hear lead guitarist Keith Richards play the opening chords of “Honky Tonk Women” with one hand.

Throughout the concert, the dueling guitar riffs of Richards and Ronnie Wood gave a visceral edge to the music, while drummer Charlie Watts kept the beat.

“We ate rice and beans last night at a paladar (private restaurant), but the best part was dancing Cuban rumba,” Jagger, who thrilled the crowd with some of his trademark moves during the show, said between two of the songs.

The English rock band dipped into its deep catalog of hits, performing “Gimme Shelter,” “Start Me Up,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Brown Sugar” before Jagger bid farewell at the two-hour mark with a “Thank you very much, Havana. Good night.”

Of course the musicians were back in no time for their encore, wrapping up the show with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and a more than eight-minute rendition of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” providing the perfect finish to a historic night. EFE