HAVANA (Reuters) -- In a show of grass-roots unity, U.S. and Cuban rap
                  artists shared the beat this weekend at a raucous festival in Havana that
                  wound up early Monday.

                  Several thousand fans gave the two U.S. groups, Common Sense and
                  Crossfader, an enthusiastic welcome that promoted growing cultural
                  exchanges between the United States and Cuba.

                  Despite the strict controls on public protests on the Communist-run island,
                  Cuban rap bands draw material from social problems in urban settings like
                  Alamar, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Havana where the festival was
                  held.

                  The American groups performed with about 20 Cuban rap bands at the
                  festival, which began Friday night.

                  Rap is increasingly popular in Cuba where Western pop rhythms and songs
                  were once banned by the Havana government.

                  Many of the Cuban fans applauded when the U.S. performers read a letter
                  condemning the decades old American economic embargo on Cuba.

                  Both the United States and Cuba appear to support academic, cultural and
                  athletic exchanges with each other. In one high-profile exchange this year,
                  baseball teams from the two nations played each other.