VIDEO: Debate at a fever pitch over next month’s Juanes concert in Cuba

Colombian superstar performer Juanes is planning to give a concert in Cuba on Sep. 20, and in Havana’s Revolution Plaza, no less. Among the other acts scheduled to perform are Cuban folk legend Silvio Rodriguez and Cuban salsa stars Los Van Van.

But this isn’t the average concert in Latin America.
Cuban exiles in Miami and elsewhere are furious over Juanes’ upcoming performance, saying his visit is an expression of acceptance—and even support—for the oppressive communist regime in Cuba. Others throughout Latin America and the U.S. say that music is universal and shouldn’t be politicized by keeping international acts from performing in Cuba.

Event promoters say his concert, called “Peace Without Borders,” will not have ideological overtones. However, in a recent Twitter message, Juanes said, “Ninety miles of border, of wall, of lack of communications, of pain and death. Don’t you think it would be good that they talk after 50 years?” Sounds like a political message to me.

The controversy has gotten so bad that Juanes is now receiving threatening messages. In a police report dated Aug. 15, Juanes said that someone sent him a message on Twitter, which said, among other things, "I hate what you are saying but you will die for defending your right to say it." Juanes' manager and the promoter of the concert, Fernan Martinez Maech, also told Key Biscayne Police that he has "experienced hostility" from co-workers at the office regarding the show, who labeled him a "communist."

Cuban-Americans like singer Willy Chirino and actress María Conchita Alonso have issued harsh statements criticizing the concert. However, the Cuban-American powerhouse couple Emilio and Gloria Estefan, normally vocal on Cuba matters, has not issued any public comments. Singer Albita Rodríguez also declined to comment through her publicist.

Juanes has given such concerts before, most recently in 2008 along the Venezuela-Colombia border, to promote peace and dialogue between countries. It’s true that music is universal, and it’s a difficult thing to withhold the magic of music from the Cuban people, who desperately need anything to lift their spirits. Yet, there is an intrinsic unfairness in allowing artists like Juanes to perform in Cuba.

Juanes says he wants to promote dialogue with Cuba, but is he interested in promoting concepts like freedom of expression to the Cuban people during his concert? Would he be brave enough to condemn human rights abuses and make a call for the release of political prisoners? There’s no way to avoid politicizing a concert by a major Latin American star in Cuba, and Juanes needs to be prepared to handle the current and future onslaught of criticism heading his way because of these issues. He should also think about the freedoms he enjoys on a daily basis that the Cuban people do not as he sings to them next month.

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