EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 18 May 2023 — Cuban authorities said Thursday that the cancellation of three concerts in Spain by the musical duo Buena Fe, a group close to government and party circles, was due to “harassment” and media “campaigns” against them.
The president of the Cuban Institute of Music, Indira Fajardo, described the situation as “harassment” at a press conference.
“The evidence that these attacks had been previously prepared is evident, since the videos on social networks provided incitement to attack the Cuban group,” said Fajardo, according to the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
Meanwhile, the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) expressed in a communiqué its “indignation” at the “barbarity revealed in the harassment and persecution” directed against the Cuban musicians.
“This is an attack against civility, a manifest disregard for culture and for those of us who defend the right to do our work from this blockaded and slandered island,” the text states.
Uneac claimed that the perpetrators of this campaign are “anti-Cuban elements” who “have followed the fascist script dictated by the Platista faction entrenched in South Florida.”
Cuban Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso, stated on Twitter that “the harassment of the due Buena Fe and the pressures on the owners of the venues that programmed their concerts in Spain are cowardly acts, of a McCarthyist and fascist nature.”
On the same social network, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also spoke of “harassment” and assured that “all of Cuba” stands with the duo.
Buena Fe’s tour of Spain began last Friday in Madrid and was to include performances in the cities of Bilbao, Barcelona, Zamora, Salamanca and Cáceres.
But at the first concert there was an incident: two activists against the Cuban government claimed to have been beaten — allegedly by personnel of the Havana embassy in Madrid — after shouting slogans against the system on the island during the performance.
The following day the cancellation in Barcelona was announced, which the group linked to “organizational and logistical reasons”, followed by the cancellation of their performances in Salamanca and Zamora.
“Under the pretext of defending democracy, fascistic harassment and threats have been unleashed against the owners of the venues and that has been more powerful than the songs,” said the members of the musical duo.
Created in 1999, Buena Fe is a regular at official events and celebrations of the Young Communist League (UJC). Several times it has traveled as part of official Cuban delegations to events such as the World Festival of Youth and Students.
Translated by Hombre de Paz
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
