The proceedings against Reinaldo Echemendía were surrounded by allegations of the impunity granted to him by the privileges of his position.
14ymedio, Madrid, September 8, 2026 – This Monday, the trial of Reinaldo Ángel Echemendía Estrada, former director of the Camagüey Folkloric Ballet, was held. He was accused of sexual harassment and abuse of minors connected to the cultural institution. According to Camagüey journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, who is exiled in Mexico, Echemendía was sentenced to three years in prison and permanently removed from his positions.
The criminal proceedings against Echemendía began in June 2025, after multiple allegations of systematic sexual harassment came to light in independent media and on social networks. The accusations were made publicly by relatives of students, former dancers, and employees of the company that the accused headed for decades.
To date, the official press has not mentioned the case of the former director of the Folkloric Ballet or the final sentence. Secrecy is usually the norm when it comes to high-ranking officials or figures close to the authorities.
According to an investigation by the Observatory of Cultural Rights (ODC) published last November, Echemendía enjoyed impunity because of the privileged position he held in Camagüey’s cultural sphere. He was director of the province’s Folkloric Ballet and had been recognized as an “Illustrious Son of the City of Camagüey,” in addition to being a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) and an honorary member of the Camagüey branch of the Hermanos Saíz Association.
The woman told independent media that her daughter “suffered harassment and inappropriate insinuations from this teacher during her social service internship”
The first complaint to become public, according to the ODC text, was filed by the mother of a student at the Luis Casas Romero School of Art. The woman told independent media that her daughter “suffered harassment and inappropriate insinuations from this teacher during her social service internship.” She also reported that, despite having followed “the appropriate channels,” Echemendía had received only a private reprimand.
In April 2024, when public allegations against Echemendía already existed, the Communist Party of Cuba’s official newspaper, Granma, was still praising the “Maestro” for his 50 year artistic career.
According to the same investigation, it was only after new accusations from victims emerged and the main complainant threatened to call a public protest that the then-culture official was dismissed and criminal proceedings were initiated against him in June 2025. Echemendía was then released on bail.
The recurrence of patterns of abuse is the best evidence of the normalization of perpetrators’ behavior, who are aware of the benefit of impunity”
The Observatory reports that Echemendía continued carrying out responsibilities associated with his former position and retained his level of influence within the Camagüey Folkloric Ballet. The organization also reports that when the accusations against Echemendía gained public attention, the former director offered financial incentives to victims to withdraw their complaints. The Observatory warned that this situation demonstrated the pressure and manipulation to which those who chose to report him could be subjected.
“The recurrence of patterns of abuse is the best evidence of the normalization of perpetrators’ behavior, who are aware of the benefit of impunity,” the Observatory states, warning that the Cuban state’s response and measures to counter these crimes can barely be documented because “there are no institutional statements.” The Observatory also identifies a method of cover-up consisting of relocating perpetrators to other jobs.
The report included as examples the cases of Enrique Rodríguez Toledo, director of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, and musicians José Luis Cortés and Fernando Bécquer. “It is not surprising that the Ministries of Education and Culture, the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, and the Hermanos Saíz Association, among others, distance themselves from this reality and impose laughable penalties that, rather than condemning, reinforce such behavior by standardizing impunity.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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