14ymedio, Santiago de Cuba, 2 August 2022 — Graffiti with the phrase “Díaz-Canel singao [motherfucker],” in capital letters, appeared at dawn this Tuesday painted on the pavement of the bridge that connects the town of El Cristo with the national highway, in Santiago de Cuba, popularly known as El Elevado [The Elevated].
Shortly after the graffiti was discovered and with a strong police presence, the sign was covered up by local authorities. Several photos circulating on social networks show the state of the road after the white letters, outstanding for their large size, were censored.
The bridge belongs to a highway that connects the city of Santiago de Cuba with other municipalities such as Songo-La Maya and Segundo Frente. This last territory is frequently visited by high-ranking leaders of the country because the mausoleum of the martyrs of the Frank País García Second Eastern Front is located there, holding the remains of Vilma Espín, who was the wife of Raúl Castro, and those of the Spanish dancer Antonio Gades.
The mausoleum, located about 60 kilometers from Santiago de Cuba, also houses the remains of more than 200 combatants of the Rebel Army. In addition, the stone where Espín’s ashes were buried will also be the tomb of Raúl Castro.
Anti-government graffiti is not very common in Santiago de Cuba, but in recent years it has become more frequent in central areas of the city, such as the Sueño neighborhood, where it has also been censored with paint by leaders of political organizations or Ministry of the Interior agents
This Monday, the city experienced a day of protests due to the long blackouts, which were concentrated in the Luis Dagnes neighborhood, in the Altamira Popular Council. The event quickly led to the presence of several military and public order forces, while the demonstrators shouted various slogans against the Government and Fidel Castro, according to what a local resident told this newspaper. Among the phrases they chanted were: “Enough already,” “Turn on the power, pinga [dickhead]” and “Díaz-Canel, singao.“
The signs of popular disagreement continued throughout the day, also in Havana. “We want [to see] Díaz-Canel,” demanded a group of people who cut off road traffic at a point on the national highway near the José Martí airport. The demonstrators, among whom were women and children, formed a human cordon that prevented access to one of the main roads into the city.
In a video of the protest, circulated on networks, numerous vehicles can be seen stopped in front of the protesters, without daring to advance. One of the passengers gets out of his car to take a closer look at the situation and, when he returns to the car, tells the driver: “Havana has heated up!”
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