A Latin Grammy Award for ‘Patria y Vida’, the Anthem of the Protests in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, November 18, 2021–Thursday, the song Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] won the award for Best Urban Song at the Latin Grammys, in Las Vegas, USA. Beatriz Luengo, singer and wife of Cuban Yotuel Romero, one of the songwriters, went up on stage to receive the award. Sung by duo Gente de Zona, Yotuel and Descemer Bueno, … Continue reading “A Latin Grammy Award for ‘Patria y Vida’, the Anthem of the Protests in Cuba”

Cuban Regime Sees a ‘Corrupt Plot’ to Favor ‘Patria y Vida’ at the Latin Grammys

14ymedio, Havana, 21 October 2021 — The Government of Cuba persists in its sleepless nights for the song Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life], whose title became the motto of the protests of July 11 and which has almost nine million views since its premiere, just seven months ago. The nomination of Patria y Vida for two Latin Grammy Awards, … Continue reading “Cuban Regime Sees a ‘Corrupt Plot’ to Favor ‘Patria y Vida’ at the Latin Grammys”

Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government

14ymedio, Madrid, 27 May 2021 — On Thursday, Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD) launched a manifesto in support of the artists participating in the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) who have been besieged by the Cuban government in recent weeks, and called for an end to the repression. In the text, they refer mainly to the artist Luis Manuel … Continue reading “Manifesto Supports the Artists of ‘Patria y Vida’ Repressed by the Cuban Government”

Dozens of Activists Demonstrate in Old Havana, Shouting “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 30 April 2021 — Dozens of activists were repressed in a protest in the park on the corner of Obispo and Aguacate, in Old Havana. The protesters were trying to reach the home of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, only a few blocks away. The artist is on his sixth day of a … Continue reading “Dozens of Activists Demonstrate in Old Havana, Shouting “Patria y Vida” (Homeland and Life)”

San Isidro Movement Artists Organize a ‘Patria y Vida’ Street Party

14ymedio, Havana, 4 April 2021 — At the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) a collective birthday was celebrated this Sunday, planned by the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. Damas Street, in Old Havana, was filled with residents of the neighborhood with a strong police operation remaining in the afternoon. During the celebration, and from loudspeakers placed in … Continue reading “San Isidro Movement Artists Organize a ‘Patria y Vida’ Street Party”

‘An Act of Repudiation With Music’ is the Official Response to ‘Patria y Vida’

14ymedio, Havana, 1 March 2021 — The Cuban government’s musical response to the video clip Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life) has not been long in coming. Two weeks after the release of the song, which harshly criticizes the regime in Havana, the island’s official media have broadcast this Monday Patria o Muerte por la Vida (Homeland or Death for … Continue reading “‘An Act of Repudiation With Music’ is the Official Response to ‘Patria y Vida’”

‘Patria y Vida’ Gave Cuba Back a Pulse

14ymedio, Asiel Babastro, Havana, 26 February 2021 — [Note: Asiel Babastro, director of the video clip for the song Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] presented the following text this Friday at an event of the European Parliament sponsored by Vice President Dita Charanzová and MEP Leopoldo López Gil, the Renew Europe Group and the European People’s Group, and organized by Cuban … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’ Gave Cuba Back a Pulse”

Act of Repudiation Against a Family in Havana for Painting ‘Patria y Vida’ on the Wall of Their House

14ymedio, Havana, 22 February 2021 — The activist Anyell Valdés Cruz and her family were victims this Monday of an act of repudiation in which Kirenia Pomares, the mayor of Havana’s Arroyo Naranjo municipality, State Security agents and other people participated. The rally included slogans, posters and graffiti on the facade of the house to erase … Continue reading “Act of Repudiation Against a Family in Havana for Painting ‘Patria y Vida’ on the Wall of Their House”

‘Patria y Vida’, a Soundtrack for Change in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 17 February 2021 — The video was released on social networks on Tuesday night and just twelve hours later it already exceeded 200,000 views on YouTube. No one expected anything less: for the first time Gente de Zona, Yotuel Romero and Descemer Bueno, residents outside of Cuba, work in a collaboration with the musicians Maykel Castillo Osorbo and El … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’, a Soundtrack for Change in Cuba”

Cuban Artist and Activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is Awarded a Norwegian Human Rights Prize

The Rafto Foundation has awarded prizes to defenders of democracy, including four people who later received the Nobel Peace Prize EFE (via 14ymedio), Copenhagen, 19 September 2024 — Cuban artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was awarded the Rafto Human Rights Prize in Norway on Thursday “For his fearless resistance against an authoritarian regime … Continue reading “Cuban Artist and Activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is Awarded a Norwegian Human Rights Prize”

They Killed Diubis!

14ymedio, Francis Matéo, Barcelona 13 July 2024 — “La Habana, Santa Clara, Holguín, Santiago, Palma Soriano, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Pinar del Río, Alquízar…” Dianelys lists the cities through which the shock wave has spread since yesterday, caused by the first demonstration in San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of the Cuban capital. She is twenty … Continue reading “They Killed Diubis!”

Exiles and Legislators in the United States Call for the Release of Cuba’s Political Prisoners Three Years After 11J

The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance echoed the letter entitled “Nosotros Somos Plantados,” written by three prisoners EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, 12 July 2024 — Members of Congress and Cuban exile organizations in the United States asked this Thursday, on the third anniversary of the historic anti-government demonstrations of 11J in Cuba, for the release … Continue reading “Exiles and Legislators in the United States Call for the Release of Cuba’s Political Prisoners Three Years After 11J”

Two Books Point Out That the ’11J’ Protests Put an End to the Idyllic Vision of the Cuban Revolution Abroad

For the Regime, “nothing happened” that day, not even in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, said Francis Matéo, sarcastically 14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 10 July 2024 — Three years after the massive protests of 11 July 2021 (’11J’), many Cuban readers wait to read two books: a historical study that defines the caliber and meaning … Continue reading “Two Books Point Out That the ’11J’ Protests Put an End to the Idyllic Vision of the Cuban Revolution Abroad”

Yasmany González Valdés, ‘Emaciated and Toothless’ in a Cuban Prison

He denounces that the political prisoner Mario Alberto Hernández Leyva was brutally beaten EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 28 June 2024 — Political prisoner Yasmany González Valdés (“Libre Libre”) who is serving a four-year sentence in Combinado del Este in Havana, is “thin, emaciated, and toothless.” According to what she told Martí Noticias, his wife, Ilsa Ramos, … Continue reading “Yasmany González Valdés, ‘Emaciated and Toothless’ in a Cuban Prison”