The Observatory of Cultural Rights regrets that “young creators whose personal development has been cut short by political hatred” continue to be punished.
14ymedio, Madrid, 30 December 2025 — At the end of 2025, 17 Cuban artists remain locked up in prisons on the island and ten more are serving sentences without imprisonment “as a direct consequence of their creative practice, their civic participation or their refusal to give up their own voice,” the Cultural Rights Observatory reported on Monday.
In a brief statement on its Facebook page, the organisation notes that “one of the most serious and persistent expressions of repression in Cuba [is] the imprisonment of citizens for exercising their freedom of expression, specifically young creators whose personal development has been cut short by the political hatred that characterises the Cuban Government”.
The observatory does not disclose the names of the individuals on its list, although on previous occasions it has referred to the most prominent cases, such as visual artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo, who were sentenced to five and nine years in prison in 2022. The former is due to be released this year, as they were arrested in 2021.
“One of the most serious and persistent expressions of repression in Cuba [is] the imprisonment of citizens for exercising their freedom of expression.”
Previous complaints have also cited the cases of Yasmany González Valdés, an activist and rapper sentenced to four years in prison for painting anti-government posters, and Wilmer Moreno Suárez, sentenced among the 11 July 2021 protesters in La Güinera (Havana) to 18 years in prison, whose stage name is Mister Will D’Cuba.
“Throughout this year, we have accompanied, documented, and denounced cases of artists imprisoned or punished for political reasons, updating the situation of those who continue to face institutional violence, medical negligence, isolation, threats, and arbitrary punishments within the country’s prison system,” adds the Observatory.
In its post, it also accuses the authorities of putting pressure on the families of artists – as well as other prisoners – and of disrupting their careers and work.
“We will continue to name each artist, record each abuse and uphold the memory of those who resist from prison and those who do so under harassment in semi-freedom,” the platform claims.
Amid this bleak outlook, one person who has decided to put an end to the mere idea of returning to Cuba is Luis Alberto Viscet Vives, known as La Crema, from Santiago. The artist, who has thousands of followers thanks to his music denouncing everyday life in Cuba, had left for work in the Dominican Republic two weeks ago, leading many to speculate that he was going into exile.
Now, the singer has released his new video, Navidad en libertad (Christmas in Freedom), humorously recounting his change of life: “I left behind the power cuts, mosquito nets and filth. Goodbye, chikungunya,” read the lyrics.
In case there was any doubt, La Crema confirmed in the comments of the video, recorded in Punta Cana, that he does not plan to return to the island and thanked his fans and his new reality.
At almost the same time, the Cuban Institute of Music announced yesterday the 2025 National Music Award, which this time went to one of the most well-known artists of the regime: Amaury Pérez Vidal, one of the founders of the Nueva Trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés.
The ICM highlighted in its statement that “his songs are similar to jazz and pop, others mixed with rock music, and his most recent creative work is based on the romantic song style”.
For its part, the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) has emphasised that “as a composer and performer, he has managed to combine poetic rigour and emotional closeness, without renouncing a critical and committed view of reality. His fidelity to an ethic of creation makes him a reference point for the Nueva Trova and contemporary Cuban song.
The award winner expressed his gratitude for a prize he considered unexpected: “Against hostile and capricious winds, I fought, I tried and I achieved some songs that, I am sure, will transcend me, and that is more than a privilege (…) I have not been a man of ambition or vanity; I believe that I was, and am, on the side of just causes.”
Translated by GH
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