EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 4 November 2023 — Three officials from the state-run Cuban Rock Agency have been fired due to the controversy surrounding the award given in one of its premises to a young man dressed as a Nazi officer at a Halloween party.
The decision, announced this Friday in a statement from the Cuban Institute of Music, closes the controversy caused by these events, mainly among officialdom, both due to the ideology behind the costume and the celebration of a party considered by the regime as alien to local traditions.
After the analysis of the facts, the institution of the Ministry of Culture reported, the deputy director of the Cuban Rock Agency was “removed from his position” and the two specialists who coordinated the event were “separated from the institution.”
In addition, the director of the Cuban Rock Agency and three directors of the Cuban Institute of Music, in charge of “the approval, evaluation and control of cultural programming” have suffered “other disciplinary measures” not specified in the statement.
We emphasize the responsibility of the institutions with cultural promotion
“We emphasize the responsibility of the institutions with cultural promotion, always from inclusive and decolonizing budgets, consistent with the spirit of absolute respect for diversity and freedom that characterize the cultural policy of the Revolution,” wrote the Cuban Institute of Music.
The state center where this Halloween party took place, Maxim Rock, is a venue dedicated to the musical genre of the same name. It is scheduled to reopen this Saturday, after having been temporarily closed last Sunday, one day after the competition.
The images of the young man dressed as a Nazi officer quickly went viral on social networks. Several official media outlets criticized Maxim Rock and the Cuban Institute of Music for celebrating Halloween and rewarding a Nazi costume, speaking of “the dangers of cultural colonization.”
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