Trial over Cancellation of Cuban Music Festival Begins

HAVANA TIMES — A Miami court presided over by Judge Sarah Zabel began a trial on Monday over the cancelation of the World Festival of Cuban Fire Music in that city in 2011, reported the Prensa Latina news agency.

The festival was scheduled for April 9, 2011 at the Homestead Speedway racetrack, but it was canceled by the facility’s owners, who claimed that information was withheld from them. The organizers denied their arguments and have filed for damages of a million dollars.

The event would have brought to the US stage such Cuban superstars as Juan Formell and Los Van Van, David Calzado and his Charanga Habanera, the duo Buena Fe, Moneda Dura and Pachito Alonso, along with musicians from the United States.

According to the note, the American Civil Liberties Union considered the cancellation of the event constituted a violation of free speech rights.