Virtual Concert Saturday for Nicaragua’s political prisoners

Messages from the children and relatives of political prisoners will be broadcast during the concert that will start at 7 PM on June 4.

By La Prensa

HAVANA TIMES – The Se Humano (Be Human) collective is formed by a group of friends and colleagues of political prisoners in the Ortega-Murillo regime’s latest wave of arrests, which began in May 2021. They will host the virtual concert “Nací para ser libre” (I was born to be free), on Saturday June 4th, in solidarity with every prisoner of conscience in Nicaragua.

The event will bring together the voices of Central American artists such as Ceshia Ubau, Mario Ruiz and Nakury.

Some messages from the children and relatives of political prisoners will also be broadcast during the concert.

Furthermore, messages of solidarity from international celebrities will also be presented, such as that of musician Jorge Drexler, writer and poet Gioconda Belli, singer-songwriter Pedro Guerra, former Major League baseball player, Dennis Martinez; Erika Guevara Rosas, Human Rights advocate; NBA player Ennes Freedom and movie director, Jayro Bustamante, to name a few.

Mariangeles Delgado, a member of the collective, explained that Se Humano is an emergency appeal to ensure the 182 political prisoners receive humane treatment.

Thus, in order to shine a light on the “inhumane treatment” political prisoners suffer in Nicaragua, for the Nicaraguan people and international community, they decided to organize a virtual concert. “After different artists were kickout out of Nicaragua we decided that if art is a key feature of revolutions, civil uprisings, why can’t we put on a solidarity concert for political prisoners in Nicaragua?” Delgado said.

The purpose of this virtual concert is “to impact and raise awareness amongst a national and international audience so we can continue to pressure the Ortega regime to make sure people in prison are receiving the humane treatment they deserve and are released immediately, as their lives are in danger,” Se Humano announced in a press statement.

During the concert,” international celebrities will join the appeal from political prisoners’ families and friends to demand that Daniel Ortega end the torture, respect their human rights and release them immediately,” they add.

Mario Ruiz releases song “Se Humano” (Be Human) about political prisoners

Nicaraguan composer Mario Ruiz, who has made several songs about the 2018 crisis, will release the song “Se Humano”, the campaign’s banner song that will make its debut during the virtual concert on Saturday.

“The song talks about political prisoners and invites us to remember that we are all human beings, that we all have the same basic rights,” Ruiz explained from exile.

According to the singer, the most important thing about the concert is that it “gives visibility to people and reminds them that our political prisoners are unfortunately still suffering conditions under the dictatorship.”

“These prisoners have relatives that are suffering too, the only difference being some are on the outside and others are in the El Chipote cells,” he noted.

Ruiz also appealed to Nicaraguan artists in the country to speak out in any way they can and to report the regime’s violations.

“I believe there is always a subliminal way you can speak out, that’s what Art is for, to express yourself. It’s important that artists in Nicaraguan find a way to speak about how they feel about the dictatorship, just like we are here from exile. It’s our duty as artists to stand with the people,” he urged.

Saturday, 7 PM

The concert will be broadcast on Saturday June 4th at 7 PM (Nicaragua local time), on Se Humano Nicaragua Facebook page.

The concert will have an international audience and will be broadcast by organizations and media channels that will join them in their support for political prisoner’s families’ request, by raising their voices and demanding justice and democracy.

The collective invites everyone to join “this effort by sharing the virtual concert so as to reach a greater audience.”

For further information, they say you can contact the Se Humano team by writing to: sehumanonicaragua@gmail.com

About the artists

Mario Ruiz, is a renowned Nicaraguan singer-songwriter, hailing from the Diria municipality in Granada originally, he founded the bands Garcin and Milly Majuc, that were both hits with the young audience.

In 2011, he founded Garcin, a band that owes its name to Ruben Dario’s poem “El pajaro azul”, inspired by the sacrifice for art.

Milly Majuc is a fusion band that started out playing covers in 1999, but took center-stage with its original songs that are now featured on three albums. His sound draws from ska, reggae and Latin American rhythms.

Ceshia Ubau, is a Nicaraguan singer-songwriter whose musical style is a fusion of Central American folkloric music with new global sounds. She was born in Managua and studied classical piano at the Heitor Villa-Lobos music school.

She is currently living in Costa Rica after fleeing persecution by the Ortega regime during the 2018 protests in Nicaragua, during which she was inspired to write her single “Una Vela,” which was released on SoundCloud in 2019 in homage to all of the people who lost their lives during these protests. She has a degree in Psychology.

Natasha Campos Mendez, better known as Nakury, is a singer-songwriter, journalist and filmmaker, born in Turriabla, an Afro Mestizo and Cabecar town in Costa Rica. Graffiti, Breakdancing and Rap are three of the fundamental pillars of Hip-Hop culture, and they feed into her musical project.

She is also a conference speaker and workshop leader. This vocation to share and teach has helped her to spread the Hip-Hop movement and encourage a dialogue between the community and with society.

In 2010, she founded Union Break, an organization dedicated to disseminating Hip-Hop culture, having led the organization of festivals, concerts, competitions, demonstrations, workshops, talks and counseling.

Read more from Nicaragua here on Havana Times