Celia Cruz to be Heard Again in Cuba
HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban government has withdrawn a “blacklist” from state-run radio stations, one which included Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, Bebo Valdes and another fifty artists who were or are critical of the island’s political system, reported the Cubaencuentro website.
The Cuban government has never confirmed the existence of such a list, but radio stations themselves admitted to BBC television that at least 50 performers opposed to the revolution were banned, with those same stations now having confirmed an end to the ban.
According Cubaencuentro, one of its sources explained that the authorities argue that the list served its “purpose” and framed its elimination as being within the “openness to the world” that the government is now seeking to promote.
Notwithstanding, the ending of the ban doesn’t imply the immediate inclusion of those who were censored, since in many cases the stations simply don’t have their recordings, the report said.
Estevan and her father, who she talks fondly about, I find totally distasteful. ‘Dad’ was a bodyguard to Batista. He fled to the US after the Revolution, joined the US military, fought in the Vietnam War and participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. She refers to her father’s military experience, presumably including his military stint as a Batista bodyguard, as fighting for freedom!
One would hope the bad taste this leaves will also be felt in the mouths of Cubans and that she will be shunned. I’ve never felt the same about Canada’s Leonard Cohen after he refused to cancel a concert in Israel after being asked by Palestinians to do so. If we treat these people like non-persons, that should work.
I can continue listening to Cohen – although the magic is gone – but won’t pay a penny for the pleasure. This is what Cubans have been doing for the banned artists I understand. We can call it ‘ethical piracy’! Hopefully state broadcasters won’t buy the CDs. Don’t ban, and don’t buy!