Havana Times

NY Philharmonic Trip to Cuba Off

Classical musicians in a Cuban park. Photo: Caridad
Classical musicians in a Cuban park. Photo: Caridad

HAVANA TIMES, Oct. 3 – The New York Philharmonic decided to postpone its performances in Cuba due to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s refusal to authorize the orchestra sponsors’ trip to the island, announced Eric Latzky, vice president of communications.

The concerts in the Cuban capital, programmed for October 30 and November 2, supposedly had the backing of the U.S. government, which considered them a form of building bridges between both nations, reported IPS.

Latzky told AP that “the orchestra could not afford the seven-figure cost of the trip without the patrons.”

He added that the NY Philharmonic would consider rescheduling the trip to Cuba “as soon as possible if the US government allows the sponsors to go.

The US government maintains a nearly half-century economic blockade on Cuba and a travel ban on US citizens from visiting Cuba barring exceptions with a special license.   The musicians of the NY Philharmonic were granted the license but their sponsors’ request was denied.

Music is one of the many fields that exchange with Cuba would be rich under normalized relations.