Comedian Alexis Valdés has reacted to attacks by official media and Cuban regime spokesmen against performers of the play “Patria y Vida”, especially the qualifier used against rapper Yotuel Romero, whom they have described as “jinetero”, due to the relationship with the Spanish artist Beatriz Luengo.
In a series of comments on his Instagram profile, Valdés said he knew the phenomenon well because “he worked in Havana’s cabaret in the 80’s when it all started. The riders were just girls who wanted to have fun and have access to certain things they didn’t have. (…) Things to which only a stranger could “invite” you.
“Was it a murder?” Was he unworthy? Of course not. There were girls who wanted to enjoy their youth. A man came from another country who could be at a hotel where he couldn’t, who could eat at a restaurant he couldn’t. He couldn’t go to clubs he couldn’t, and of course for her, the man was Superman. “
“Sabina also dedicated lyrics to Willy Chirino. And at one point, the government, which initially persecuted them, let them continue in a state of quasi-legality, because they knew it was a great attraction for tourists. men go to Cuba?
The comedian recalled that the legitimation of foreign tourists over Cuban citizens was supported by official policies and the precariousness of daily life on the island.
“In Spain, it has become very fashionable for the most famous artists to bring a Cuban and this has become the attraction of the heart press. (…) The most common phrase was “Do you know who brought a Cuban? “And those of us who had come as artists, like me and Yotuel himself, were bothered by the fact that in all the interviews they asked us about it. (…) One day, a taxi driver said to me “What are you down to? And I said, “I’m sorry, sir, I have nothing to do with this,” and he said, “Come on, come on, little Cuban, you’re the same.” that was the image that the Spanish people had of the Cubans. “
Valdés recalled that in the same cabaret where he saw these people, he came across “many representatives of the Government (…) drinking and eating and enjoying those foreign businessmen who came to do business in Cuba.” .
“What do I mean by that?” Just a little bit of truth. We were all jealous. We all had a foreign friend who bought us something. Even today, in Cuba, many, many people, in order to survive, receive money, things and help from people living abroad. And if not, then I’m not alive. Is it unworthy? Are all people unworthy? “he asked.
“So accusing Yotuel Romero or anyone of being a rider is stupid. Because a country where being a rider is a common way of earning a living cannot accuse someone of being a rider. (…) Our country has become a rider out of material necessity and lack of dreams. This is the great truth that they will never tell on the television news. “
“As Serrat said, ‘… be more careful where he plays.’ A little respect for the sacrifice and pain of your own people. Shame to talk about our own people like that. “, finished his comment.
The song “Patria y Vida”, which brought together artists Yotuel Romero, Gente de Zona, Decemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo and El Funky, provoked a wave of attacks, crimes and defamation of the Cuban regime both against its performers and against Cubans who they took it as a hymn.
Only on Monday, the home of activist Anyell Valdés, where she lives with several children and her elderly mother, was attacked by a mob organized by the State Security, which, among other acts of violence, covered with paint the phrase that the inhabitants of the house painted on its facade.
The Cuban regime’s bad taste, mixed with homophobia and its hate messages, seems to be the only answer it faces in the face of any civic or artistic initiative that calls it into question.