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Juanes Will Perform In Cuba, Controversy Grows
Published: Monday, August 17, 2009 7:00 am By: CBS 4HAVANA (CBS4) ―
The controversy over Colombian rock star Juanes performing in Cuba continues to grow, especially in Miami's politically charged atmosphere.
The singer and songwriter is planning to sing to 600 thousand spectators who would be present in Havana's Revolution Square. But many in Cuba's exile community are criticizing the decision to perform as symbolic of support for Castro's regime.
A representative for Juanes has said the singer is not a communist and Amaury Perez, the organizer of the concert "Paz sin fronteras" (Peace Without Borders) stated to the Associated Press that Juanes would not be singing to the Cuban government.
"Nobody is coming to sing to the Cuban system. Juanes is not a communist, he is not socialist. He doesn't have ideological coincidences with any of us. Juanes is a good man who had a wonderful idea and our people thank him", Perez told the AP.
Friday evening in Miami, exile group Vigilia Mambisa gathered in front of the Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana to smash copies of Juanes CDs in protest of the concert.
"There is a future for Cuba, we have to extend a hand, help them, open our mind to them, so that they can do the same with us," Juanes said in one of his recent Tweets on Twitter.
Joining Juanes in the concert is Spanish pop star Miguel Bosé. Puerto Rican star Olga Tañon was slated to perform but has not confirmed if she'll be there or not.
Other artists such as Willy Chirino have publicly indicated that the Colombian rocker's trip to Cuba would be inappropriate.
The news of the Sept. 20 performance was at first leaked in a Cuban government publication, and later confirmed by Juanes earlier this week.
In another Tweet Juanes said: "i want to make something clear. i personally called the ministry of culture in Cuba so I Could go and sing. they didn't call me."
In 2008 Juanes won five Latin Grammys for his album "La vida es un ratico". Hits such as "A Dios le Pido" and "La Camisa Negra" have made him an internationally renowned songwriter.
The singer and songwriter is planning to sing to 600 thousand spectators who would be present in Havana's Revolution Square. But many in Cuba's exile community are criticizing the decision to perform as symbolic of support for Castro's regime.
A representative for Juanes has said the singer is not a communist and Amaury Perez, the organizer of the concert "Paz sin fronteras" (Peace Without Borders) stated to the Associated Press that Juanes would not be singing to the Cuban government.
"Nobody is coming to sing to the Cuban system. Juanes is not a communist, he is not socialist. He doesn't have ideological coincidences with any of us. Juanes is a good man who had a wonderful idea and our people thank him", Perez told the AP.
Friday evening in Miami, exile group Vigilia Mambisa gathered in front of the Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana to smash copies of Juanes CDs in protest of the concert.
"There is a future for Cuba, we have to extend a hand, help them, open our mind to them, so that they can do the same with us," Juanes said in one of his recent Tweets on Twitter.
Joining Juanes in the concert is Spanish pop star Miguel Bosé. Puerto Rican star Olga Tañon was slated to perform but has not confirmed if she'll be there or not.
Other artists such as Willy Chirino have publicly indicated that the Colombian rocker's trip to Cuba would be inappropriate.
The news of the Sept. 20 performance was at first leaked in a Cuban government publication, and later confirmed by Juanes earlier this week.
In another Tweet Juanes said: "i want to make something clear. i personally called the ministry of culture in Cuba so I Could go and sing. they didn't call me."
In 2008 Juanes won five Latin Grammys for his album "La vida es un ratico". Hits such as "A Dios le Pido" and "La Camisa Negra" have made him an internationally renowned songwriter.
