Political Prisoners Support Juanes Cuban Concert

Music can bring out the best and worst in people as proven by this latest piece of news. According to Yahoo, Colombian artist Juanes, is set to perform in Havana’s Revolution Square amidst protests from anti-Castro Cubans in Miami. On the opposite side of this conflict, the artist has been backed by several Cuban political prisoners who say the concert could bring hope of reconciliation among its natives.

The prisoners include 75 dissidents who were jailed in a March 2003 crackdown that came to be known as Cuba’s “Black Spring.” So far, 21 have been released, mostly for health reasons. Human rights groups estimate that Cuba has about 200 political prisoners in total.

Juanes, a current Miami resident says he will perform his “Peace Without Borders” concert with the aim of helping improve U.S.-Cuba relations. Miami is considered to be a community filled with Cuban exiles, and citizens fear that this concert will only help the communist-led Cuban government. The prisoners on the other hand, believe the exact opposite.

“We believe this concert … is a great opportunity to advance reconciliation between all Cubans and to leave behind the hatreds that for many years has poisoned our homeland,” they said in a public statement.

This is a touchy subject for a lot of people, and rightfully so. The relationship between Cuba and the U.S. has been shaky for decades, and its effect on Cuban-Americans and the natives has been mostly negative. You can’t please everybody, and I feel like Juanes is at the center of a catch-22.

Is Juanes justified in playing his concert in Havana? Should the show go on?