Madrid/Barely an hour after landing in Miami, USA, the artist and former Cuban political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara converted his first act of freedom in a “spiritual and political” performance. In the Hermitage of Charity of Cobre, before dozens of members of exile, journalists and activists, he staged an event to reconstruct among all those present a broken image of the Virgin of Charity that he had brought from Cuba and that he presented as a metaphor for “the wounds” of the Island, the exile and of himself.
Faced with the avalanche of questions from the press, Otero Alcántara insisted again and again on the same idea: “What I want is to work. I come to work: one minute I lose is one more minute of the dictatorship.”
Before beginning, he thanked the exile for their support and dedicated a few words to the political prisoners who remain on the Island, especially the rapper Maykel. Osorbo Castillo Pérez, also a member of the San Isidro Movement. Regarding the musician, he stated that “soon” he would also be in Miami. According to his contacts at the US Embassy, the artist could arrive in that country “in less than a month”, although he clarified that he could not guarantee it. “Maykel is a survivor and a fighter, and if I survived, he will be as well as possible.”
Regarding ‘Osorbo’, he stated that “very soon” he would also be in Miami. According to his contacts at the US Embassy, the artist could arrive in that country “in less than a month”
While applying glue to the fragments of the image, Otero Alcántara answered the journalists’ questions. The artist reiterated that he will continue to use art as a tool of political transformation: “There is a type of art that has the power to change things: a song changed things, a performance changed things,” he said in reference to Homeland and Life and to his own artistic actions on the Island. But he assures that one must commit, that art must be something more than “a painting on the wall.” “I put the skin, and I come to continue putting the skin.”
He also sent a message to those who remain in Cuba. “We must continue fighting for freedoms, it is possible.” Otero Alcántara maintained that “you have to know why you are fighting. We don’t go out for chicken, oil or anything like that. We go out asking for freedom, and freedom is going to bring all that.”
The activist also claimed to have spoken with officials from the US Embassy about the situation of Cuban political prisoners. “They are putting pressure,” he said, although he insisted that “to get them all out we have to overthrow the dictatorship,” because “as long as the dictatorship exists there will be political prisoners.”
“You have to know why you are fighting. We don’t go out for chicken, oil or anything like that. We go out asking for freedom, and freedom is going to bring all that.”
Asked about his time in prison, he said he felt “mentally healthier” thanks, in part, he said, to the international pressure exerted during these years. He explained that the prison authorities allowed him to paint because they knew that this activity “kept him alive” and expressed his confidence in having been able to get most of the works done in prison out of the country.
He also announced that he is preparing a public presentation of the more than 4,000 paintings that he made during his imprisonment and that he managed to bring with him. He plans to have an event in which, while he unpacks them, he tells about how he conceived them. “I’m going to continue making art, I have a lot of ideas in my head; all the works I bring are about the feeling of confinement.”
Regarding the reconstruction event of the Virgin of Charity, Otero Alcántara explained that it represents a meeting point for Cubans above political or personal differences. “We are all broken,” he said, alluding to the families separated by exile and the consequences of repression. “The Virgin does not restore herself. She is the accumulation of all the energy of all of us.” He also maintained that spirituality is a space where “heteros, gays, whites, blacks, ruling parties, dictators, State Security, opponents, mambises and us, the artists” coincide.
Otero Alcántara assures that you have to commit, that art must be something more than “a painting on the wall.” “I put the skin, and I come to continue putting the skin”
While the performance lasted and many friends came to hug Otero Alcántara and celebrate his freedom, slogans such as “Homeland and Life”, “Down with the dictatorship” and “Long live Cuba free!” were chanted. In addition, those present sang the Cuban national anthem.
The arrival of Otero Alcántara to the United States generated immediate reactions inside and outside the Cuban exile. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, welcomed him with a statement in which he stated: “Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara faced years of repression and inhuman conditions under the Castro regime. His bravery in appearing with the Cuban flag in ‘Patria y Vida’, anthem of freedom, inspired millions. It is a privilege to welcome him to the United States as a hero of the Cuban cause.” Rubio also demanded the release of rapper Maykel Osorbo and the rest of the Cuban political prisoners, in addition to insisting on the need to hold free elections on the Island.
Republican congressman Mario Díaz-Balart maintained, for his part, that Otero Alcántara and other opponents “risked everything for the freedom of the Cuban people,” and reiterated his support for those who remain imprisoned for political reasons.
