An unusual protest led by more
than 200 Cuban artists and activists
concluded with a meeting held between Friday night and Saturday morning between some of them and the vice minister of culture of the island's Government, Fernando Rojas, in which this He promised to "continue talking" with them.
The protesters were protesting in particular the
imprisonment of rapper Denis Solís
and, in general, to demand
freedom of expression
from a government that, they accuse, is often intolerant of dissent.
Solis was arrested last November 9 and sentenced to
eight months in prison
, charged with contempt for insulting a policeman during a dispute.
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For several of the participants, the act of
protest
and
the ensuing meeting
- which lasted more than four hours - represented a
historic moment.
Cuban artist Tania Bruguera (center) participates in a meeting in front of the Ministry of Culture to show her solidarity with dissident artists and demand a dialogue on the limits of freedom of expression, in Havana, Cuba, on November 27 2020.REUTERS
Producer Michel Matos, who was present at the negotiations, called Friday's events
"tremendous"
on Saturday at a virtual press conference
, according to NBC News, Telemundo's sister network.
He said protesters "told the truth" and officials listened "very quietly."
Recognized figures such as the internationally renowned artist
Tania Bruguera
, the actor
Jorge Perugurría
(
Strawberry and Chocolate
) and the director Fernando Pérez (
La Vida es Silbar
or
Last Days in Havana
) were present at the protest and were some of those who spoke with the functionaries.
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Rojas confirmed on Saturday on Cuban official television the
commitment of the Ministry of Culture to open a dialogue with creators.
He defined this attitude as "an expression of goodwill" on the part of the institution.
"We committed ourselves to work on a multilateral agenda on the relations, work and commitment of the (official) institutions with the artists," he said. "It was a difficult discussion, it was not complacent, but there was no verbal violence," insisted the vice Minister.
Others, on the other hand, expressed dissatisfaction with the negotiations with the Government, including several members of the San Isidro Movement.
For them, sitting down to agree with the Government without a concrete achievement has been a
"betrayal"
and not a victory as claimed by almost all those gathered in the Ministry of Culture.
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The protest came after
the authorities dissolved on Thursday night a group of 14 artists, academics and independent journalists
who had been meeting for days in a house in central Havana.
Six of them were on
hunger strike
.
The 14 activists are part of a larger group known as
the San Isidro Movement (MSI).
In Miami, dozens of protesters demanded the release of Cuban rapper Solis on Saturday.
With sunflowers in their hands, Cuban and American flags and a T-shirt with the initials MSI, they gathered in front of the iconic Versailles restaurant on Calle Ocho.
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Among the people who demanded the rapper's freedom were activist Ramón Saúl Sánchez, leader of the Democracy Movement;
commissioners (councilors) Joe Carollo and Manolo Reyes, various "influencers" of social networks, the leader of Cuba Decide, Rosa María Payá, and the graffiti artist known as El Sexto, reported the local television AméricaTevé.
With information from NBC News, EFE, AP.