Silvio Rodríguez asked for freedom for detainees during the protests in Cuba

07/22/2021 12:51 AM

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 07/22/2021 12:51 AM

Cuban musician

Silvio Rodríguez

requested on Wednesday freedom for those detained during the unprecedented

protests of July 11

who were not involved in violent acts, after meeting with young people who were apprehended during one of the demonstrations.

"I don't know how many prisoners there will be now, they

say hundreds

. I ask the same (freedom) for those who were not violent and I keep my word," wrote the 74-year-old singer-songwriter on his blog Segunda Cita.

Shouting "we are hungry", "down with the dictatorship" and "freedom", thousands of Cubans protested on July 11 and 12 in more than 40 cities of the country, amid the complicated context in which the

worst economic crisis

of the island in decades and the sharp

increase in

infections and deaths

from coronavirus.

Protests in Havana, Cuba.

AFP photo.

So far, the riots have left

one dead, dozens injured and hundreds of detainees

.

The actor and playwright

Yunior García Aguilera

, along with his wife, the film producer Dayana Prieto, were the ones who requested an interview with Rodríguez and asked him to express himself publicly to demand the freedom of the protesters.

The actor had been imprisoned on July 11, when he was leading a group of fellow artists who protested in front of the Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT).

He was released the next day

.

"The meeting with Yunior and Dayana was good, I am not exaggerating if I say fraternal; there was dialogue, exchange,

we listened to each other with attention and respect

. They explained their arguments, their frustrations," said the artist.

Rodríguez, who in his youth was a misunderstood critic of the reality of the country, is now

one of the artists most attached to the ideals

of Fidel Castro's

revolution

.

In addition, the stanzas of his songs are

frequently cited

by President Miguel Díaz-Canel in his speeches.

The most painful thing, said the musician, "was hearing that they, as a generation,

no longer felt part of the Cuban process

, but something else."

Yunior Garcia and his wife, Dayana Prieto.

Photo Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters

García was also one of those who started the symbolic protest on November 27 in front of the Ministry of Culture, where 300 young artists demanded freedom of expression and to

be heard

.

"There must be more bridges, there must be more dialogues, there must be less prejudice; less desire to hit and more desire to resolve

the mountain of pending economic and political issues

," added Rodríguez.

And he continued: "Less habit of listening to those who speak the same thing with the same words, decade after decade, as if generations did not also come with

their own words and illusions

."

The young theater director described the meeting on his Facebook account: "It was

70 minutes of frankness

in the Ojalá studios. Neither invited the other to renounce their positions or principles. We were able to confront our differences with the most absolute respect and we preferred focus on our coincidences. "

With information from AFP.

DB

Look also

How is Libertad, the song that Emilio Estefan composed in support of the demand for the end of the dictatorship in Cuba

Cuba is going through its worst month of coronavirus: almost 300,000 accumulated cases since March 2020