To uphold the current anti-Cuban policy dictated by the White House, the mayors of Miami and Hialeah agreed to adopt a unique cultural policy: no dealings with artists resident in Cuba. No son, no rap, no reguetón, no salsa, boleros, or rumba. No Cold War, rather a hot one against Cuban music.
The City of Miami Commission recently approved the initiative of Mayor Francis Suárez to urge Congress to prohibit state and local governments from hiring artists or doing business with Cuba." The commissioners did so, they say, in the name of "freedom of expression." Needless to say, the example begins at home: Woe to those who hang a poster for a performance by a band, singer, or comedian who has come to South Florida from Havana.
For good reason Suárez declared that if the resolution "did not achieve its objective… I want to send a clear message on my position as a public servant in my community.” The man knows that it is not likely that the governors and mayors of cities and states across the country would follow suit.
This last statement must be clarified. The community of Suarez is not, by any stretch of the imagination, that of all residents in the southern part of the state. Not that of all citizens in his municipality. Not even that of Cubans and their descendants.
He is a public servant for those who promote hatred and practice intolerance; those who applaud the enforcement of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, the prohibition of cruise ships stops on the island, and the interruption of academic exchanges. He serves, for example, Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, who we remember as the leader of provocateurs who during the Summit of the Americas in Panama decided to remove the floral wreath that Cuban university rectors placed before the bust of Martí in front of the country’s diplomatic headquarters there. And if we go further back, we find the same individual behind the gang that in March of 2002 tried to disrupt a tribute to Máximo Gómez at the Generalissimo’s birthplace museum in the Dominican city of Montecristi.
Following his colleague in Miami, Hialeah mayor Carlos Hernández, reported that he had consulted individuals of “unmatched political standing,” before cancelling concerts by three Cuban artists scheduled for the Fourth of July weekend, and he cited the names of two of these consultants: Nelys Rojas, well connected to the anti-Cuban mafia in South Florida, and no less than Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, president of the so-called Democratic Directorate. Hernández made sure Dayana, El Micha, and Jacob Forever would not perform. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, for his part, made an appearance on Univisión saying he was “surprised” by the announced presence of Jacob Forever, who he described as a spokesperson for the “regime” in Havana.
Authorities in Miami and Hialeah, as antiquated as Washington’s anti-Cuban policies, are not going to achieve any of their goals, as one of the vetoed artists sings, until Havana’s waterfront Malecón dries up.
