Basta ya! Enough is enough!
by Jacira Castro
President and Co-Founder, SalsaPower.com

My last name may be Castro, but I'm not Cuban.

That being said, I am one of the biggest fans of Cuban music and dance anywhere on this planet, if not the most vociferous fan, so excuse me if I have to say that the musical scene in Miami sucks because of the right-wing, reactionary anti-Castristas who do everything in their power to keep us from seeing the music we love.

OK, I can hear the hornets nests buzzing already, but it's true.

Let me just give you an example: On June 21, 2003, there was going to be a mega-concert in New York, with Juan Formell and Los Van Van, Ray Barretto and Adalberto Santiago. I would have given almost anything to be there and see it in person, but financial limitations prohibit me from picking up and traveling to New York for a weekend.

The sad part is that this concert could never take place in Miami, given the current political climate. You may recall what happened when promoter extraordinaire, Debbie Ohanian, stood up to the exile community and brought Los Van Van to Miami in October of 1999. If you have amnesia, or weren't there, you can read about it HERE or HERE. Back then, City Commissioner, Tomás Regalado and his inflamatory attitudes caused a lot of people problems. There were places of business that threatened their workers would lose their jobs if they attended the Los Van Van concert. You may recall that I put a life size picture of Tomás Regalado and of then Mayor Joe Carrollo on another webpage I worked on at the time, so people could download them, strap an elastic to them and wear them into the concert, thereby covering their faces from the cameras so they would not lose their jobs. And yes, folks, there were some people at the concert wearing those masks!

But in spite of breaking through the taboo of having Cuban artists play in Miami, the intimidating tactics of the exile community continue. Issac Delgado has been here several times since, always with protesters outside.

How ironic that the exiles came to this country because they wanted freedom to speak their minds and freedom to do as they pleased, and now they attempt to tell us what we can say or do, or listen to.

Their tactics are very dictatorial in nature, and I, for one, am sick of it. Wake up, folks, you are in the United States (and many of you have conveniently taken on US citizenship), and the laws are the same for all of us. Cuban artists are not prohibited from performing in the US under this stupid embargo, and we have a right to see them if we want to.

It's time they let go of their bitterness. Life is too short, anyway, to live more than 40 years with this rancor. The embargo doesn't work, and it never has. If these folks would set their anger aside and start talking, they might even find some middle ground to meet half way.

There is resentment towards the exile community not only from the other side of the Florida straights. They are looked at rather comically by the rest of the United States.... "Oh, those wackos down in Miami ... the ones who kept the little orphan boy found in the ocean from being back with his daddy where he belonged," ....even if his daddy had been living in Timbuktoo, he belonged with his dad.

So, even though I am risking the wrath of the ultra-right wingers, I know that I also speak for many who feel that we have a right to be able to hear any kind of music we want to, including and especially CUBAN music ....And although the right to protest is protected by the U.S. constitution, you do not have a right to intimidate artists. Keep your politics out of our music, PLEASE!

We salseros in Miami also want to hear the Orquesta Aragón, Adalberto Alvarez y su Son, Klimax, La Charanga Rubalcaba, Mayelín, Vocal Sampling, Bamboleo, Sur Caribe and many others. ...and YES, WE WANT TO HEAR LOS VAN VAN BACK HERE IN MIAMI!

Debbie Ohanian, where are you? Please bring back Los Van Van!

Until then, frankly, folks, you can hear more Cuban salsa artists in London, England, Madrid, Spain, or Lima, Perú, than in Miami.

Saturday, June 21, 2003
HAVANA-NY JAM @ CARNEGIE HALL
Featuring Direct From Cuba
JUAN FORMELL Y LOS VAN VAN
The Two Worlds "Jazz & Salsa" of RAY BARRETTO
Featuring ADALBERTO SANTIAGO
Host & MC CHICO ALVAREZ of Radio WBAI 99.5FM
CARNEGIE HALL 7th Avenue & 57th Street, NYC
Tickets $70, $60, $40, $25 Available at The CARNEGIE HALL Box Office
For more information Call: (212) 247-7800

This article was written in June, 2003

All editorials and letters to the editor on SalsaPower.com are personal opinions of those people who write them and do not necessarily reflect the position of SalsaPower.  If you wish to comment on this article, send your letter to:  .

 

This page was last updated on:  31-Dec-2007