Comedian Alexis Valdés reacted to attacks by official media and spokesmen for the Cuban regime against performers of the song “Patria y Vida”, especially the qualifier used against rapper Yotuel Romero, whom they described as “jinetero”, for his relationship with Spanish artist Beatriz Luengo.
In a series of comments on his Instagram profile, Valdés said he is well aware of the phenomenon because “he worked in Havana cabarets in the 80s when it all started. The riders were nothing more than girls eager to have fun and have access to certain things they didn’t have. (…) Things to which only a foreigner could ‘invite’ you “.
“Was that a crime? Was that unworthy? Of course not. They were girls who wanted to enjoy their youth. A gentleman from another country was coming who could be in the hotel where she couldn’t, who could eat. in the restaurant that she couldn’t, that she could go to nightclubs that she couldn’t, and of course, for her the gentleman was Superman. “
“And Sabina dedicated verses to them, Willy Chirino too. And at one point, the government that initially persecuted them, let them continue in a state of quasi-legality, because they knew it was a great attraction for tourists. What were they going to do if not so many single men in Cuba? On the beach? Please. Do you know how many beautiful beaches there are around the world? “He stressed.
The comedian recalled that the legitimacy of the foreign tourist above Cuban citizens was forbidden by official policies and the precariousness of daily life on the island.
“In Spain it even became fashionable that the most famous artists wore a Cuban and that became the attraction of the choir press. (…) The most common phrase was’ Do you know who wore a Cuban? ‘ And those of us who had come as artists, like me and Yotuel himself, were annoyed that in all the interviews they asked us about it. (…) One day a taxi driver said to me ‘What are you down there that the Are you crazy? And I said, ‘I’m sorry, sir, I have nothing to do with this,’ and he said, ‘Come on, come on, Cubanito, you’re all the same.’ Spanish people of the Cubans “.
Valdés recalled that in the same cabarets where he saw these people he also came across “many government representatives (…) drinking and eating and enjoying those foreign businessmen who came to do business in Cuba.”
“What do I want to count on? Just a piece of a great truth. We were all riders. We all had a foreign friend who bought us something. Even today in Cuba a lot, a lot of people, to survive receive money things and help from people living abroad. And if not, then they do not live. Is this unworthy? Is the whole town unworthy? “, He inquired.
“Then accusing Yotuel Romero or anyone of being a rider is stupid. Because a country where being a rider is a common way to make a living, you can’t accuse someone of being a rider. (…) Our country became a rider out of material need and lack of dreams. That is the great truth they will never tell the Television News. “
“As Serrat also said ‘… be more careful where they play’. A little respect for the sacrifice and pain of your own people. Shame on us for talking about our own people. “, Culminated his comment.
The song “Patria i Vida”, which brought together artists Yotuel Romero, Gent de Zona, Decemer Bé, Maykel Osorbo and El Funky, has provoked a wave of attacks, offenses and defamation by the Cuban regime against both its performers and against the Cubans who have taken it as an anthem.
Only on Monday, the home of activist Anyell Valdés, where she resides with several children and her elderly mother, was attacked by a mob organized by the State Security, who among other acts of violence covered with paint the phrase, which the residents of the house had painted on the facade.
The bad taste of the Cuban regime, mixed with its homophobia and its messages of hatred, seems to be the only answer to the right answer to any civic or artistic initiative that questions it.