Thaindian News

San Juan, Aug 28 (EFE) Gloria Estefan has said that if she were to give a concert in Havana, it would lead to violence because she would not keep quiet about what she thinks of the Castro regime, and she emphasised that her dream continues to be to perform “in a free Cuba”.
“My presence in Cuba would cause violence, because I’ve got a very big mouth and I’m not going to keep quiet in the face of injustice,” the singer told Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia in an interview published Thursday.

The Cuban-born star was asked about the concert that Colombian singer Juanes is planning to give in Havana Sep 20.

Estefan said that it would be painful for her to sing someplace and then leave knowing that the people there continue to “undergo tragedies and hardships”.

The singer said that neither she nor her husband, Emilio Estefan, would agree to accompany Juanes to Cuba and be placed in the “persona non grata” category by the Havana regime.

She said that her dream is to sing in “a free Cuba” and pointed out that the people who will come to Juanes’s concert will be specially selected by the communist island’s government.

“The people who are going to attend that concert have been selected by the government because they - the Castros - aren’t going to allow anything to get out of their control,” she said.

Juanes Wednesday said he would pay $300,000 out of his own pocket to cover the costs of the concert in Havana.

He said his representatives had not found any sponsors for the concert and he had decided to cover all the costs himself.

“I don’t need to do this. I’m doing this because I really believe that music is powerful,” the singer said.

The Colombian artist said the concert had nothing to do with politics.

“Our only message is one of peace, of humanitarianism, of tolerance, a message of interacting with the people,” Juanes said.

“Nobody called us, nobody invited us to Havana,” Juanes said. “I am not a communist. I am not aligned with the government. I’m not going to Cuba to play for the Cuban regime.”

Juanes will be joined in Havana by Spanish singer Miguel Bose and Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon, as well as Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.