Smaller-than-expected crowds at Cuba’s ‘concert for the homeland’ to defend government

Cuba concert to counter critics draws sparse crowd

HAVANA — A surprisingly small crowd sweated and sang along to performances by Cuban rock, folk and salsa stars Saturday, at what the communist government billed as a politically important “concert for the homeland.”

Organizers had said the show would be headlined by Cuba’s most famous folk singer, Silvio Rodriguez. But instead the pro-Castro government activist made fans wait for an hour in unrelenting afternoon sun before he took the stage, read a letter defending the single-party communist system — and then left without performing.

“If this government is so bad, where has such a good people come from?” he asked.

Immediately after the 63-year-old Rodriguez’s appearance were performances by top artists from the “Nueva Trova” movement, a genre that mixes folk music and pro-Castro politics. But many in the already sparse crowd drifted away, missing later performances by other musicians and poetry recited by Cuban film stars.

The show came amid international criticism of Cuba’s human rights record — which President Raul Castro says is an effort to demonize Cuba led by the U.S. and European governments. It was held at Anti-imperialist Plaza, an open-air amphitheater built beside the U.S. Interests Section, which Washington keeps instead of an embassy because it has no formal diplomatic relations with the Cuban government.

State-controlled media said the concert would prove Cuba’s artists and intellectuals support the government. But the approximately 1,400 Cubans who turned out to watch were nothing compared to the thousands who routinely jam the plaza for free concerts, including a show in March by Puerto Rican rockers Calle 13.

Cuba has accused foreign journalists of fueling an international conspiracy to defame the Castro government. Saturday’s concert was the government’s latest attempt to defend itself after the February death of dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo following a lengthy prison hunger strike, which sparked an international outcry.

Another opposition activist, Guillermo Farinas, is not in prison but has refused food and water for weeks to demand the release of all of the island’s political prisoners. He has been kept alive by periodic intravenous feedings at a hospital near his home in central Cuba.

The cases of Zapata Tamayo and Farinas helped spark a string of marches by the wives and mothers of 75 leading dissidents and government opposition leaders who were arrested during an official crackdown on dissent in 2003. The organization, known as the “Ladies in White,” enjoys little public support in Cuba, but their efforts have prompted sympathy demonstrations in Miami and Los Angeles.

Putting on a “concert for the homeland” indicates how pressured authorities feel to respond to criticism even though life on the island has remained unchanged since Zapata Tamayo’s death.

Rodriguez is a folk legend. Last week, he surprised many by releasing a new album with lyrics suggesting that removing the “r” from “revolution” would lead to “evolution.” The word “revolution” in Cuba is a reference to the uprising that toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power 51 years ago.

Saturday, however, Rodriguez was strictly on-message, denouncing Washington’s 48-year-old trade embargo against Cuba. The Castro government blames the embargo for nearly all of Cuba’s problems.

The next major event planned in defense of Cuba’s image is the huge, annual May Day march. The government has announced that this year’s parade will be a formal show of support for its communist way of life.

The May Day event is always pro-government, but the decision to announce that this year’s ceremonies would be held to support the revolution is another sign that officials are on the defensive.