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Legendary Irish singer songwriter and peace activist Tommy Sands performs in Cuba
Sands was invited to visit Cuba by singer-songwriter Vicente Feliu. He is accompanied by his wife and two of his children.

Sands and musicians traveling with him will also perform at the Casa de las Americas, a cultural institution located in Havana, and at the Music Institute in the capital and in the city of Santa Clara.

Sands told ACN news agency about his interest in playing as part of the Cuban artistic brigades that have been performing for the hurricane victims across the island. He noted that having such an experience could enrich his cultural work in favor of peace in North Ireland.

Speaking on the power of music, the Irish folk musician said that when peace negotiations among political parties and the British and Irish governments seemed to have reached a deadlock, he and a group of other musicians and children from both catholic and protestant churches decided to perform for the politicians.

He said most of them (politicians) joined the signing and from that moment on conversations went more smoothly. According to Deputy First Minster for Northern Ireland, Seamus Mallon, that was a turning point in the peace process that ended with the historic Belfast Agreement, signed by the British and Irish governments on April 10, 1998, which is sometimes referred to as the Good Friday Agreement, explained Sands.

In May of 2002, Tommy Sands received an honorary doctorate of Letters from the University of Nevada for his outstanding career as a musician and peace diplomat. May 18 was declared Tommy Sands Day in Reno, Nevada for his work teaching songwriting to underprivileged prisoners.

US folksinger Peter Seeger has said that the Irish musician has achieved the difficult and marvelous equilibrium between the wisdom of traditions and the concern for a better future for everyone.


(www.granma.co.cu)

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