Ana Belen and Victor Manuel Say They Will Perform with Juanes in Cuba if Invited
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- Politics and Government
- 08 / 17 / 2009
Spanish singers Ana Belen and Victor Manuel say they are ready, if invited, to perform with Colombian crooner Juanes at the controversial Sept. 20 concert he is set to give in Havana, and they lamented the intransigence displayed by members of the Cuban exile community in Miami in the matter.
“We have sung with Juanes and we would be thrilled to do it in Cuba,” Victor Manuel said in an interview published Sunday by the Colombian daily El Tiempo.
Ana Belen, for her part, responded to the question of whether she would be willing to sing with Juanes in Havana by saying: “Yes, absolutely. Of course.”
The Juanes concert in Havana has taken on political connotations because of the strong opposition to it by groups of Cuban exiles and well-known artists who oppose the Castro regime.
Last Friday, a group of exiles from the communist island used a hammer to destroy copies of the Colombian artist’s records on a Miami street.
Juanes defended himself against the criticism and confirmed that the concert, which he said has no political tinge, was intended to sent the message that “it’s time to change our attitudes.”
Regarding whether performing on the Caribbean island showed any compromise with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Ana Belen said categorically not and added that the problem is based on the fact that “some Cubans in Miami are intransigent people.”
“If Juanes doesn’t want the concert to fail, it won’t fail. When an attitude is adopted inconveniences can arise, like having them insult you on a street in a Miami neighborhood. But that passes and, in the end, what remains is Juanes. Not (the exiles’ burning passion) in Miami,” said Victor Manuel.
Source: Herald Tribune
“We have sung with Juanes and we would be thrilled to do it in Cuba,” Victor Manuel said in an interview published Sunday by the Colombian daily El Tiempo.
Ana Belen, for her part, responded to the question of whether she would be willing to sing with Juanes in Havana by saying: “Yes, absolutely. Of course.”
The Juanes concert in Havana has taken on political connotations because of the strong opposition to it by groups of Cuban exiles and well-known artists who oppose the Castro regime.
Last Friday, a group of exiles from the communist island used a hammer to destroy copies of the Colombian artist’s records on a Miami street.
Juanes defended himself against the criticism and confirmed that the concert, which he said has no political tinge, was intended to sent the message that “it’s time to change our attitudes.”
Regarding whether performing on the Caribbean island showed any compromise with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Ana Belen said categorically not and added that the problem is based on the fact that “some Cubans in Miami are intransigent people.”
“If Juanes doesn’t want the concert to fail, it won’t fail. When an attitude is adopted inconveniences can arise, like having them insult you on a street in a Miami neighborhood. But that passes and, in the end, what remains is Juanes. Not (the exiles’ burning passion) in Miami,” said Victor Manuel.
Source: Herald Tribune
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