For years, Boris Arencibia navigated effortlessly between Miami and Havana. Known as a music promoter and representative of urban artists, he portrayed himself as an "apolitical" entrepreneur, believing that music could bridge the gap between Cubans.
In 2023, Arencibia became a headline figure as the main organizer of the Santa María Music Fest, held at the exclusive resort of Cayo Santa María, operated by the military conglomerate GAESA.
The festival was marketed as a cultural celebration of reconciliation and pride, promising international artists, unity messages, and a chance to "showcase Cuban talent to the world."
However, what was advertised as a project of love and art turned into a controversial operation, with accusations of collaboration with the regime, alleged money laundering, and even violent incidents in Miami.
Months later, Arencibia resurfaced in the news, this time under drastically different circumstances: convicted in the United States for fraud and money laundering, closing the chapter on a figure who transitioned from glamour to disgrace.
Controversy and Chaos at the Santa María Music Fest
The festival ran from August to September 2023, featuring renowned artists like Tekashi 6ix9ine, Lenier Mesa, and Chocolate MC. Concerts took place in luxurious GAESA-operated hotels and were promoted as a bridge "between Cubans inside and outside the island."
Despite the festival's intentions, it was met with outrage and criticism from Miami and the Cuban exile community, seen as a ploy to whitewash the image of military-controlled tourism during the country’s worst economic crisis.
The event's financial opacity was compounded by a lack of transparency regarding its business structure. There was no information on its funding sources, artist payments, or the company handling streaming revenue, which was available only to Cubans abroad.
Insiders in the Cuban tourism sector hinted at a potential shell company created by GAESA to channel funds into the military system.
The Rhetoric of Unity as a Facade
Arencibia defended the festival on social media with a conciliatory tone. “I want what’s best for Cubans,” he stated during an Instagram live session. “This isn’t a political message; it’s a social project.”
He claimed his mission was to “change mindsets” and “bring joy” to the island, thanking Tekashi 6ix9ine for “singing for free for the Cuban people,” despite the festival being a paid event.
This seemingly harmless language of love and unity acted as a symbolic cover. By insisting "this isn't political," Arencibia downplayed the fact that every ticket, hotel booking, and dollar spent ended up in the accounts of GAESA, the economic backbone of the Cuban regime.
In reality, his rhetoric helped legitimize a tourist and propaganda operation for the regime, shifting the discussion from political to emotional grounds.
From Unity Rhetoric to Physical Altercation in Miami
The controversy quickly spilled onto social media. Cuban YouTuber Ultrack (Jorge Batista), a vocal critic, accused the festival of “whitewashing the regime” and publicly called out Arencibia and Lenier Mesa for their involvement.
On September 14, 2023, the three encountered each other at La Mesa restaurant in Miami. What began as a verbal spat escalated into a physical brawl involving Ultrack, Arencibia, Lenier, and a bodyguard. The influencer and his partner sustained injuries and reported the incident to the police.
The widely publicized fight highlighted the fractures within the Cuban exile community, where opinions on the regime and collaborations with island institutions have increasingly divided musicians and influencers.
Ironically, this altercation—an actual brawl among those who claimed to “seek unity”—became a metaphor for the festival's moral failure: the Santa María Music Fest united no one; it only amplified the divisions it professed to heal.
Arencibia’s Ambiguous Stance
Two days post-brawl, Arencibia publicly defended himself.
He dismissed Ultrack's accusations as a “smear campaign” and claimed his family was harmed “just for supporting a festival.” He maintained that his “political stance has always been clear,” though he avoided specifics.
“I don’t defend communism; I defend love and unity,” he wrote, before issuing a statement that exposed his conceptual confusion: “They are the ones who don’t want democracy; it’s with them and as they want it to be, or they accuse and demoralize you.”
In this declaration, Arencibia not only sought to victimize himself but also redefined the notion of democracy to attack his critics. By branding those who questioned his collaboration with a dictatorship as “undemocratic,” he shifted the debate to a moral and emotional plane.
His ambiguity became ideological: a calculated neutrality that placed him above the conflict, yet practically aligned him with the power he claimed not to support.
A Pattern of Financial Misdeeds
The Santa María Music Fest controversy is not an isolated incident. In recent years, several Cubans or Cuban-Americans have been charged in the U.S. with healthcare fraud and money laundering, potentially linked financially or logistically to Cuba.
Cases like Edelberto Borges Morales, arrested in 2025 following a $41 million Medicare fraud and attempted escape to the island, or Eduardo Pérez de Morales, involved in laundering over $200 million through remittances to Cuba, reveal an increasingly visible pattern: shell companies, funds from financial crimes, and the use of opaque Cuban structures to erase financial trails.
Although there is no public evidence of GAESA's involvement in these schemes, the regime’s financial structure—centralized, lacking transparency, and military-controlled—provides the ideal environment for money laundering operations.
In Cuba, there is no independent auditing, banking secrecy is absolute, and GAESA’s military companies manage tourism, commerce, and remittances without accountability.
The Arencibia case, though dressed in lights and stages, fits this systemic logic: a flow of capital from the U.S. into businesses under GAESA's control, legitimized by a cultural and depoliticized discourse. Instead of remittances or fake medical invoices, here the vehicle may have been a music festival.
From Glamour to Imprisonment
Over time, the narrative of a conciliatory entrepreneur began to crumble. Federal investigations in the United States revealed Arencibia faced charges for fraud and money laundering linked to his network of medical companies in Florida.
In 2025, he was sentenced to prison, closing a cycle that began with a facade of success and ended with confirmation of a pattern of deception.
His downfall shed light, in retrospect, on the real purpose of the Santa María Music Fest: not just a failed event, but a symptom of how dirty money and political complacency intersect on the invisible border between Miami and Havana.
The Mask of Love
Today, the name Boris Arencibia encapsulates a contradiction: those who proclaim “unity and love” while dealing with structures that oppress and censor.
His sentimental rhetoric, calls for reconciliation, and attacks on “those who don’t want democracy” place him in a realm of moral neutrality that benefits the totalitarian power.
Like many before him, Arencibia presented himself as a “bridge” and ended up being an unwitting accomplice to the regime he claimed to want to change.
The Santa María Music Fest was his attempt to shine; justice, his final curtain.
Between these extremes lies an uncomfortable portrait: that of an entrepreneur who, by confusing unity with silence, turned art into a showcase for the power of the Western Hemisphere’s longest-standing dictatorship.
Understanding Boris Arencibia's Controversial Role
Who is Boris Arencibia?
Boris Arencibia is a former music promoter and entrepreneur who became known for organizing the Santa María Music Fest in Cuba. He was later convicted in the United States for fraud and money laundering.
What was the Santa María Music Fest?
The Santa María Music Fest was a music festival held in Cayo Santa María, Cuba, in 2023. It was promoted as a cultural event to unite Cubans but faced criticism for allegedly supporting the Cuban regime.
Why was the festival controversial?
The festival was controversial due to its ties to GAESA, a Cuban military conglomerate, and accusations that it was a propaganda tool to improve the regime’s image amidst an economic crisis.
What were the legal issues Boris Arencibia faced?
Boris Arencibia faced legal issues in the United States, where he was convicted of fraud and money laundering related to his network of medical companies in Florida.