On Thursday, Grammy-Award winning singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan led a march on the famous Calle Ocho in Miami, in support of Cuba’s Las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White.
At a press conference earlier this week, Estefan called on exiles to join her in protest of the treatment received by the women who were violently confronted last week by Cuban security forces during a march in Havana to mark the anniversary of the 2003 jailing of 75 dissidents.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators wore all white and marched in silence to show solidarity with the women, who traditionally do the same when they peacefully protest the jailing of their sons and husbands.
A teary Estefan said, “We are a people united by our love for freedom. We are here with all our different flags. That is what this great country allows us to do.”
The march was peaceful, with different generations standing together.
Estefan was joined by other singers including Pit Bull, Willy Chirino, Natalia Jimenez and Luis Fonsi.
A small plane flew overhead with a banner that read, in Spanish, “Freedom for the Political Prisoners.”
Cuba’s human rights abuses have drawn world attention in recent weeks with the death of dissident hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the hospitalization of a second activist, Guillermo Farinas, and most recently, the video of the violent treatment of the Ladies in White.
Before the demonstration Estefan said, “I see the rest of the world speaking out, I see the European Union speaking out, people who usually side with Fidel Castro. I thought, ‘My God. I’m a woman. I’m Cuban. I have the opportunity to speak out because of the music thing. It’s something I have to do.'”
President Obama released a statement about the current situation in Cuba “Recent events in Cuba, including the tragic death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the repression visited upon Las Damas de Blanco, and the intensified harassment of those who dare to give voice to the desires of their fellow Cubans, are deeply disturbing. These events underscore that instead of embracing an opportunity to enter a new era, Cuban authorities continue to respond to the aspirations of the Cuban people with a clenched fist.”
I applaud Gloria for this and support this cause. Viva Cuba libre! It’s time to change.