Jeff Franks
HAVANA
Wed May 12, 2010 3:41pm EDT
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban folk singer Silvio Rodriguez, considered the
voice of the Cuban revolution, has received a U.S. visa and is to
perform a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall on June 4, his American
attorney said on Wednesday.
Entertainment | Music | Cuba
Lawyer Bill Martinez told Reuters in a telephone interview from San
Franciso, California the visa was approved by U.S. officials on Tuesday
and is long enough to permit Rodriguez to play concerts in other U.S.
cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.
Rodriguez, 63, is the latest Cuban performer to be allowed into United
States, which had routinely denied such visas under former President
George W. Bush.
Many of Rodriguez's songs extol the Cuban revolution that brought Fidel
Castro in power in 1959, but others also lightly criticize the
communist-led society.
Rodriguez recently told reporters in Havana that Cuba is "crying out for
a revision of many things ... from concepts to institutions."
U.S.-Cuba relations have improved slightly under President Barack Obama,
who eased the 48-year-old U.S. embargo against the island by lifting
restrictions on visits by Cuban Americans to their homeland and
permitting more cultural exchanges.
Cuban ballet legend Alicia Alonso, 89, is scheduled to be honored next
month at the American Ballet Theater in New York where she performed
early in her career. U.S. group Kool and the Gang put on a concert in
Havana in December.
Rodriguez, who has not performed in the United States for three decades,
sought a visa a year ago to join in a New York concert for the 90th
birthday of folk singer Pete Seeger.
But the visa was not approved in time for him to make the trip, which
prompted an angry letter from Rodriguez published in Cuba's state-run media.
"I continue feeling so blocked and discriminated against, just like by
other (U.S.) governments," he said. "I hope this really changes some day."
Martinez said U.S. officials in Havana had extended a helping hand to
Rodriguez this time around.
While cultural exchanges are only a small step forward in relations
between the United States and Cuba, "it will have to do for now,"
Martinez said.
No comments:
Post a Comment