Only days away from his concert in Miami, Pablito “El Puerquito Llorón” Milanes has apparently undergone a monumental conversion on his journey to south Florida. According to the longtime Fidelista, he is suddenly no longer a Fidelista.
Via Café Fuerte (my translation):
Pablo Milanés: “I am no longer a Fidelista”
The legendary singer-songwriter Pablo Milanes, whose songs were symbolic of the revolutionary era in Cuba, stated this Thursday that he has stopped being a fervent follower of Fidel Castro.
“I have been a Fidelista, I am no longer a Fidelista,” Milanes declared during an interview with the Univision network in Washington D.C. where he starts his music tour this Friday. “I have admired Fidel and I have admired the things he did during his time.”
Asked if he would again dedicate a concert to the former Cuban leader, as he has done on previous occasions, the artist responded: “At this moment, no.”
The conversation with journalist Gloria Ordaz from Miami’s channel 23-Unvision mostly covered topics related to the current Cuban political situation, and also covered the controversy and reactions brought on by his next concert in Miami. The songwriter also granted live interviews yesterday to Spain’s EFE, Telemundo Network, and Marti Television.
Milanes, who is 68, declared that he would be willing and had no issues in performing for the Ladies in White, a group of women and mothers of political prisoners on the island.
He added that for more than 10 years, he has been writing songs that were critical of the occurrences in Cuba, but said he had no plans to sing those songs during the concert he will play in Miami this next Saturday, August 27th.
“I don’t think I will play them… By the same token, I will not injure the sensibilities of Miami residents, and neither will I injure the sensibilities of Cubans. I will have some sense of shame ,” he confessed.
The artist said that he had many friends in Miami, but he declined to mention them by name, “because I’m not sure it would be good for them.”
“Here [in Miami] one lives in fear exactly the same as the fear lived with over there [in Cuba],” said the author of Yolanda and Years.
He also said that he will dedicate his concert in Miami to the Cuban people, and “to all the things I do for socialism in Cuba.”
Crying Piggy, who sounds increasingly like he’s related to John Kerry, said pretty clearly, on camera, that he will not apologize for his distinctly, uh, dubious past, that he remains a “revolutionary” leftist, and that he seeks to improve what amounts to Castro, Inc., but there was no hint whatsoever of dismantling it, let alone seeking justice for its countless crimes of every sort. Castro, Inc., of course, has been busy “improving” itself for decades, but has yet to make any headway (it’s the embargo, naturally). Crying Piggy will, however, be gracious and condescending enough to spare his Miami audience his more, uh, political songs and stick to love songs. Because, you know, he’s all about the LOVE. No, really, I’m fine. I often retch violently like this. It’ll pass.
I nearly flung my IPad upon reading of this POS’s supposed conversion. I guess he will now have TWO types of people to applaud him in Miami! Amazing.
I understand the motivation for this post but again I have to believe that we are doing the work of the promoters in talking about it. If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to blog about it, does it still make a sound?
Henry, those who are prepared to pay for and/or attend this concert are unlikely to read Babalu, and even less likely to heed it.
No surprise by el puerquito lloron’s comment. He’s been [UR, UH] “critical” [triple-tongue-in-cheek] of the regime in the past. Then he backslides and says that he still supports the tyranny. Read his comment that he is no longer a fidelista to mean that he is now a raulista. It’s all done so that idiotic Cubans who might be on the fence about going to the concert will now go. He’s so transparent.