From our Bureau of Laudable Disrespect for Leftist Dictatorships
Here’s an item that’s bound to irritate the hell out of the military junta that runs Castrogonia. One of their least favorite artists has just won a major award that amounts to 122 years of income (The average income in Castrogonia is $408 per year). And to make things worse, the prize money is being safeguarded until he is freed from prison and can actually keep all of it.
In the past, Castro, Inc. has required the winners of cash awards to hand over to them every penny, arguing that all prizes belong to “the Cuban people” rather than the individual prize winner. How’s that for social justice?
By rewarding a prisoner of conscience and ensuring that he can collect his price, the Prince Claus Dutch Fund has just disrespected Castro, Inc. in more ways than one. But, given the proclivities of Castro, Inc., and their incredible luck in being supported by affluent democracies everywhere — which means they could stay in power indefinitely — there’s a good chance that Luis Manuel will never get to collect his prize money.
Abridged from Art News
Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara—whose imprisonment by the Cuban government drew international condemnation from human rights groups—is one of six artists to receive the inaugural Prince Claus Impact award. Each recipient will receive €50,000 (roughly the same amount in U.S. dollars).
The biannual award, established in 2021, are presented to artists and cultural leaders “in recognition of both the excellent quality of their work and of their positive contribution to the development of their society,” according to the Prince Claus Dutch fund, an independent organization based in Amsterdam.
In a statement, the judges praised Alcántara “for his extremely accessible, honest and non-elitist art practice [and] for his tireless fight for freedom of expression in Cuba and his stance against censorship and political authority.” A spokesperson for the Prince Claus fund told the Art Newspaper that it was “working together with the people around Luis to make sure it is [the award amount] safeguarded until he will be released.”
Otero Alcántara, one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2021 and advocate for artistic freedom in Cuba, was sentenced to five years in prison in June by a Havana. Fellow activist Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo, the author of the protest anthem “Patria Y Vida,” which won the Latin Grammy Award for song of the year in 2021, was sentenced to nine years alongside Otero Alcántara.
According to the Human Rights Watch, the artists were arraigned on a range of charges including public disorder, contempt, and, in Otero Alcántara’s case, “insulting national symbols,” due to his use of the Cuban flag in the performance piece Drapeau, in which he wore or carried the flag uninterrupted for a month.
Whole story HERE
Oh, they’re not about to let that money get away from them. Wait and see.