Popular Cuban actress and American celebrity Ana de Armas made a trip to communist Cuba where she reunited with family. The rising Hollywood star took along her boyfriend, who witnessed what media is reporting as a “tearful reunion” with family, although she had visited just two years ago with Ben Afleck, her boyfriend at that time.
Ana de Armas is visiting Cuba with her boyfriend. The Hollywood star is currently spending some quality time with her family ahead of her 35th birthday, after her last visit with her then-boyfriend Ben Affleck two years ago.
This time the actress traveled with her boyfriend Paul Boudakadakis. The star and the Tinder executive were spotted arriving from the U.S. at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba.
Ana’s best friend, Claudia Muma Alvariño, posted a video about her emotional arrival at her home country, where she was received with hugs. The pair couldn’t hold back the tears after finally seeing each other.
While it’s difficult to fault anyone for wanting to see their family, it should be noted the only reason Ana de Armas was allowed into Cuba is because she has never uttered a disparaging word against the communist dictatorship. If de Armas had ever publicly spoken out in defense of the Cuban people and condemned the brutal oppression they suffer at the hands of the Castro regime, she would have never been allowed to return.
Even during the massive uprising that took place in July 2021, where thousands of Cubans took to the streets in peaceful protests and were beaten, arrested, imprisoned, and even murdered by the Cuban dictatorship, the best de Armas could do was offer some tepid social media posts that appeared crafted to not offend the regime. While she is willing to speak out and protest for other causes, it seems she is not willing to do the same for Cuba.
In fact, the Castro dictatorship not only sees Ana de Armas as harmless, but after starring in the Cuban propaganda movie “WASP Network,” they also see her as a public relations tool. While in Cuba, the Cuban state-run media website CubaDebate attempted to interview her, although to her credit she refused the request. Nevertheless, the Cuban dictatorship’s willingness to interview her shows they considered her visit to the island as a net positive for the regime and had no concerns she would say anything negative about them. Contrast that with other artists and celebrities such as Andy Garica, Paquito D’Rivera, Willy Chirino, and many others who have spoken out against the murderous Castro dictatorship. None of them would ever be allowed to set foot in Cuba. Even the late Celia Cruz, who was outspoken and never missed an opportunity to condemn the dictatorship, was denied entry to Cuba to attend her mother’s funeral.
It is obvious Ana de Armas has chosen to keep her opinion on Cuba to herself and not disclose if she truly supports the cause of freedom in Cuba, and that’s her prerogative. But the Cuban exile community that came before her after giving everything up in their homeland and who opened pathways in the U.S. that she now enjoys, should not forget that.
As I see it, she’s clearly focused on her career and she knows how things work in the indisputably leftist entertainment world, so she’s not about to swim against the tide. It’s not just what she hasn’t said or done but what she has, particularly her participation in a film like Wasp Network, which was clearly pro-Castro regime propaganda. To her, I expect it was simply a career move, especially because the French director was something of a name, at least in Europe (and it was also a paying gig). Don’t expect much from her.
Besides, to be fair, she knows practically nothing about what Cuba was before the “revolution,” and she was born and raised in a totally perverted dystopian Cuba. She cannot possibly see things like “those people.”
Asombra,
Ana’s brother is a pro-democracy activist. He is unpretentious and participates in Cuban pro-human rights rallies. I have met him. If he knows about the abuses of the regime and is an activist, Ana cannot pretend ignorance. She knows about the abuses and horrors of the regime. She just apparently doesn’t give a shit, sadly, or is so focused with her career that she doesn’t want to rock the boat. She knows who butters her bread. She’s not stupid.
Yes, I expect she’s just thinking in terms of her career, but it’s probably easier for someone like her to ignore what’s not convenient, because her perspective regarding Cuba is still distorted.
That’s interesting stuff, Rayarena. Makes me think less of her than I already did.
Ana de Armas is a product of the Castro propaganda machine. She was raised and promoted by the regime, she is a model regime spokesman. She has an interesting quote as reported on the IMDB website, “My childhood memories are amazing; I had freedom in every way – but I see everything from a different perspective now that I live outside”. My question to her is, outside of what, exactly? She went from communist Cuba to semi-socialist Spain, she is a leftist who lives like a queen on the suffering of others.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1869101/bio
I see Spain as predominantly socialist, and the Spanish showbiz crowd is totally “progressive,” same as elsewhere. Once she hit Spain and started working on TV, she must have figured out quickly what the “correct” posture was, and obviously she was never one of “those people” anyway.
I remember Celia Cruz always speaking against the Castro regime, and all those actors, athletes that have left their families behind and are vocal against the Castro regime, remember all the baseball players putting “Patria Y Vida” in their cleats hats and supporting the Cubans in the island most of them have families in Cuba but they feel for their people and country.. Ana to me is not Cuban she is a Latina and possibly embarrassed of her heritage.. I feel sorry for her but again she is laughing all the way to the bank
Celia Cruz knew the real Cuba very well; all Ana de Armas knows is a grotesque “revolutionary” perversion. I expect she thinks of herself more as Spanish than “Latina,” and as for being embarrassed of her heritage, the heritage she knows is embarrassing as hell. Basically, she’s into her career, not Cuba. I’m not justifying her, but there’s no point expecting better from her.
Then there is https://diariodecuba.com/cultura/1682784277_46819.html , which does not smell well.