Well yes, despite all the blackmail, despite the cancellations, against all the pressures and assuming that the people of Cuba and its musicians (who are also the people) deserve a festival of the arts in particularly difficult times, the first edition in Cuba of the San Remo Music Awards, which from April 5 to 10 will strengthen the immense cultural ties of this country with Italy.
The customary opponents of the Cuban Revolution continually accuse cultural institutions of politicizing art, and they are the first to make all artistic expressions hostage to political interests. The campaigns against the festival, which include strong pressure to promote an international boycott, distort the essence of the event.
The event, according to its organizers, aims to consolidate cultural ties with Italy and promote musical creation in Cuba based on the stimulation of the record industry. One thing has to be clear: the Cuban festival was not conceived by the authorities of the famous San Remo Song Festival, which traditionally takes place in Italy. Although the program will pay tribute to great figures of music linked to that event, and who are part of the essential soundtrack of many Cubans: Raffaella Carrá, Nicola di Bari, Eros Ramazzotti…
The main course, however, will be the contest of young figures of Cuban music. The artistic director of the meeting, the musician and promoter Jorge Luis Robaina, specified it in an interview with the Cubarte portal: «From the very concept we have considered that young Cuban talents, both professionals and amateurs, have the opportunity to show their talent, and to win on equal terms. For this we made a casting intense where we received nine hundred and odd videos from all over the country, because we did it in the midst of the pandemic. So, the process of building the contest has been super interesting and that is precisely where the objective is, to be able to internationalize, to be able to put these new Cuban talents in Italy».
In this effort, the support of the Cuban institutions is essential: the Musicuba artistic representation agency and the Egrem record company have opted for a call that also includes fashion shows, culinary demonstrations and business meetings.
The festive spirit is guaranteed by the concerts and galas, which will have wide media coverage. But San Remo Music Awards Cuba 2022 intends to be a multiple festival. Its director affirms this: “We have added spaces, a space well known to all Havanans, which is Avenida Galiano, which is also Avenida de Italia, and precisely there we have planned a very popular show, very close to the people, where the Italian culture reaches the streets of Havana. In addition, it is important to point out that right now I have many artists, friends, colleagues, both from the patio, that is, Cuban artists, as well as international ones, who have precisely given us their approval based on this, and we are putting together the entire artistic structure that we have conceived. And consolidating each space from the point of view of production, of everything that takes a show as we have dreamed. It is also significant that we have the support of a lot of sectors: from tourism, from culture, from entrepreneurs who are really willing to support such a necessary party for Cuba, after such a complicated moment with COVID-19, to be able to enjoy of that endearing bond between Italy and Cuba, and, of course, music for the people, because music unites us».
