An empty chair at the Cuban Art Factory to protest against the censorship of Celia Cruz

Havana/ Madrid/The Cuban Art Factory (FAC) took a position this Sunday, when no one expected it, before the censorship of the gala for the centenary of Celia Cruz which was to be held in Havana. The organizer of the show, together with Teatro El Público, decided to leave the stage illuminated with an empty chair for an hour of absolute silence followed by a session of music by the artist, censored in Cuba.

“Last night, Sunday the 19th. Cuban Art Factory (FAC), in Havana, at the time when the CENSORED (sic) work should have gone on stage Celiaby Teatro El Público. An hour of absolute silence and an illuminated chair. Then, a DJ playing music from La Reina, La Guarachera de Cuba, La Reina de la Salsa, the most universal Cuban. #CeliaVive. NO TO CENSORSHIP! OUT WITH THE CENSORS!” Rosa Marquetti, a specialist in the most famous Cuban artist of all time, wrote on her Facebook profile and was the first to denounce the measure taken by the Ministry of Culture.

Last Thursday, the National Center for Popular Music released a message in which, avoiding naming Celia Cruz, he simply dismissed the cancellation. “The programming subdirectorate of the National Center for Popular Music informs that the presentation of the theater group El Público, scheduled for this Sunday the 19th, at 8:30 pm, in Hall 3 of Fábrica de Arte Cubano, will not take place,” stated the state organization.

The FAC, directed by the Cuban artist X Alfonso, had been questioned on social networks for not commenting on the cancellation of the work. However, sources close to the cultural center confessed to this newspaper that some type of reaction was being debated to make visible the discomfort generated by a decision that could not be explained, even though there was pressure for them to do nothing.

This weekend, X Alfonso was asked on social media why the play had been cancelled, to which he responded: “I ask the same question.” The artist has shared in his Facebook and Instagram stories those of some FAC workers with the protest act that the action entailed. “There is no problem resisting a song by Celia and I think it’s beautiful,” indicated another poster shared by the musician.

“A work that was not, an armchair and the art of resistance. Luz Celia,” read another of the publications shared by the artist. The phrase, accompanied by the image of the stage this Sunday, has also been published in a post of the FAC this Monday, National Culture Day.

The scheduled activity had Carlos Díaz as director and Norge Espinosa as playwright. The show, in which the La Mansión Castillo restaurant also participated, was going to take place in Nave 3 of the FAC with the participation of the actors Estrellita, Lucho Calzadilla, Freddy Maragoto, Roberto Romero, Georbis Martínez, Brian Pérez, Chai Deivis Torres and Danielito Tri-tri.

The latter was one of the first to publicly regret the official decision. “The tribute show to Celia has been censored, thanks to the same people as always,” he said.

Elmer Castillo and Yanzel Medina had created works for the show that were part of the show’s scenery, but they were censored. Those of Yanzel Medina, as can be seen, were left unfinished.

The consequences of the FAC’s decision remain to be seen in the coming days. Although it is not the first time that this cultural center has staged a protest act – it did so in 2023, with the event “Bring your light” to reject the savings measures that were imposed on it and that prevented it from carrying out its programming – in recent times they had maintained a very low profile despite the worsening of the crisis in Cuba.

The FAC has always navigated between two waters, since it has official support for its ability to attract tourists and foreign artists. undergroundalthough it is not a purely state center either, since it has private capital but is managed by state institutions attached to the Ministry of Culture.

In September of 2024, the song They are for youdedicated to Celia Cruz, participated in the Adolfo Guzmán contest, but the authorities then imposed a limitation: her name could not be mentioned nor could there be any mention of tributes to the Queen of Salsa. The musical theme, selected as a finalist of the popular contest, was composed by César Reyes Ampudia from Granma and was performed by Maricet Fonseca, but he did not win.

“It is a son dedicated to eternalizing, remembering and recognizing the trajectory and having it more in memory, to a great one, like the Cuban guarachera, Celia Cruz,” said Reyes Ampudia in an interview on the Radio Bayamo station, statements that received little circulation.

Since she went into exile in 1960, Celia Cruz could not be heard on the radio in Cuba until 2012, despite her extraordinary success. The only point on the Island that she set foot again was the US base at Guantánamo (with a handful of her land she asked, before dying in 2003, to be buried). Even after the strictest censorship against her was lifted more than a decade ago, her legacy continues to be ignored in the national media, all under the control of the Communist Party.