Havana/The Cuban-American singer and songwriter Camila Cabello has focused the focus of her followers on the situation on the Island after publishing an unusually direct message against the Cuban regime on her social networks. In a text loaded with a personal tone, the artist denounced the seriousness of the crisis and assured that she maintains constant contact with her relatives who still live in the country.
“I also feel a responsibility to talk about what is happening in Cuba, I still have family on the Island to whom we talk and send medicines, food and clothing,” wrote the interpreterwho was born in Havana in 1997. His words come at a time of growing economic and social deterioration in the country, marked by prolonged blackouts, food shortages and increased migration.
In his publication, Cabello crudely described the panorama that, he claims, those close to him conveyed to him. “It has been 67 years of a failed dictatorship and an oppressive regime. The Cuban people are suffering in an echo chamber where no one can listen to them because speaking is risking your life,” he said.
The artist also denounced the material precariousness that citizens go through. “Many people are dying of hunger, searching for food in piles of garbage, and the only way to survive is for relatives to send you boxes of medicine because not even the hospitals have medicine,” he added, in a description that coincides with numerous testimonies collected by independent media and humanitarian organizations.
“It has been 67 years of a failed dictatorship and an oppressive regime”
Cabello was born in Cojímar (Eastern Havana) and spent his early years between Cuba and Mexico. In 2002, when he was barely five years old, he emigrated with his mother to the United States, where they settled in Miami. His father would join the family months later.
As he has said in multiple interviews, his childhood was marked by uprooting and adapting to a new language. Music appeared early as a refuge. An admirer of artists such as Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernández, she began singing at school and uploading covers to the Internet during her adolescence.
His rise to fame came in 2012, when he participated in the television program The X Factor in the United States. Although she was initially eliminated as a soloist, the judges integrated her into the female group Fifth Harmony, which would end up becoming one of the pop phenomena of the decade.
With the group he achieved notable commercial successes, but in 2016 he decided to start a solo career. The bet was decisive. His first album, Camilla (2018), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and consolidated her as a figure within Latin-Anglo pop.
The statement is especially significant due to the global profile of Cabello, one of the most recognized Latin voices in international pop. With 12 million followers on X, 17 million on Facebook and more than 63 million on Instagram, his message has had a very wide reach. Unlike other artists of Cuban origin who have avoided explicit political positions, the singer opted for a frontal tone that points directly to the system of power on the Island.
With 12 million followers on X, 17 million on Facebook and more than 64 million on Instagram, his message has had a very wide reach
Among his best-known songs are: Havana, Miss (along with Shawn Mendes), Never Be the Same and Don’t Go Yet. Havanain particular, became a global phenomenon with billions of views and multiple platinum certifications, in addition to reinforcing his artistic identity linked to his Cuban roots.
Throughout her career, Cabello has won American Music Awards, Latin Grammy and Billboard Music Awards, and has been nominated several times for the Anglo-Saxon Grammys. His later discography – including Romance (2019) and Family (2022) – has maintained a constant presence on international charts.
Despite her success in the industry, the singer has alternated her musical profile with specific positions on social issues, especially migration and the Latin community. However, his recent message about Cuba stands out for the forcefulness of the language and for placing the focus on the country’s internal crisis.
The interpreter also alluded to the deterioration of basic services. “The power has been gone for so long that food spoils and water becomes scarce,” he wrote. And he added a complaint about the repression: “When people have protested peacefully, they have disappeared or been locked up, some as young as 13 years old.”
Cabello concluded his call by describing the Cuban exodus in dramatic terms: “It is no wonder that so many Cubans have jumped into shark-infested waters…risking their lives for freedom.” In addition, he invited his followers to collaborate with Cáritas Cuba: “If you are able to give, any donation makes a difference.”
The impact of his words is amplified by the moment the Island is going through, where the Government continues to deny the existence of a humanitarian crisis while millions of Cubans depend on remittances and foreign aid to survive. His message, spread to millions of followers, breaks the usual silence of many entertainment figures and once again places the situation in Cuba in the international public conversation.
