MADRID, Spain.- The Cuban dissident rapper and political prisoner Maykel Castillo Perez (Maykel Osorbo) turned 41 this Tuesday, August 20. Held in the maximum security prison Kilo 5 y Medio, in the province of Pinar del Río, this is the fourth consecutive birthday that the activist has spent behind bars, a circumstance that has been condemned by various human rights organizations and international political figures.
Maykel Osorbo, one of the most influential voices of artists and activists fighting against censorship and the regime on the island, has become an emblematic figure in the Cuban struggle for freedom. However, his activism has cost him his personal freedom.
On Tuesday, in commemoration of his 41st birthday, the organization Amnesty International, which has recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, remembered the artist on its social networks. In a post on the X platform, formerly Twitter, the organization express: “Today, rapper and prisoner of conscience Maykel Osorbo spends his birthday in prison… Join the fight for his freedom.”
The Cuban-American Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart Maykel also joined the calls for Osorbo’s freedom, posting a message on the same social network: “Today is the birthday of @MaykelOsorbo349, who remains in a maximum security prison in Cuba for simply demanding freedom for the Cuban people and for being the co-creator of the freedom anthem ‘Patria y Vida’.”
Díaz-Balart stressed that Maykel “is one of the many who sacrifice everything simply to demand the fundamental freedoms that are rights inherent to every person.” And he assured that he remains firm in his “support for the brave Cuban people until all political prisoners are unconditionally released and basic rights of expression are respected.”
He Cuban rapper Eliecer Marquez Duanyknown as “El Funky,” also remembered his friend on social media and said: “Even if there is no happiness, I only wish for you to see yourself in complete freedom.”
Anamely Ramos, an activist close to Osorbo, He also remembered it In an emotional post: “Today Maykel Castillo, Maykel Osorbo to his friends and followers, completes 41 years in prison. Today is also his monthly visit and we are happy to know that he will spend a few hours with loved ones and eat home-made food and drink hot coffee. Last week, Maykel was calling to order what he needs and to monitor everything that had to do with the visit. Happy because he knows he is accompanied, and because he knows he is fair. His good spirits are contagious, although we are always left with the question of how he manages to do so in such adverse conditions. What is Maykel made of? Where does he get not only his strength but also his immense generosity?”
In June 2022, Maykel Osorbo was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges including contempt, assault, public disorder and defamation of institutions and organizations, heroes and martyrs.
That same year, the rapper was awarded the Freedom Prize by the Freedom House organization. In addition, together with his friend and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantarabecame the first political prisoner to win a Latin Grammy Award for his participation in the iconic song “Patria y Vida,” a resistance anthem that has become a symbol of the fight for freedom in Cuba.
In early 2023, the magazine Rolling Stone The publication dedicated a long article to the musician, lamenting that he remained in prison. “The sentence was painful for him and for those who had been following the case. Osorbo… will be almost 50 years old when he is released,” the publication noted. This lament remains valid more than a year later, while the musician remains imprisoned, far from his loved ones and from his struggle.
