Artists La India And Arcángel Won't Sing At Music Festival In Cuba Miami Herald

Announcement of the music festival Santa María Music Fest to be held in August on an island in northern Cuba in one of the hotels of the Castro military. Artists like La India and Arcángel withdrew from the circle of guests. India said on its social networks that it will not be singing at this festival and the Puerto Rican reggaeton singer no longer appears in recent announcements. Announcement of Santa Maria Feast

Cuba organizes a festival in August in a heavenly location on the north coast of the island, with Cuban and international musicians who are gradually deserting. Following the San Remo Music Awards Cuba 2022 festival, from which the major artistic personalities have gradually fallen away, La India and Arcángel have also withdrawn from this event, at least from the poster announcing it.

The Santa Maria Music Fest, also known as a cultural conference, is scheduled to take place from August 17th to 20th at The One Gallery Hotel, one of the hotels of the state-owned Gaviota SA, which is controlled by the Cuban military.

The events site, which bills itself as “alive” and “exciting,” offers several tour packages with varying prices. The Premium Experience is $1,095 for three nights in a suite at The One Gallery Beachfront Art Resort on Cayo Las Brujas, a portion of the Keys on the north shore from Villa Clara to Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Ensenachos.

Also included in the package are alcoholic beverages, pool parties, and transportation to and from Santa Clara Airport. This is one of the Cuban airports to which direct flights fly from Miami.

Musicians and controversies in Cuba Key

The most experienced face of the festival line-up is salsa singer Issac Delgado, who has been based in Cuba since 2013 after spending several years in various US cities, including Miami. Delgado, who frequently gives concerts in the United States, has not published the Santa Maria Music Fest on his networks.

Also on the first Arcángel Festival artist list were Tito El Bambino, Charly & Johayron, Tekashi 6ix9ine, Ñengo Flow, Fixty Ordara and Ja Ruley. Arcángel, who is touring in Spain, disappeared from the festival poster in Cuba but made no public statement about his withdrawal.

Born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico, the reggaeton singer received the thanks of influencers like San Memero, who wrote: “All of us who feel for the freedom of Cuba thank you.” At the same time, some comments accused the influencer of everything to “politicize” because she “would have liked to see Arcángel in concert in Cuba”. Other tweeters responded with how they would see him if he sang in a key that normal Cubans don’t have access to.

Remote as beautiful as they are, the Northern Keys are a major tourist pole for Cuba, which is trying at all costs to restart the flow of tourism, with promotional campaigns such as Cuba Única, where music and dance take center stage. In this way they try to attract artists like Pepe Aguilar and his daughter Angela to the island, or Tito el Bambino himself, who did great publicity for Cuba by sharing photos of old cars, Almendrons and the beaches of the fells. El Bambino also shared in his networks a video in which he sings in the La Vitrola restaurant, on the corner of San Ignacio Street and Muralla, in the Cuban capital.

India is not going to Cuba

A few days ago, India shared a video on her social networks in which she clarified that she will not be singing in Cuba. The Puerto Rican singer shared a close artistic and personal relationship with Celia Cruz, who was never able to sing in front of audiences on the island again, which is why many were surprised that she was present at this festival, which is not aimed at the people.

“I’m on tour that day. “I have a lot of commitments and I don’t want them to keep promoting me and making the fans think I’m going to be at Santa Maria Music Fest,” India said on her channels. “I won’t be there, you can share that.”

The same confirmed Ana Morales, India’s manager, to El Nuevo Herald. “The artist has a private event and that date was never on the calendar,” he said in a text message to that reporter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuDFyOcIosE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Tekashi 6ix9ine, who made headlines in February when he allegedly threw dollar bills into a crowd in Havana, remains on the guest list for now. Since then, his collaborations with Cuban artists both inside and outside the island, such as Lenier Mesa, have deepened. The song Dueño by the New York rapper of Mexican descent and Mesa has already more than 10 million views on YouTube.

Tekashi 6ix9ine made a video of Santa Maria Fest promoting Bad Boy Company on YouTube, which lists La India and Arcángel among the artists invited to the festival.

The video is all about music and dance, but the Santa Maria Music Fest is also touted as a “cultural conference.”

One of the reasons for the acceptance of this cultural profile could be that US citizens cannot travel to Cuba as tourists, but they can travel for family visits, professional meetings, humanitarian projects or any of the 12 categories of aliens approved by the Office of Control of Assets (OFAC) of the Treasury.