{"id":270125,"date":"2023-05-22T20:07:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T00:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=270125"},"modified":"2023-05-22T20:07:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T00:07:23","slug":"israel-rojas-my-thing-is-fire-and-not-the-torch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/music-culture\/israel-rojas-my-thing-is-fire-and-not-the-torch\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Rojas: \u201cMy thing is fire and not the torch\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the second time I have interviewed Israel Rojas Fiel. <\/span>The first<\/span><\/a> was in Havana, in 2014, a few days after a concert that Buena Fe would give at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. It would not be his first concert in the second city with the most Cubans in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

They had already performed in 2009, no less than at the <\/span>Manuel Artime<\/span><\/a> Theater. \u201cThere were some people [in Cuba] who were upset because we played in a theater called <\/span>Manuel Artime<\/span>,\u201d the director of the Buena Fe duo told me almost a decade ago, \u201cand I\u2019m going to be honest, I didn\u2019t even know who he was, I found out later. And if they asked me, I would tell them that I felt proud to play in that venue, no matter what it\u2019s called. Those who went there that day left happy.\u2026 Those songs made that place a little piece of Cuba.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We met again in the Lavapi\u00e9s neighborhood, in Madrid. I, an emigrant; him, passing through this almost always sunny and always very welcoming city. He is here preparing new concerts for his tour of Spain and some other European cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The one on May 12 at the Galileo Galilei was a good concert with a full house; successful as those of so many other Cuban artists who tend to appropriate that space with their music.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything went well, except for one incident in which a group of people, between song and song, shouted political slogans and hit each other: provocateurs and provoked people turned that fragment of the night into a repudiation rally, one of the typical ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the fact that the full band is not there, Buena Fe manages to sound complete and the best-known songs in its repertoire mobilize the nostalgia of many in this city that has become an increasingly frequent home for Cubans.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the media noise is not always favorable. (It is not always worth what it is preferable for them to talk about, even if it is bad).<\/span><\/p>\n

Some activists\u2019 voices on social media and most of the digital press that openly opposes the Cuban government have spent years directing their bitter attention against Buena Fe and Israel Rojas, accused of being unconditional and accomplices of the \u201cregime\u201d or the \u201cdictatorship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This time the propaganda managed to dissuade some businessmen who preferred not to risk having to deal with <\/span>side shows<\/span><\/i> in their halls: it was so that a couple of concerts on the tour were cancelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel Rojas has denounced that, as artists, they are suffering a media lynching for political reasons in an environment in which respect for freedom of expression should prevail. Cuban artists such as Silvio Rodr\u00edguez, cultural institutions such as the Cuban Institute of Music and the president of Cuba himself have spoken out in his defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost a decade later, the open-mindedness, the advancement of tolerance in terms of political diversity that allowed Buena Fe performances in Miami in their day, seem impossible today.<\/span><\/p>\n

What has happened in Spain in recent days with Buena Fe?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In short: in 2020 we had sold two Galileo Galilei with the album <\/span>Carnal<\/span><\/i>. Then came the pandemic, that project went down the drain. There were still people who had the reservation from that date.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that debt, knowing that we had that public waiting, a call was launched to do a concert, although not with the whole band, but just four of us: Maikel P\u00e9rez, Ernesto Cisneros, Yoel Mart\u00ednez and me. The date was the 12th, the 13th in Bilbao, and then from there a group of dates that included Barcelona, Zamora, Salamanca, C\u00e1ceres and Geneva in Switzerland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the concerts (I found out about this later) an activist who was opposed to the Cuban government began to call for a boycott against the concert through Twitter. I can understand the need for someone to protest our presence or because they associate us as sympathetic to the Cuban government\u2019s policy, or whatever. But I hope that it complies with what is established, which is to ask for a permit, I suppose. It is their freedom of expression, but without affecting others, those who want to listen to our music. Because it doesn\u2019t hurt to say that our concerts are not political rallies, nor is there talk of anything like that; they are concerts of concord, peace; where we talk about love and heartbreak; where there is fun, happiness, and the desire to have a good time.<\/span><\/p>\n

So these gentlemen had the \u201cgood idea\u201d to publish on social media that they were going to go to the concert and make trouble. They published it ahead of time on their social media and threatened to throw eggs and things like that.<\/span><\/p>\n

The date of the concert arrived, we arrived at the theater. (All this was alien to me. I found out later). A full house. The beautiful people; children at the concert, older people, people of all colors and flavors, Spanish, Cuban, from the right and from the left… People who like music.<\/span><\/p>\n

The concert started. Between the first song (\u201cSoy\u201d) and the second (\u201cC\u00e1mara lenta\u201d) there was an uproar of joy; and between the second and third (\u201cBolero sangriento\u201d) the merriment lasted, and it turns out that one of these gentlemen was shouting my name.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first, I thought that, as often happens, they were asking me for a song, or something. But then I heard political slogans\u2026. That lasted 10 seconds. All this happened in front of the bar counter, at the back of the room, behind the sound console. I couldn\u2019t see anything there. But I sensed a ruckus. I didn\u2019t really know what happened, but I heard people yelling \u201cget him out, get him out\u201d and when I saw the pushing and people on the ground, I tried to dissuade them; I said that the concert was not for that; that, please, we were there for the music; that it didn\u2019t matter if people were from the right or the left; that this was to have a good time. Because someone from the audience, near the stage, tells me that the trouble was political, to ignore it and continue.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I alert the attendees and ask for peace. Then we performed two hours of concert. I found out later that the police had come, that they entered the concert and stayed. At the end, they asked me for autographs and said they had a good time.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it was all over is when we found out what really happened: those gentlemen tried to make trouble and came out celebrating. It is the first time I have seen a person \u201cvictim\u201d of violence come out happy. Because they got what they were looking for: provocation and confrontation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: DAD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Was there any chance that a situation like that could be foreseen?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you as artists have a bit of responsibility in dealing with this type of situation that can occur?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

How do you do it?<\/span><\/p>\n

You are telling me that there were threats from long before; that they announced they were going….<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I found out later. But in any case, I am convinced that not even the success of the concert could prevent that incident from remaining the most important thing. The loudspeaker of the digital platforms that attack us was ready. The two hours of concert, the concerts we did, everything, can be overshadowed in comparison with that huge speaker. They turned the incident at Galileo Galilei into big news.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you do to prepare for that possibility?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t go on stage to give love to people and be worried that a situation could arise. You trust the faces you see, happy people who want to hear your songs. I can\u2019t go out to a concert thinking about \u201cyours just in case\u201d; I can\u2019t go out to a concert thinking, \u201cWhat if they throw something at me?\u201d These are the risks of this job.<\/span><\/p>\n

I go out to deal with my songs, which in addition are long and many are new. I try to do my best so that people leave happy.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in the future, will you take any preventative action?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

From now on, everyone who organizes a Buena Fe concert, in Europe or anywhere in the world, will do so with the conviction that they will have to face a ruthless attack, which was what happened with Salamanca and Zamora.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Barcelona, no. In Barcelona, it happened that the day of the concert coincided with the final of the Soccer League. It was possible for Bar\u00e7a to win, and they did. And the fans were going to meet at the venue. The owners of the place asked to postpone our presentation. The interpretation that all these platforms made was that there had been a cancellation, but it is not true.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, Salamanca and Zamora were cancelled. We are in contact with them. They are very sorry, but they are small halls and they cannot risk having a light bulb or a window broken.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: DAD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In our previous interview, you were preparing to perform in Miami, and now it turns out that performing in Spain is becoming a problem. What has changed, what has happened during this time?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

This is another planet, and it is another Cuba. That was another country, still hopeful. The arrival of Obama was the arrival of many things in Cuba and Florida, where this part of the Cuban nation is, which is wherever Cubans are.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we are a nation traversed by the appearance of soft power that has spread radically divisive, confrontational, non-dialoguing, Plattist, McCarthyite, even fascist thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hasn\u2019t Buena Fe changed? Haven\u2019t you radicalized yourself to some extent?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

How can I not change? It is impossible for one not to take sides in this context.<\/span><\/p>\n

Towards where have you changed?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I think I\u2019m more tolerant, more open to dialogue. I am more informed than before. Before I was naiver and immature. My opinions were lighter. Today I am the father of three children. Today I have wounds that I did not have before. Today I have seen the face of intolerance. And the face of McCarthyite and Plattist intolerance is many times worse than the bureaucratic-communist one. I say this with absolute certainty. The silencing, the harassment, the misrepresentation of these platforms is enormous, and they don\u2019t stop until they get you to say what they want.<\/span><\/p>\n

In your case, what do you think they want you to say? Is there any way to \u201credeem\u201d yourself against the communication platforms that attack you?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The supposed \u201credemption\u201d will not depend on me. It will depend on the change of times. There is no dialogue with the one who gives in, rather with the one who holds a position. If we survive all this, when the time for changes comes, they\u2019ll have to say \u201cWow, you weren\u2019t that wrong!\u201d What do I defend? Not only Buena Fe, which it does in its songs. Rather me, what do I defend?<\/span><\/p>\n

When hardly anyone in Cuba talked about it, I insisted on the need to diversify ownership in Cuba. \u201cDon\u2019t give me anything else, let me earn it myself\u201d was a call in the face of the need for a robust private sector. And note that I was a rather naive man then, but with my rudiments, I felt that what the country needed was that. I sensed that more efficient ways had to be found, that the productive forces had to be unleashed, that the State could not be the protector of everyone\u2019s destinies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inside Cuba, did you have problems when you said those things?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have them today?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

No, because those ideas succeeded. They are being applied. I defend a robust private sector, as long as the most important things remain in the hands of the State to guarantee the possibility of a socialist State in which I believe. I defend an organic relationship of the nation with its emigration. I told you in that first interview, and that it not only be through Foreign Ministry channels, but through civil society, organizations like the Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed Cultural Society, where we had that dialogue.<\/span><\/p>\n

We must look for ways to reach out with a message of love, reconciliation, peace, and healing between the nation and emigration because the other thing that remains is fascism, radicalization. Let it become customary to try to explain complex things in simple ways. That simplification can lead us to blood, to violence, to civil war.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I defend. That\u2019s why I support, despite anything, <\/span>Carlos Lazo<\/b><\/a>, who is my brother. There are people who tell me, are you going to support Carlos Lazo, who has openly said that he is not a socialist? That doesn\u2019t interest me. My thing is fire, not the torch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now what we need is a robust economy, getting over the blockade, being able to find a way out, building bridges of love, for emigration to understand that Cuba is not the obstacle to living happily together…<\/span><\/p>\n

But it has been…<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I think so, but we must bring down the barriers that prevent any emigrant from having a normal relationship with her\/his country. Today the landscape is very different. Today we have much more recognition of the rights of emigrants. Some of these rights even bring new contradictions: today a Cuban leaves Cuba and his home remains his. In my mother\u2019s neighborhood, 60% of the houses are empty, there being a need for housing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Life goes on and new problems arise. I believe, however, that this was the correct measure. Or what just happened with the extension of the <\/span>validity of passports and the decrease in their cost<\/b><\/a>. I hope it won\u2019t take long for the eight-year entry ban on Cubans who deserted from a mission to be lifted. It is something very lacerating and it hurts the nation because it hurts the family; it hurts those who leave and those who stay.<\/span><\/p>\n

I defend that in Cuba there should be no censorship. I have come out in defense of artists who have been censored. I defend the right to protest. I have said it publicly. I have been with Silvio when he said that it is necessary to create a regulatory framework in which the right to protest is organized.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a very sensitive issue: the prisoners after the July 11 protests. It is no longer just the usual actors who oppose the government who classify them as \u201cpolitical prisoners.\u201d It is a topic of prime importance on the agenda of, for example, those who went to the concert in Buena Fe to protest against you. What do you think about this? Is it fair to maintain such severe sentences for these people?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

When the J11 protests occurred, I wrote a post \u2014 which, of course, nobody expanded \u2014 in which I said that what was necessary for our country at that time was the release of all the detainees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having seen what has been seen afterwards, I believe that anyone who has committed an act of violence, who has destroyed public property and has committed acts of vandalism must comply with what is established in the law. Any other person who is deprived of freedom for a matter of thought, or ideological difference… How can I agree that this person is serving a sentence?<\/span><\/p>\n

Are there prisoners in that situation?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Not that I know of. And I\u2019m not going to talk about something I don\u2019t know. If someone lets me know\u2026. They will be able to say that I don\u2019t know because I don\u2019t want to know. It is not like this. I am not informed about everything. I am a common citizen who has to deal with the many problems that exist in Cuba, who has three children, a band to direct, some concerts to do. I am not aware of everything that happens with the activists who oppose the Cuban government.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask me about my collaboration with the Martin Luther King Memorial Center, with various social programs in which we participate; ask me about our collaboration with Bridges of Love, which often generates quite a lot of work.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have all the truths. I\u2019m a guy like any other and I don\u2019t know of those cases. If I knew them, I would agree with those sentences being re-evaluated and I am more than in agreement with these people being released. And also, that it not be a precondition that they change their minds or ideas or anything like that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every day there must be more space for everyone, whatever they think, to participate in society. It is what I would like to see. Without ignoring that there is an agenda, financed from outside Cuba, to promote a kind of fifth column that aligns with the interests of the blockade, to cause more problems for Cuban society. It would be dishonest if I don\u2019t say what I see from one side and from the other. And I also think that every State has the right to defend itself. This is perhaps not what others want to hear, but it is what I have to say.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: DAD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Silvio Rodr\u00edguez has written these days, in light of these events, about \u201cthe unruly questions that Buena Fe is bringing up.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Silvio, fortunately, still listens to our records. Those who listen to the album <\/span>Carnal<\/span><\/i>, and in particular \u201cLa Catrina.\u201d The thing is that some people don\u2019t want to listen to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLa Catrina\u201d is a very harsh song against corruption. Because for me, all those public officials, all those who today embezzle or mismanage resources that are for the well-being of all in a time of such harsh economic crisis…. All those who allow themselves to appear on social media speculating wealth, splendor….<\/span><\/p>\n

Including relatives of high-ranking leaders.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Whoever. To anyone who has a position and forgets what the ethics of the Revolution represents, which has always been austerity, and set foot on the ground with the last on the line…. For that one \u201clet La Catrina come and give him her love.\u201d Because that is disrespectful. Any such act of ostentation is undignified, and it\u2019s even worse right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Para que nadie quiera encaramarse en zancos<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Como corrupto y ladr\u00f3n de \u00abcuello blanco\u00bb<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Antes que ahora se vuelva despu\u00e9s<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

La ni\u00f1ez, la vejez<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Tengan blindaje contra insensatez<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Y el apetito del abusador<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Y si persiste el surtidor de dolor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pues<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Que venga la Catrina y que le d\u00e9 su amor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Those are the \u201cunruly questions\u201d that we continue to ask, ours, not those of the media agenda that they want to impose on us from outside. We work for the here and now; perhaps that is why our concerts continue to be filled with young people.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that is another line of message against us: that they don\u2019t hear us. Absolutely false. We just did a national tour. All the seats were full, singing the songs from our last two albums.<\/span><\/p>\n