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From a prison in the city of Guanajay, dissident artist Luis Otero Alcántara is serving a five-year sentence for various crimes charged by the Cuban government. This week he went on a hunger strike again.
By Patricia Paez,
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a 34-year-old Cuban dissident artist and activist who is serving a five-year sentence in the maximum security prison of Guanajay, in the Artemisa province.
On July 4, through a publication shared on social networksdeclared a hunger strike, thereby demanding their “immediate and unconditional release.”
It is the third time that the artist has deprived himself of eating to request his release since he was arrested on July 11, 2021, the day on which an unusual wave of protests took place throughout the island against the repression of the Cuban regime. On previous occasions, Otero had already been arrested for his artistic performances in public spaces that questioned various issues, especially political ones.
According to newspaper information The countryin 2018 alone he was arrested more than 20 times, while in 2020 he was detained about 15 times.
His activism and work as an artist cost him a sentence for crimes such as outrage against national symbols and public disorder. “I am not a politician. I am an artist. I am interested in art as a tool that influences politics, but what I do is still art ”he assured in an interview for a half cuban in 2019.
Otero is leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), an initiative that seeks to “promote, protect and defend full freedom of expression, association, creation and dissemination of art and culture in Cuba, empowering society towards a future with democratic values.” This movement arose as part of the activities of various activists and artists who demonstrate against the restrictive measures of the Cuban government on culture and the arts.
An artist of humble origin recognized internationally
Magazine Time included to Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara in his list of the 100 most influential personalities of 2021, due to his undeniable fight, commitment and resistance for freedom of expression.
Despite coming from a difficult economic and social background, Otero taught himself art. “Studying art in Cuba is a very elitist career. For blacks from marginalized places it is impossible to study art in Cuba,” Otero commented in an interview for the Cuban Cultural Center in New York.
His works include a series of wood sculptures called “Los Heroes no Pepan” (2011) and recently a series of portraits in ink and crayon titled “Clowns”, created from prison, where he is currently being held.
In addition, Otero has been recognized with some awards such as the Grand Prize at the José Fowler Exhibition in 2009. Recently, some of his works are being exhibited at the exhibition “Site of meeting with art Cuba – Québec” of the Rouyn-Noranda Art Museum in Canada. The event brings together various Cuban and Quebec artists, and can be visited until October 2, 2022.
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