Pitbull’s controversial support of the duo Gente de Zona during his New Year’s Eve show on Bayfront Park sparked criticism from some of the top music names in Miami’s Cuban exile community.
“They are not here tonight because of other things, but I want to send a greeting to Gente de Zona. Music is music, politics is politics,” the Cuban-American singer declared from the stage.
Bayfront Park Management Trust, chaired by Miami commissioner Joe Carollo and the organizers of the New Year’s Eve concert, banned Gente de Zona from the concert because of its alleged support for the Cuban government. The duo asked for applause of island ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel and called him “our president” during one of their concerts in Havana in 2018.
Pitbull’s words exploded like a bomb in Miami, especially among performers who expressed their dissatisfaction on social networks, including Albita Rodríguez, Silvito el Libre and Arturo Sandoval.
“Hey Pitbull, when you have a chance, explain to this image why music and politics should not be mixed,” Albita wrote on her Instagram account.
The image was the iconic photo showing star Cuban singer Celia Cruz grabbing a fistful of Cuban soil through the fence that rings the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo.
Albita ended her post with a single word: “Dignity.”
Pitbull has since apologized to the Miami community for his words at the concert, during an interview with journalist Jorge Ramos that will be broadcast Sunday in the “Al Punto” program on Univision.
Ramos provided excerpts of the interview to Ninoska Pérez Castellón for her radio program, “Ninoska en Mambí.” And a fragment was broadcast Thursday on “Noticiero Univisión.”
“I screwed up,” Pérez Castellón quoted Pitbull as telling Ramos. He used a colorful Cuban slang that translates directly as “I put my foot in it.”
Pitbull also acknowledged to Ramos that he never saw the video of Gente de Zona with Díaz-Canel, or another video that shows the duo dancing with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, nephew and bodyguard of Raúl Castro, the brother of Fidel and head of Cuba’s Communist Party.
The singer also apologized to Sandoval and Willy Chirino, who had refused to participate in the Bayfront Park concert if Gente de Zona were allowed to perform.
Other performers angered by Pitbull’s comments included rapper Silvito el Libre, who described the words as “a show of disrespect for all Cubans, and those of us who cannot perform in Cuba ever again because the government does not allow it.”
Silvito, the son of Cuban singer-composer Silvio Rodríguez, also mentioned the example of Celia Cruz and Pitbull’s seeming lack of concern for performers who have not been allowed to return to Cuba.
“Here we see clearly that many people care more about the money than the suffering of the Cubans,” Silvito el Libre added.
Pérez Castellón said Pitbull was right to apologize.
She also noted that Pitbull always said he would refuse to perform in Cuba, to avoid betraying the memory and principles of his Cuban family.
Pitbull is supposed to be the grand marshal of the Three Kings Parade Sunday in Little Havana. He posted an Instagram message five days ago saying, “Don’t let the party stop.”
But there’s been no confirmation of his appearance in the parade, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 1:11 PM.
