Juanes’ concert in Havana could be a strong message for peace
Interview with Silvio Rodríguez
By R. A. Hernández
La Jiribilla
The announcement in Havana of the concert Peace Without Borders, promoted by the Colombian musician Juanes for Sept. 20 at Revolution Square has generated various opinions. On the island, there is an air of expectation about the concert. Also, of gratitude for the acknowledgment of Cuba’s voice on behalf of peace.
One of the guest performers, Cuban singer-composer Silvio Rodríguez, commenting on the “concerns” created by such “daring act,” calls it “an event of peace that bothers the ultraright, because the nature of these people is aggressive, like the blockade, and because the whole idea — and peace itself — undermines the hatred that nurtures them.”
Shortly after giving a concert in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in commemoration of Independence Day, Aug. 10, 1809, Silvio shared some reflections with the magazine La Jiribilla. Earlier, he had appeared before 25,000 listeners at Modelo Stadium.
Q.: The concert by Colombian musician Juanes has a prior, spontaneous history in Havana. Tell us about that story and its background.
A.: The background, as far as I’m concerned, began with a phone call from the Ministry of Culture to tell me that Juanes wanted to sing a concert for peace in Havana and that he was coming to Cuba to talk about that. They phoned me because they were holding a dinner party and wanted me to attend. There, I met Juanes and heard him talk about the project for the first time. He asked me if I wanted to participate and I told him yes. I had seen on television the first Concert for Peace, which [Juanes] did on the border between Colombia and Venezuela and it seemed to me to be positive.
Q.: When you launched the book ‘Songbook,’ you said that when you were 20 you believed that poetry could change the world, and that, now that you’re 60, you are convinced that poetry can’t change the world but can make it better. Can Juanes’ concert do that?
A.: Most certainly. I don’t believe that a song or a concert can change the complex reality overnight, but undoubtedly an event like this could be a strong message of the desire for peace, in this case between the United States and Cuba, countries separated by half a century of discrepancies. As I see it, this concert tries to join the voices of many people, here and there, who would like the situation to normalize and allow everyone to live as he wishes, respecting one another.
Q.: The idea of this musical event has caused a lot of upheaval in Miami, which accuses it of being a politicized concert. Why would an event in favor of peace upset so many people.
A.: The voices that condemn this concert are not the voices of the huge majority of Cuban migrant workers, much less the voices of the 11 million who live in Cuba. The uncomfortable and aggressive voices are those of the small but very powerful Cuban ultraright, who are very kissy-kissy with the U.S. ultraright — and you know what they do all over the world. An event for peace bothers the ultraright because the nature of these people is aggressive, like the blockade, and because the whole idea (and peace itself) undermine the hatred that nurtures them.
Q.: Many wars have been unleashed throughout the world — armed, ideological, economic wars — and this concert is intended to be a peace counteroffensive. In favor of what causes, or against what acts, is it worthwhile to “shoot” songs?
A.: Juanes says he wishes this concert to be white. He has also said that white is the absence of color, which I interpret to mean that one cause should not predominate against another, that we all should have the same opportunities. I believe that this concert invites all the songs that transmit aspects of the human condition, which is something very diverse, very rich, outside ideologies. For that reason, everything that means respect for the right to life, to education, to freedom, to diversity, will be valid. And rather than “shooting” songs, it will be a concert where songs will be blown, so that the wind — aided by the satellite antennas — will carry them as softly as possible everywhere.
Q.: Among your songs, there are several that come out against war. Shall we hear some of them at the concert? Maybe a preview of your new disc, “Second Date”?
A.: Before we do the program, we’ll need to know how many artists will participate. Then we can have an idea of the repertoire allotted to each performer. The album “Second Date” is very focused on the Cuban reality; perhaps I’ll sing some of its songs. I don’t know yet. At one point, I thought of singing “Tip of the Cloud,” which I was unable to do in the homage to Pete Seeger. I’ve also thought about “Days and Flowers.” But I could also dust off a song titled “White,” which I wrote some 40 years ago.
Q.: To sing on Revolution Square presupposes a duty, as we recall your anthological theme. What’s the significance of doing it today, under the present circumstances and in the company of all those musicians?
A.: It continues to be a duty and, of course, also a pleasure.
Q.: You have just given several concerts in Ecuador, one of the centers of the social renovation that’s taking place in Latin America. From your experience during that visit, your contact with the people, and in the context of the recent coup d’état in Honduras, the worldwide crisis, and the Yankee bases in Colombia, what signs or lessons should we see or learn regarding the immediate future of Latin America?
A.: I believe the coup d’état in Honduras is very similar to the one Pinochet staged in Chile, and I don’t think that the one in Honduras was unaided. The ambitious people have again stained the dignity of the armed forces of a Latin American country. Many people have been wounded by gunfire and only the vigilant presence of TeleSur has prevented more killings. It is obvious that the people of Honduras will have the last word. And the intensity of what I have experienced in Asunción and Guayaquil reinforces my confidence that the second Latin American Independence is marching on.
