Artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was on day eight of a hunger strike protesting what he said was a campaign of Cuban authorities harassment against him before sunrise,health officials transported him to a government hospital.His fellow dissidents state Otero Alcántara was taken for treatment against his will and they have not heard from himother than through videos published by Cuba`s state-run media.
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Cuban health officials said when he was confessed,Otero Alcántara did not appear to have been deprived of water or food and on Tuesday said he is drinking and eating,raising the question of why he remains hospitalized and incommunicado.In one of those videos which was released,Otero Alcántara seems in great health,joking with a hospital secretary whilst affirming”I am likely to keep demanding my rights as an artist”Cuban health officials state Otero Alcántara is undergoing testing and has been treated voluntarily.While the Cuban government grapples with the economic impacts of the coronavirus and tougher US sanctions,Otero Alcántara and his small set of tech-savvy”artivists” are a source of frustration for officials on the communist-run island.In tweets and videos uploaded to societal media,Otero Alcántara and other members of the San Isidro Movement have documented their campaign in real time against official censorship and the Cuban authorities and security officials which frequently shadow their every movement.”We are connected,” is a frequent refrain and hashtag in his messages,a reference to the recent advent of mobile internetto the nation,which has allowed many Cubans to bypass state-run media and speak directly with the rest of the planet and their fellow Cubans.
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Some Cuban officials assert the self-taught Otero Alcántara is not really a performer,which speaks to his assertion that government bureaucrats shouldn`t decide what qualifies as art on the staircase.Sometimes Otero Alcántara has threatened to drive a wedge between the authorities and Cuban musicians,that lately have enjoyed a unique status that allowed them to criticize the authorities,albeit indirectly,and lawfully make hard currency by selling their own work to tourists and customers abroad.In November,authorities detained Otero Alcántara and fans during a hunger strike,alleging they had violated health restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the pandemic.Within hours,several hundred Cuban artists and students staged a rare sit-in protest beyond the Cuban Ministry of Culture and some of the island`s best known cultural figures lent their support to Otero Alcántara and increased freedom of expression.
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Cuban officials quickly released Otero Alcántara and claimed he was part of a US”soft coup” from the island.”The show is very similar to people staged on other events by other mercenary groups and puppets in the service of the U.S. government,” a post stated in the Cuban communist party newspaper Granma about Otero Alcántara days following the demonstration. “The new show,orchestrated from Washington and Miami,is part of plans for subversion against Cuba.”But Otero Alcántara,an Afro-Cuban millennial who lives in a downtrodden area of Old Havana that tourists seldom venture into,does not fit the traditional image of an anti-Castro militant fighting to return the island to the times prior to the revolution. And he is especially adept at leveraging the obstacles Cuban officials throw athim as a kind of performance art that creates more attention for his movement.While his activism,up to now,does not seem to be an existential threat to the Cuban authorities,it`s proved unnerving to officials. The video for the tune,which has become an anthem for anti-government resistance,has obtained five million views on YouTube.In April,when police surrounded his house,he put on an exhibition where he sat controlled with a garrote around his throat.After he accused State Security representatives of seizing his artwork,Otero Alcántara demanded $500,000 in settlement and stated he was,again,going on a hunger strike.”I shall fight to the last breath for my artistic freedom,” he wrote in a widely seen message. “In my body dies,I hope it`s going to be a spark to the liberty of Cuba.”When Otero Alcántara was carried to the hospital in May,physicians released a statement saying the activist”showed no signs of adultery,” trying to cast doubt on his hunger strike,but said he`d stay”under monitoring.” But save 1 video where he accidentally speaks,he hasn`t been heard from and his fans say they have been obstructed by police from seeing him in person.
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As Cuban officials try to adapt to Otero Alcántara`s new brand of activism,the government runs the risk of threatening potentially improved relations with the Biden administration,which so far is moving gradually on participating with the island. “We`ve seen reports that he is in hospital and his condition is steady. We urge the police to safeguard his well-being in this challenging moment.”Some Cuban artists argue that if greater liberty of expression were permitted,the tension with the state and artists would ease. “Authorized protests. Democratic socialism. And the authorities protecting people who exercise their faith,” he continued.But top Cuban officials warn a harsher crackdown may be on the horizon.”To the mercenary lumpen who earn money off of everybody`s destiny,to people who ask for an invasion,to people who continuously violate deeds and words,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated in a televised address in April while accepting the powerful post of head of the Cuban communist party,”understand that the patience of the people has limitations”
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