Opening Borders: First Came the Pope, Next Came Juanes
Not since pope's visit has the country opened its borders to such celebration.
HAVANA, Cuba, Sept. 20, 2009 — -- Withering 100-degree tropical heat and sweltering 80 percent humidity weren't enough to keep the crowds away from Revolution Square this weekend in Havana.
By official count, 1.2 million Cubans -- that is one-tenth of the entire country -- turned out to see an all-star concert from the top in Latin pop, rock and salsa music.
This would be a big deal in a lot of places, but in Cuba, where generations of Cold War isolation have kept most superstars away, there has never been a music event on this scale before. In fact, the last time Cuba saw anything this big was 1998 when Pope John Paul II came to visit.
On the same square and in the same place where the pope came to pray, 14 of the biggest acts in Latin music came to play. And the crowd loved it. Smiling, gyrating, waving their hands and dancing. A very welcome respite from a life that for many here has few luxuries.
"It's time for a change," yelled Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Olga Tañón as the concert began. And the crowd cheered.
The organizer of the concert is Juanes, a Colombian-born singer/writer who lives in Miami. He is not a familiar name in the United States among non-Hispanics -- yet -- but he's the biggest star in Latin music today: winner of 17 Latin Grammys, more than anyone has ever won. A year ago when his native Colombia was facing threats of war from neighboring Venezuela he arranged a concert called "Peace Without Borders" on a bridge connecting the two countries.
This weekend's concert -- held on United Nations International Day of Peace -- is the second of the "Peace Without Borders" concerts. Juanes and several other performers paid the entire cost out of their own pockets. They very pointedly did not want involvement from government, and they insisted this concert be apolitical.
Of course when the setting is Cuba, it is virtually impossible to avoid politics. Juanes faced criticism and even death threats from the dwindling and aging population of hard-line Cuban-Americans in Miami, who accused him of supporting the Castro government. Under pressure, Latin rock stars Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias bowed out of the concert.
