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This Monday, the young Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was arrested in Havana. He, along with art historian Yanelys Núñez Leyva, are organizing #00Bienal de La Habana, which was created in response to the Cuban government's decision to postpone the celebration of the 13th Havana Biennial due to “the economic situation of the country following Hurricane Irma.”
The detention took place this Monday, shortly before the press conference that was to be held “in the private space located on Damas between San Isidro and Avenida del Puerto in Old Havana” to inform about the independent event scheduled for May 5 to 15, 2018.
According to Diario de Cuba, Luis Manuel was transferred to the police station at Cuba and Chacón, in Old Havana, amid a strong police presence. His studio was subjected to an inspection, and some sacks of cement were confiscated.
Shortly after, Yanelys herself, who was also taken to the station for an interview, reported what happened on her Facebook profile.
“At 3 PM, the house where we were going to hold the event was raided by Cuban police officers in search of construction materials,” Yanelys stated, who was told that the detainment and search “had nothing to do with political matters, that they did not want to stop any of our events, as we had already informed them, that there was a department for that, and that they were just doing their job: looking for construction materials without permits.”
"We are not afraid; we knew that state security would start taking measures against the #00Bienal, and this is just the first test," adds Yanelys, while assuring that they will continue with the next stages of the event, including the press conference that could not take place this Monday.
According to what he was told, Luis Manuel "should leave tomorrow, although that is not certain."
"From the official to the unscrupulous"
This is the slogan of the independent Biennial of Havana that "with an inclusive and multidisciplinary character (...) will encompass all artistic expressions and will develop, as usual, its theoretical component. All activities will take place from May 5 to May 15, 2018."
Emerged from the initiative of a group of "artists who defend the event as one of the most valuable assets of the Cuban people and not of its officials," the event scheduled for May responds to a "wrong decision by Cuban institutions" to postpone the celebration of the 13th Havana Biennial.
Yanelys and Luis Manuel, committed and outspoken
On July 25th, the first Museum of Dissent in Cuba was presented by its creators: artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and art historian Yanelys Núñez Leyva. This museum aims to "take visitors through the entire history of Cuba, from colonization to the present day, bringing together under one title all those individuals, organizations, or events that, in one way or another, have opposed power on the island."
Her involvement in the independent project led to Yanelys' expulsion from the magazine Revolución y Cultura.
Otero, for his part, has carried out several performances on the streets of Havana, such as the one recently held after the inauguration of the Hotel Manzana Kempinski, from which the bust of Julio Antonio Mella was removed, placed in the gallery since 1965.
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