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For now, no one knows exactly what will happen next Wednesday, January 24. For the past few days, various media outlets have reported on an upcoming event: the revelation of Fidel Castro's will, who was the president of Cuba for almost half a century.
The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has been imprisoned several times recently for his political irreverence towards the Cuban government, announced on his Facebook account: “On Wednesday, the 24th at 8 PM, Fidel Castro's testament will be revealed.”
From the National Center for Art and Culture in Paris, known as the Pompidou Center, Alcántara aims to fulfill, as he states, Castro's last wish: “He gave me instructions on how the entire process should be: I was to use a preferably digital medium, due to the mass reach it needed; and I had to invite all Cubans to listen to his final words. Those inside and those outside, those who loved him and those who hated him.”
What do you mean when you say that you have Fidel Castro's will in your possession?
"I mean that I have Fidel Castro's will! The deceased appeared to me in a dream almost a year after his physical disappearance and told me exactly where the document was."
Then, provide us with some details on when and how Cubans will be able to learn about Fidel's will.
"It will be next Wednesday, the 24th, at 8:00 PM at the Pompidou Center in Paris. According to the time difference, the live broadcast of the will on social media can be heard at 2:00 PM in Cuba."
You have also stated that you have an audio file of Fidel's last unpublished speech. Can we know how that file came to you?
"The file was on a flash drive, inside the same bottle of Havana Club where I found the written will."
Where did you find that bottle?
"I was in a thicket near Punto Cero. That day, October 5, 2017, was interesting because, despite my skepticism, there was a certain feeling of truthfulness about it. Yanelys Nuñez and I approached that place and found the bottle among the bushes. At that moment, I was very confused. With a mix of fear and joy, we took the bottle and, without looking back, took a taxi back to Havana. When we arrived and discovered Fidel's voice and the paper signed days before his death, it was a complete surprise. Above all, I felt proud of this valuable historical document and of having been chosen by Fidel Castro himself to deliver this message to contemporary Cuba."
What is Fidel Castro's will about? Is it your next work, or a work you have already started?
When Fidel appeared to me in a dream, I remember that among the things he told me was that art was a crack where reality was woven with fiction, and that at the same time it was an underestimated area, at least in terms of how it could impact reality. For him, it was extremely important to use the perspective on art in Cuba and the entire media reach that a piece could generate to reveal his legacy.
"According to him, with this exhibition at the French Pompidou, perhaps the most important one so far in my artistic career, I had to take responsibility for making his last wishes public, as he believed that my way of working between reality and fiction was ideal for camouflaging a real document as an artistic gesture."
You have said that the testament is something real, but you have also said that it is a work; you even mentioned that it came to you in a dream. So, is the testament real, is it part of your imagination and your creation, or is it a dream?
"It is not my imagination nor a figment of my own. The former leader really came to me in a dream and first guided me on where everything was. Then he said that I had to invite all Cubans, both inside and outside the Island, who opposed him or loved him, to listen to his last will without prejudice."
According to your statement, you have been working with experts to authenticate the document. What have the experts revealed to you so far?
The experts have confirmed the authenticity of the will after a rigorous evaluation. They are recognized specialists who have chosen to remain anonymous in this matter due to fear of possible reprisals, as it is a very sensitive topic in Cuba. State Security, which is monitoring everything I publish on social media, has already found out that I possess the will, and during several interrogations, they have reproached me for publishing such news. According to them, I am no one to have this document.
You stated that you have the right to use Fidel Castro's image because he has used yours and that of other Cubans. In what way would you use or are you using Fidel's image?
"This statement is the response I give to State Security and especially to the supposed Lieutenant Colonel Kenia on the day they kidnapped Yanelys Nuñez and me in the middle of the street. During that interrogation, she threatened me, saying that bad things would happen to me if I continued proclaiming that I had Fidel's will. I replied by telling her that part of the burden of the Cuban Revolution was the deified adoration of Fidel's image, that he was a man with flaws and virtues, and a public official who owed himself to the people, not the other way around. In fact, the leader was bothered by flattery and the cult of his personality."
"I also mentioned to him that, as a politician and public figure, he had influenced the lives of the people and mine as part of the community; he had made me march in the squares, using my image for his political propaganda; signing documents of significant social impact of which I was unaware of their implications. And all of this was done 'for the sake of the homeland,' giving me every right to criticize him or praise him as I saw fit."
What artistic value can Fidel Castro's will have, or what connection might a figure like Fidel have with art?
Fidel Castro's testament is not art in itself. Fidel, in collaboration with us, used the world of art to express his wishes in an area as free from hatred or political grudges as possible. If an opponent were the executor of this legacy, everyone would anticipate its contents, perhaps something with justified but excessive resentment for the current times.
"And if, on the contrary, it were an official supporter announcing the will, then international opinion would assert that it's manipulated information used to maintain power. These are the reasons why we use the world of art, to gently soften and achieve the balance that the former leader was interested in."
"Beyond the testament, Fidel Castro is a symbol just like Mickey Mouse, Marilyn Monroe, Gandhi, Che, Coca-Cola, or McDonald's, and we artists have complete freedom to work with all this symbolism."
How do you envision the day you unveil Fidel's will?
"I imagine many Cubans around the world with different perspectives connected on social media, attentive to Fidel's latest words. Then, may there be a great reflection for the immediate development of Cuba."
And how will Cubans in Cuba be able to watch the launch of the will, given the internet deficit on the Island?
"That is one of the burdens that prevents us from developing on the Island, and we are currently feeling its impact. On the day of the will's broadcast, anyone in the world will be able to connect and listen to it live, but for Cuban citizens, it will be an extraordinary effort. However, after the public presentation of the will, it will be shared through various platforms such as email or flash drives."
By any chance, does Fidel mention in the will who the next president of Cuba will be?
"We'll have to wait until Wednesday to find out."
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