The Cuban singer Leoni Torres wore a Patria y Libertad t-shirt this Saturday, after singing the national anthem at the Miami Marlins stadium.
Leoni Torres at loanDepot Park. After finishing his performance...", sports journalist Francys Romero expressed on his Facebook wall.
The artist wore the T-shirt under the clothes with which he sang the national anthem a cappella at the event for Cuban Heritage Day, celebrating the establishment of the republic in Cuba.
Leoni shared a fragment of her performance on her Instagram account.
"Our national anthem of Cuba. Everyone's anthem! A call for the unity of Cubans and the struggle to be free. An honor to be able to sing it and convey the message for all. LONG LIVE FREE CUBA!" he wrote.
Her presence at the event sparked controversy from the moment she confirmed her participation.
Many Cubans criticized his decision, following the events of last year in the World Baseball Classic, during the Cuba-USA game, when the Marlins prevented fans wearing sweaters with the slogan "Patria y Vida" from entering the stadium.
Quite a few internet users, some of them fans of the singer, considered that he took the wrong stance towards the team's betrayal.
"I don't do it for the Marlins, I do it for the oppressed Cubans in our land. The anthem of struggle must be sung where everyone can see it," Leoni stated at the time.
In his opinion, communism did a great job of dividing the Cuban people. "And the saddest thing is that it succeeded. Cubans against Cubans," he lamented.
Other public figures reacted differently to the invitation from the Marlins to participate in the event for Cuban Heritage Day.
The professional boxer Yordenis Ugás publicly broke ties with them and stated that many Cubans are offended by the situation.
"In dictatorship, they humiliated us. In freedom, we don't want, nor will we allow the same. Exile is respected. We have an exile full of families, political prisoners, and dead in the sea. If in the future the Marlins want to fix this, recognize their mistake, and apologize to our community, I am fully willing to be a bridge and participate. Never again will my foot be there until that happens," he emphasized.
Last year, after the shameful incident that occurred at loanDepot Park, the Pichy Boys asked their fans to boycott by not attending their games until they apologized, a decision that the duo maintained this season.
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