Araiz Torres, linked to Klatus Creativo, the main sponsor of the event that ended this weekend with at least half a dozen young people injured at Finca de Los Monos in Havana, said that "institutional communication failed at all levels" and clarified that "it was never reported that the activity had not been authorized," contradicting the Government of Havana on this last point, which stated the opposite.
In a text filled with barbs and ironies, the entrepreneur - because she clarified that she is not a government official or a state worker - argued that she did not have to know or verify the protocols, and that the request was made in writing.
He also said that now it is "easier to take refuge in bureaucracy" to explain what happened, and he said he does not give up "on a better possible world."
"Can someone seriously think that both my project and the Finca woke up with the thought: 'Today is a beautiful morning for a massive and uncontrolled activity with teenagers, let's do it?'" Torres joked at the beginning of his extensive text, where he lamented that a proposal for teenagers and with teenagers had been ruined, "so necessary and accessible for the summer."
As an entrepreneur because I am not a civil servant, nor a state worker, I am independent; as a mother of a teenager who knows their needs, as a grandmother, as a teacher and creator who has based her career on creativity, training new generations, defending culture, and the language, I think that the power of the networks' call and the reach of the need that teenagers have for proposals like these was underestimated," she added, an argument that is consistent with the explanation given by Finca de Los Monos.
Torres says that now there are fewer resources and that a similar activity involves "so many requirements" that it would be almost impossible to carry out.
"It was never reported that it had not been authorized, or that it was suspended, so institutional communication at all levels also failed, because all those involved were there for its realization with total ignorance, after a national promotion consented to," he added.
The Cuban entrepreneur stated that teenagers still lack options, that there is a need to adapt to current dynamics, and that it is easier to "rely on bureaucracy," perhaps referring to the list of aspects that the activity did not comply with, as listed by spokesperson Humberto López on Cuban Television.
I am left with the peace of mind that it was reported in writing, that the participating adolescents inside the facility were protected, there were more than 400 of them, access to the institution was immediately stopped when we responsibly saw that the audience was growing exponentially," Araiz Torres pointed out at another moment in her explanation.
"I do not have to know or verify the protocols, I was providing a service and the request for external supports was made in writing. I feel sorry for others and I am not going to give up on a possible better world," he concluded.
Klatus Creativo is a business with over four years of experience that "provides services in audiovisual and computer productions, advertising campaigns, events, and fairs."
Araiz Torres, linked to RTV Comercial according to her Facebook page and creator of Klatus Creativo, an initiative that in its cultural aspect organized the Habanarte at Finca de los Monos, had promoted the event on television and had even shared the appearance on her social media.
"Habanarte, in symbiosis with the Cerro government, with the management of Finca de Los Monos itself, we are creating a kind of event, marking the five years since the creation of Finca de Los Monos, and we are going to carry out this activity to kick off the summer," pointed out Torres during his television appearance, implying that the activity was known to all levels and approved at all levels.
In the appearance, Torres stated that the activity would be aimed at teenagers between 12 and 18 years old, arguing that it is important to offer them healthy places. In addition, they pointed out that there would be "spaces of interest" and other cultural proposals.
A poster promoting the event advertised it as the "Beginning of Youth Summer 2024," scheduled to take place between 5 and 11 p.m., with a ticket price of 100 pesos and the presence of emerging urban genre artists.
The Havana Government denied this Sunday that there were any deaths during the large fight that took place on Saturday evening around the Finca de los Monos.
Hours after the news went viral on social media, the governmental entity released a statement in which it described as "false" the news related to the death of young people, and explained that the incident was related to "an unauthorized activity," where "disruption of order occurred during the movement to the outdoor areas of the facility."
The official source initially stated that the incident left two non-life-threatening injuries and that authorities from the Government and the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) intervened to restore order. The text also criticized independent media outlets and social media accounts that reported the incident.
Despite the clarifications, the fight left strong images of young people armed with machetes and other sharp objects, demonstrating the high level of violence existing in the country.
In the last few hours, the government spokesperson Humberto López raised the number of injured in the incident to six, and reiterated the false nature of the information that went viral on social media.
As usual, the official denial came late, when social media was already ablaze with inflated numbers of dead and injured.
That reality, which is also recurrent in Cuba, prompted a brief but accurate reflection from the popular actor Luis Silva: "Do you know why there are so many Fake News? Because you take too long to provide the Real News," the actor succinctly summed up his feelings in his Instagram stories, in a clear - but veiled - reproach to the government.
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