The deceased Cuban actor Carlos Massola's mother speaks: "He was my only son."

The mother of Cuban actor Carlos Massola, who passed away in Havana this past Wednesday, July 3, expressed her feelings on Saturday about the death of her only son.

Gladys Escandell Pérez thanked the displays of respect and solidarity she has received from friends of her son, among whom she included, without naming, Cuban directors and actors, but also criticized those who have had malicious opinions.

To all the people who have shown solidarity with his death, I thank them very much, but there are also people who have not told the truths as they are said,” he said in a video published in the independent media outlet Cubanet.

Nevertheless, at this time, here in Cuba there are colleagues who have worked with him... who have called me, have shown solidarity with me, because they know me and know that my mind has been in perfect condition in these moments and in all moments," the woman confessed.

About the days before his son's death and the events that led to Carlos Massola's sudden death, his mother recounted that it was her son's decision to lock himself in the room for four days and he didn't even want to open the door for her.

Carlos refused to go to the doctor, he was feeling unwell and I, to not upset him, because he was feeling unwell, did not open the door for him. I told him from behind the door that he had to go to the doctor, but he refused," he commented in the video, which in a few minutes of being published received several demonstrations of respect towards the deceased actor and towards his mother.

She said those words as a clarification for "the people who have spread things that are not true. If he locked himself in that room, it was because he did not want to see a doctor, did not want to see anything. It was his decision," repeated the 84-year-old woman.

"Carlos was my only son, who doesn't love a son? Please, show a little respect," he pleaded tearfully to those who have not shown compassion in their criticisms of the deceased actor.

Carlos Massola passed away in Havana at the age of 62 from hypovolemic shock, as determined by a family doctor. His remains were cremated as per his wishes, as reported by CubaNet citing family sources.

After seven hours of waiting for the hearse, reported by his daughter in a brief post on Facebook, the body of the artist was taken out of his home in the Cerro municipality with the help of firefighters and transferred to the Bernardo García funeral home located on Zanja Street last Wednesday.

Massola's mother spent many hours by her son's lifeless body.

Massola had become an uncomfortable figure for the regime due to his denunciations of the abuses of the Cuban government, which is why his death was completely ignored by the cultural authorities of Cuba.

No official cultural institution or state press outlets have made any statements regarding his death.

In the midst of the prevailing official silence, the Cuban Filmmakers Assembly published on Thursday, more than 24 hours after the death, a timid text in which it lamented the event, while using a couple of euphemisms to refer to the actor's political rebellion.

Despite the silence in official circles, Massola received the tribute of many of his colleagues and the affection of the people, who appreciated the courage of the actor in expressing his political ideas and denouncing the government for its inefficiency and corruption, as well as for violations of human rights and repression of freedoms.