Sandro Castro has also passed judgment on the recent statements made by Israel Rojas for La Joven Cuba and, while subtle, his reaction has been supportive.
He has done it with a simple emoticon, enough to show his support for statements that have caused irritation among the most die-hard supporters of the regime in Cuba.
The unruly grandson of Fidel Castro seems to have focused particularly on the response that the leader of the duo Buena Fe gave to the question: “What does Cuba need?”.
"As a country, there is much that is needed: unity, personal example. It is necessary to erase the distance between those who make the decisions and those who suffer from those decisions, and that cannot be achieved solely through government visits," Rojas replied.
"Political communication that is well-executed is also needed; we require an update on the ways we engage in politics. We need to listen more to the people. The country we describe must resemble the country we live in; there is still much to be done," the musician added.
Sandro's "amen"
Sandro accompanied those words with the emoji officially known as Person with Folded Hands, a symbol that, depending on the context and the culture of the users, encompasses a wide range of meanings.
In this case, it seems to function as an emphatic support, a request for concreteness, an “amen” to the desire and collective demand that the musician outlined.
A support without grudges
The gesture takes on an additional nuance when recalling that Sandro Castro faced harsh public criticism from Israel Rojas in March 2021, when a video of the young man driving a Mercedes Benz at high speed in Havana went viral.
On that occasion, the musician described the incident as “the stupidity of an immature person” and labeled it as “rude, irresponsible, and disrespectful”, emphasizing that the matter was more serious because it involved a grandson of Fidel Castro.
Rojas' text then sparked intense controversy, with thousands of comments questioning his stance and accusing him of diverting attention from the privilege surrounding the Castro name.
That Sandro is now publicly supporting the person who labeled him in that way speaks, at the very least, of a lack of resentment or a willingness to agree on matters of mutual interest, even with those who have criticized him in the past.
In the same interview that caused such a stir, Israel Rojas spoke about reconciliation, dialogue, and the possibility of a pardon for some prisoners from the 11J.
His statements have raised skepticism among a segment of civil society, which regards them as delayed and out of touch, more a consequence of the "cancellation culture" that the artist has experienced than a genuine political realization.
What does Sandro Castro's support mean?
The public endorsement of Sandro Castro has several layers of interpretation. Firstly, it occurs in a context where members of the Castro family seldom speak out, and even less so to endorse ideas that, although moderate, point directly to a criticism of the way Cuba is governed.
The gesture, albeit minimal, breaks the silence that the political and familial elite often maintain in the face of calls for structural change.
Secondly, this support is part of a recent personal trajectory in which Sandro has distanced himself from the official narrative.
For months now, their posts and gestures on social media have been interpreted as signs of discomfort and disruption regarding the regime, something that has fueled both media sensationalism and discontent among sectors close to power.
The act of extending a symbolic bridge towards Rojas, despite the precedent from 2021, reinforces that image of independent judgment and the willingness to break away from the obedience expected of their surname.
Furthermore, their support for Rojas's statements—which include calls for unity, closeness between rulers and the ruled, listening to the citizenry, and updating politics—can be interpreted as a symbolic validation that even within the Castro name, there are those who acknowledge the wear and tear of the current model.
It is a positioning without direct confrontation, but with a potentially uncomfortable reach for the government, because it shows that dissent does not only come from the declared opposition.
Finally, Sandro's "amen," with hands in prayer, embodies an apparent simplicity that serves a dual purpose: it amplifies Rojas's message among audiences who might otherwise dismiss it, and it reaffirms that the rupture of consensus is no longer exclusive to marginal voices.
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