The Cuban artist Pavel Urkiza shook social media with a powerful visual statement regarding the moral, social, and economic collapse of Cuba.
"The word is no longer Urgency, it's Emergency…! S.O.S. CUBA! INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, DO YOU HEAR IT?" he wrote in the post, which went viral within hours.
Urkiza, a composer, producer, arranger, guitarist, and internationally renowned singer, shared a video generated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) that visually summarizes the despair experienced on the Island.
A funeral portrait of the nation
The video, titled "Coffin Island," begins with a disturbing image: Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel seated, surrounded by hundreds of coffins.
The camera slowly pulls away, revealing that all of Cuba is covered by coffins, a visual metaphor for the country's collapse.
In another scene, José Martí, the national hero, is seen walking sadly among the coffins in a somber and silent environment.
The image moves towards the Capitol in Havana, which is gradually crumbling. The Apostle stands with his head bowed, dejected, unable to contain the tragedy surrounding him.
Finally, at the climax of the work, the entire island sinks into the Caribbean Sea, consumed by the water.
When everything disappears, only a tattered Cuban flag floats, a symbol of a broken country that fades away without any possibility of salvation.
"With that video, everything was said without saying a word."
The piece, which has no narration or dialogue, has sparked a wave of emotional reactions among Cubans both inside and outside the country.
The comments reflect outrage, sadness, and desperation, with many calling it one of the most powerful denunciations in recent times.
"Impressive this visual work," "This is how the people of Cuba will end up if those murderers are not removed from power," "It's not fiction, that's where we're headed, without a doubt," and "Seeing our country disappear from the map is an immense pain," were some of the comments.
Other users highlighted the symbolic value of the video:
"At a loss for words... my beautiful island dying without medicine, with hospitals falling apart, with hunger, with corrupt leaders and a people slowly dying," "What pain in the soul to see how everything is crumbling in our Cuba," and "With that video, everything was said without saying a word," they said.
A desperate cry
Pavel Urkiza, 62 years old, gained popularity in Cuba in the 1990s with the duo Gema y Pavel, formed with the singer Gema Corredera.
He has published over 40 compositions on his own albums and those of artists such as Ana Torroja, Miguel Bosé, Albita Rodríguez, Ketama, Yusa, and Luis Enrique.
He has also developed a prolific career as a music producer, with over 20 albums of his own as well as those of other artists such as Omara Portuondo and Habana Abierta.
This new message of yours adds to a growing wave of artistic expressions that, both from within and outside the country, depict the human and structural deterioration that Cuba is experiencing.
With the video, the musician turns to digital art to denounce the death of a nation.
In a country where exile, poverty, and repression have shaped the lives of millions, "Isla féretro" has become a symbol of collective mourning, a visual cry that encapsulates the despair of a people who, in the words of many internet users, "are sinking, like the island in the video."
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