The Cuban musician and poet Jorge Lian García Díaz, artistically known as Kamankola, criticized in an interview with Tania Costa, on CiberCuba, the attitude of certain reggaeton artists who attempt to join the cause for the freedom of Cuba at the last minute, when they sense that the regime is nearing its end, after years of silence or alignment with the system.
The artist, who has been a consistent voice of the Cuban musical underground against the dictatorship for years, highlighted this opportunism in response to a question from CiberCuba regarding how an artist can contribute to the freedom of our country and whether he sees any laziness in the urban genre.
The artistic name Kamankola, of Afro-Cuban origin, means "mess," "intrigue," or "plot", a choice that the artist himself has described as evidence of his connection to his neighborhood in the Havana municipality of Cerro.
His career has been characterized by a firm stance against the Cuban regime. In 2021, he publicly rejected the use of his music for government propaganda, making it clear that his art would not serve the dictatorship.
In 2023, alongside Amaury Gutiérrez, he recorded a song with the central message: I will return to Cuba when the dictatorship falls, a declaration that resonated strongly among Cubans in the diaspora.
In 2024, Willy Chirino expressed interest in collaborating with him, a recognition that highlights the influence Kamankola has gained within the Cuban resistance music scene.
That same year, he dedicated a rap to the artists Charly and Johayron, who made headlines for their silence when questioned about the protests in Cuba.
More recently, in April 2025, he published the poem "Island of the Dead, of Tears and Hunger", a piece that reflects his stark vision of the current Cuban reality.
All of this trajectory is part of a constantly evolving work that includes his third independent album, titled "Viento" (2021), establishing Kamankola as an artist with a unique voice: the voice of exile.
He is now working on a new album, which is about to be released and is titled "Diez akapelas en guaguancó desde un Miami que se suicida." He also hopes to soon present his book, "Akapelas," which includes the verses he has been recording with his phone while walking.
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