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The Cuban duo Gente de Zona, composed of Randy Malcom and Alexander Delgado, harshly condemned the situation faced by the Cuban people under the dictatorship during an interview on a program of the Spanish network COPE.
The artists, who are in Spain to showcase their new tour, reflected on their humble childhood in Havana and delivered a clear message about the regime: "The dictatorship must be eliminated".
About the current reality of the island, Randy Malcom was emphatic: "Right now, there are no medicines; people don’t even have an aspirin. If you want to have surgery, you have to bring the thread and the needle."
They also reported that a liter of gasoline costs ten dollars for a citizen who earns only four dollars a month, and that there are children imprisoned for going out to ask for freedom.
They described the Cuban government as a "narco-government," and stated that the real blockade is "internal": "Practically, Cubans were taught to steal; everything they had to do was illegal to survive."
Both artists warned that the outside perception of Cuba is distorted: "Cuba is not Havana, because it has 14 provinces with millions of municipalities where the power still goes out for 4 and 5 days, where children have nothing to eat, where mothers take to the streets in desperation."
It was also reported that the children of Cuban leaders live in Madrid with businesses, while the people suffer on the island.
Regarding a possible solution, they were unequivocal: "Let my people not suffer; if something happens, may there be no harm to civilians, but they must be eliminated."
Randy Malcom also revealed that repression is not something new in his family: "My grandmother was imprisoned for a year for opposing the government."
Alexander Delgado reminisced about his childhood in the Havana neighborhoods of Cayo Hueso and Alamar: "In my grandmother's house, we lived like 13 people in three rooms. It was crazy, but we were happy."
Randy Malcom described his childhood as "very happy, truly, with nothing, because there was nothing," in a house without windows that took 25 years to be completed and where they heated water with buckets.
Artists harshly criticized Pablo Iglesias for his interview with Miguel Díaz-Canel: "This guy is shameless. You can't speak when you don't know, you're holed up in a 5-star hotel where you have everything."
They also pointed out that there are sectors in Spain that support the regime: "There is a part here in this country of Spain that also supports the dictatorship".
And they expressed a reflection on international misunderstanding: "People who have not lived through a dictatorship cannot understand it."
Since the release of "Patria y Vida" in 2021, Gente de Zona has been living in exile.
"After this song, we cannot return to our country unless that dictatorship goes away," stated Alexander Delgado.
The song, co-written alongside Yotuel, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, and El Funky, became the anthem of the massive protests on July 11, 2021 and won two Latin Grammy Awards in 2022.
The regime even classified shouting "Patria y Vida" as a crime of incitement to commit a crime.
Gente de Zona now announces their biggest tour in Spain, with a dozen dates kicking off on June 25 at the Movistar Arena in Madrid. "We know that Spain loves Gente de Zona, and it is a great honor for us to be able to undertake this grand tour," they concluded.
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