The Cuban comedian José Carlos Pérez, Carlucho, responded in an interview with CiberCuba from Madrid to the statements made by the presenter Carlos Otero, who, in "Esto no es un Podcast," when asked who he would never work with again, said he would never work with Carlucho again.
As expected, that open confession did not leave Carlucho indifferent. CiberCuba immediately reached out to him to find out his response to Otero, but Carlucho declined to answer on the spot. He did so five days later, and his response pulls no punches.
Carlucho had already given a preview of his response on April 25 with an ironic video on Instagram in which he said, "What a pride! Now I'll respond when I get to Madrid. I don't remember when I asked this gentleman to work with him, but now I'm answering you. A kiss my king." The controversy between Carlucho and Carlos Otero quickly intensified on social media before the formal response arrived.
In the interview, conducted by journalist Tania Costa, Carlucho provided two levels of response: one serious and one humorous.
In a serious tone, he framed the situation within the current Cuban context: "If I were called tomorrow to take the stage where there will be a call for the freedom of Cuban prisoners, where there will be a call for the freedom of Cuba, where there will be a call for the end of the Díaz-Canel and Castro dictatorship, I wouldn't care who is on that stage, I would go up," he said.
He also pointed out the difference between the two. Essentially, what bothers Carlucho is that Otero has worked in the official Cuban television alongside regime-aligned journalists like Froilán Arencibia and Rafael Serrano, with whom Carlucho never had the "luck" to work, being "a dissenting humorist." He would prefer to collaborate with him rather than with the regime's spokespeople, with whom he feels uneasy about potentially crossing paths again in the future.
"They are not moments of hate; they are moments of unity. That is the serious response," he affirmed.
As a comedian, he used the baseball metaphor to ridicule Otero, comparing him to an amateur player who claims he wouldn't play for the New York Yankees when the Yankees have never called him.
"Look, first of all, your audience is very small, my friend, because you work from your living room. Secondly, your ratings are very low because very few people watch you," shot Carlucho, referring to the program that Otero hosts on social media after leaving América TeVé.
The most revealing moment came when Carlucho revealed that, despite not being friends, he was the one who helped Otero come to the U.S. with a job and a car. "Among the great things I cherish in my life is having taken the hand of his two children, his wife, and him, and leading them to a country of freedom. I secured him a contract for a million dollars when he was indeed making money."
Carlucho, who ended his relationship with América TeVé in February 2019 after 17 years with the network, clarified that he never acted expecting gratitude: "I never did that for anyone to thank me. I did it simply for the lineage that saves only us, the Cubans."
Carlos Otero left Cuba on December 9, 2007 with his family, seeking political asylum at the border between the United States and Canada, after gaining significant popularity with the show "Sabadazo" on the island, during the Special Period, a time when Carlucho became known alongside Robertico, with whom he formed the duo Los Bufomaníacos.
Carlucho concluded his response with a powerful phrase: "I hope that one day the internal hatred that they really want to attribute to me can heal those who suffer from hatred."
The comedian is in Madrid, where he has been living for about a year and a half, and this Sunday May 3, he will perform alongside Robertico at the Teatro Las Vegas in the show "El Reencuentro", their first joint performance in over 25 years as Los Bufomaníacos.
Tickets for the show can be purchased here.
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