The Cuban comedian José Carlos Pérez, Carlucho, responded from Madrid to the controversy sparked by the presenter Carlos Otero, who publicly stated that he would never work with him again.
In a interview with journalist Tania Costa that Carlucho himself requested to postpone in order not to respond "in the heat of the moment," the comedian answered the question of how many friends have let him down by saying he does not seek "perfect friends."
"I only seek out friends. I too have made mistakes. I too have erred. I too have failed," he acknowledged, visibly moved.
However, when asked if he would forgive Otero if he apologized, Carlucho was straightforward: "I am not the one who grants forgiveness, but I am also not the one who judges. Carlos Otero is a man who does not need me, and with God's grace, I also do not need him."
In all of this, he confesses that what bothers him the most is the specific focus on him. "It really irritates me that I am the only person you don't want to work with when you've worked with so many traitors of the Cuban people, with so many people who continue to deceive the Cuban people. Is it me? Am I really the problem? Well, I am the chosen one," he said, addressing Otero.
Carlucho also issued an implicit challenge, asking for an investigation into who would want to work with Carlos Otero, and he mentioned the names of Ana Lidia Méndez and César Leal as potential witnesses.
Regarding what happened between them, the comedian was deliberately brief: "A curtain fell on a person," he simply said, leaving the statement hanging without providing specific details.
The journalist recalled that Carlucho sought out Otero when he left Cuba and helped him secure a contract worth one million dollars, in addition to giving him a car.
Carlucho did not deny the events, but he downplayed them emphatically: "Do you really think that I hold in my memory that there was a million dollars and a gifted car? Do you think that truly leaves a mark on me?"
For him, what was truly important was something else: "The most important thing is that his children grew up in freedom. The most important thing is that he experienced a different system."
Carlucho also made it clear that if he were called to a stage in defense of Cuban political prisoners or against the dictatorship, he would go up regardless of who was present, although he doubted that Carlos Otero would do the same for the Cuban cause.
The comedian concluded his stance with a declaration of personal independence: "I have no need to work with Carlos Otero, or anyone else. I am the entrepreneur of my own life. I am the captain of my ship. I am responsible for all my mistakes and some of my successes."
Carlucho has scheduled a show at the Teatro Las Vegas in Madrid on May 3rd, alongside Robertico, his partner in the group Los Bufomaníacos, in an artistic reunion after 25 years apart.
If you want to buy tickets, click here.
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