Yotuel Romero, a member of the Cuban group Orishas, visited the former president of Uruguay Luis Lacalle Pou in Montevideo this Thursday to personally thank him for reciting a fragment of "Patria y Vida" directly in front of the Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel during the VI Summit of CELAC, held in September 2021.
The meeting took place prior to the first concert of Orishas in Uruguay, held that same night at the Teatro de Verano Ramón Collazo in Montevideo, as part of the Represent Cuba 2026 tour.
The reason for the gratitude dates back to September 18, 2021, when Lacalle Pou, then president of Uruguay, delivered an unscripted speech at the VI CELAC Summit and quoted a passage from Patria y Vida while facing Díaz-Canel directly.
The recited excerpt was: «Let the blood not continue to spill for wanting to think differently. Who told you that Cuba belongs to you? If my Cuba belongs to all my people.»
Lacalle Pou described the song as "very beautiful" and noted that "those who sing it feel oppressed by the government," in a speech where he also expressed "concern about what is happening in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela."
That moment was censored by Cuban state television, which cut the broadcast before the Uruguayan president finished reciting the verses.
Díaz-Canel's response and the viral exchange
Díaz-Canel swiftly responded with a comment that became the subject of ridicule: "It seems that President Lacalle has very poor musical taste. That song is a lie and a fabrication by certain artists against the Cuban revolution."
The Cuban leader also attempted to counter by mentioning the more than 700,000 signatures collected in Uruguay against the Urgent Consideration Law, which he labeled as a "neoliberal package."
The crossing generated a wave of memes and reactions on social media and was widely covered by international media. Yotuel clarified then that Patria y Vida was "in favor of the Cuban people and against the dictatorship," while Cuban residents in Uruguay publicly thanked Lacalle Pou for his stance, describing him as "the voice of millions."
"He told the dictator part of our song to his face."
The other member of Orishas, Roldán González, also expressed his gratitude in an interview with El País Uruguay published last Wednesday.
"He told the dictator to his face part of our song, and it was very important for the entire Cuban exile community. My mother taught me to be grateful, and I thank the former president for that," Roldán said.
The duo also made their stance clear regarding those who remain silent about the situation on the island: “Not being in favor of the Cuban people is a lack of respect, it is a lack of humanity.”
An intense day in Montevideo
Before the meeting with Lacalle Pou, Yotuel Romero visited the Legislative Palace of Uruguay, where he was welcomed by the Cuban-born deputy Leydis Aguilera and the representative Pablo Abdala, both from the National Party.
From the steps of the Palace, Romero published an emotional message: "Today I do not speak to you as an artist, I speak to you as a brother. Uruguay not only opens its doors, it opens its heart. Thank you, Montevideo, for looking at Cuba with eyes of humanity."
"Patria y Vida," from anthem to Latin Grammy
Homeland and Life was released in February 2021 by Yotuel Romero, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, and El Funky. Its title reverses the official Cuban slogan "Homeland or Death" and became the anthem of the protests on July 11, 2021, which were the largest anti-government demonstrations in Cuba in decades.
In November of that same year, Patria y Vida won the Latin Grammy for Song of the Year, overcoming nominations from artists such as Maluma, Carlos Vives, Ricky Martin, and Mon Laferte. At the time of the CELAC summit, two of its performers—Maykel Osorbo and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara—were imprisoned in Cuba.
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