The Cuban singer Melanie Santiler starred in one of the most talked-about moments of the weekend by arriving at her concert in a hotel in Havana accompanied by a baby swan and her new boyfriend, in a scene that went viral within hours.
The video of her arrival, published on Sunday by the outlet La Familia Cubana, shows the performer arriving at the concert venue with the animal. "It's a baby swan. It's a gift, a super special gift. She’s not happy about leaving her home," she said with a laugh, holding the bird in front of the audience gathered in the hotel lobby.
The singer, known artistically as La Mami Fina, explained that the swan —which she named Odette, referencing the character from the ballet Swan Lake— is part of her new creative phase: "Odette has a lot to do with it, Odette is an inspiration for these new stages, that's why I brought her, to be with her mamí fina."
Accompanied by her new boyfriend, a young man with blonde hair and visible tattoos on his neck and arms, Santiler arrived with the animal, and his presence did not go unnoticed. When asked about the relationship, the artist was brief but smiling: "I’m happy, I’m content, it’s like, as I told you, it’s a new stage."
The singer took the opportunity to announce news about her career. "The album is coming. I mean, it’s not just anything, it’s the album," Santiler stated, having spent some time away from social media while preparing her discography. She described the event as "a closure and a beginning" of a new stage.
Reactions on social media quickly became divided. "What will be the function of the duck?" someone wondered. At the same time, direct criticisms regarding the animal's welfare also emerged. "Animals are not accessories," wrote another user. Another comment stated: "It's not that the swan is antisocial; it's that she took it out of its world and put it into one that doesn't belong to it. That's what it means to treat an animal as an accessory and not for what it truly is."
Several users also questioned the species of the bird: "That's not a swan, that's a duck, as we've always known," many wrote, adding another layer of debate to the episode.
Defending voices were not lacking. "If it were Lady Gaga who appeared with a duck in an interview, they would call her an IDOL and then everyone would want a duck. Since she's Cuban, here comes another Cuban to criticize. We are definitely not ready for change," responded a follower.
Santiler, 24 years old, has faced censorship in Cuba due to the content of her songs and has gained international recognition in recent years. The reggaeton artist Yomil Hidalgo has identified her as one of the new talents in Cuban music, and Carlos Varela praised her after her concert in Madrid last November. Her songs have taken digital platforms by storm with a style that blends Caribbean rhythms with direct references to the realities of the Island.
At the end of the interview, the artist herself sent a message to the audience asking for support for Cuban artists: “Support the artists from your country, truly follow their art. When an artist puts in effort, it is not just for themselves, but for you as well.”
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