The young Cuban singer-songwriter Miguel Ricote, 21 years old and originally from Banes, Holguín, posted yesterday on Instagram an emotional rendition of "Puente (Caribe)" by Ricardo Arjona that touched the hearts of thousands of people both in and outside of Cuba within just a few hours.
In the under-a-minute video, Ricote performs the song with an acoustic guitar and directly dedicates the recording to the Guatemalan artist, asking his followers to mention him in the comments in the hope that Arjona will respond.
"Puente, a song that certainly makes you feel Cuba a little closer. Thank you, maestro @ricardoarjona, for this masterpiece and for loving my country so much," wrote Ricote alongside the reel.
The video accumulated over 74,000 views, nearly 23,000 likes, and more than 3,700 comments, figures that reflect the emotional impact the performance generated within the Cuban community on social media.
Among the verses that Ricote sings, one can hear: "Havana, always in halves / so half Spanish, so half African / I like the idea of thinking / that soon you will color your gray," and further along: "Havana, I love you more than anyone, even though I've never had another lady / there are so many memories that you can't imagine how much you mean to me / our history is long."
"Puente (Caribe)" is part of the album "Poquita ropa" by Arjona, released in 2010, and uses the metaphor of a 90-mile bridge—the distance between Cuba and Miami—to symbolize reconciliation between Cubans on the island and the diaspora, placing familial love above ideological divisions.
The song made headlines again on March 26, when all Cubans stood up during an Arjona concert at the Toyota Center in Houston, as part of his tour "Lo que el Seco no dijo."
Upon seeing a sea of Cuban flags in the audience, Arjona said, "There are so many Cuban flags that at least a little piece I’m going to sing," and spontaneously launched into a fragment of the song, triggering shouts of "Freedom!" and tears among the attendees in a moment that went viral.
Ricote is no stranger to social media. On March 20, he went viral with "Viva Cuba Libre", an original song he recorded during a blackout by candlelight, which garnered over 61,000 views, depicting the Cuban crisis without filters: power outages, food shortages, repression, and forced emigration.
With over 100,000 followers on social media, the young man from Holguín has quickly established himself as one of the most authentic voices of the new generation of Cuban artists who use music as a tool for protest and expression from the island.
Ricote defines his proposal as music for those who are awake, "for those who want to think," a statement that encapsulates the spirit of his two major viral hits in less than two months.
Arjona has been creating memorable moments with this song among the Cuban audience for years, from his performance at the Lo Nuestro Awards in 2015 to when he moved Cubans by singing "Puente" in Miami in 2022, and now Ricote's version adds a new chapter to that shared story between the Guatemalan artist and the island.
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