The Cuban-American artist and curator Coco Fusco used the case of Maykel Osorbo as a central example of cultural repression in Cuba during a recent interview: «Maykel Osorbo, the winner of two Grammys, cannot sing in his country without being thrown in jail, and he is not a unique case».
Fusco, who has spent over four decades studying Cuban cultural production both on the island and abroad, stated emphatically that the issue is not a lack of talent, but rather the absence of freedom: "I don't believe that there has ever been a lack of talent, intelligence, or productivity among Cuban creators, whether they live in Cuba or outside of it. That is not lacking; there is no problem there."
"What is lacking at this moment is freedom of expression, allowing a variety of voices to exist and flourish in Cuba. That is why so many people have left," he stated.
Osorbo, whose real name is Maykel Castillo Pérez, is a rapper, founding member of the San Isidro Movement, and co-author of "Patria y Vida," the song that became the anthem of the July 11, 2021 protests, the largest popular demonstrations against the Cuban regime in decades.
He was arrested on May 18, 2021, by State Security agents, months before "Patria y Vida" won two Latin Grammy Awards in November of that year: Song of the Year and Best Urban Song.
Osorbo thus became the first Cuban musician to win a Latin Grammy from prison. El Funky accepted the awards on his behalf and dedicated them to him and the Cuban political prisoners.
In June 2022, a Cuban court sentenced him to nine years in prison on charges including contempt of national symbols, disobedience, and assault. He is serving his sentence in the maximum security prison "Kilo 5 y Medio" in Pinar del Río.
Fusco emphasized that the exodus of Cuban artists is a response to repression, not a lack of love for their land: "It's not because they don't love their country, because I know many artists who love Cuba but can't create there."
The curator also pointed to the responsibility of officials and cultural bureaucrats of the regime: “There have been bureaucrats, officials, curators, and intelligent critics with talent who want to help, but there are also others who simply follow the rules imposed from above and are more focused on repressing than on empowering and providing opportunities for artists.”
The case of Osorbo is not isolated. By the end of 2025, the Cultural Rights Observatory documented that 17 artists remained imprisoned in Cuba and another 10 were serving sentences under restrictive regimes.
"There are so many young theater artists, filmmakers, and writers who have had to leave the country due to the lack of freedom of expression, due to repression, not because of a lack of talent," concluded Fusco, who is organizing the exhibition "States of Confinement, The Relational Art of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara," which will open on May 28 at the Metropolitan Gallery of UAM in Mexico City.
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