The singer Isabel Pantoja experienced an emotional moment during her concert on Friday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, when she shouted from the stage, "Long live Cuba!" and the audience responded with enthusiasm, "Long live a free Cuba!"
The Spanish singer, visibly moved, paused before the crowd's outcry and delivered a direct message: "I do not want the people of Cuba to suffer anymore."
In one of the most emotional moments of the night, Pantoja promised that she will set foot on the island when circumstances allow: "I know that they love me, and someday, if God wills it and I am free, I will be there with them."
For a few seconds, the music seemed to pause to make way for the nostalgia, the pain, and the hope of a people dreaming of embracing their land again without fear.
The concert is part of the “50th Anniversary” tour, with which Pantoja celebrates five decades of musical career, and that has traveled through Lima, Santiago de Chile, and New York before arriving in Miami.
The artist performed in a white flamenco-style dress adorned with feathers and sequins, against a backdrop of roses and red hues that framed one of the most memorable moments of the evening.
The Kaseya Center in Miami has become a recurring venue for acts of solidarity with Cuba from international artists. Cuban troubadour Kamankola performed "The Cuba I Left" in that same venue on May 2, invited by Alejandro Sanz, in front of nearly 19,600 people.
The Spanish singer Melendi also had a similar moment when he improvised chants of "Viva Cuba Libre!" at a concert last year, in a trend that showcases the sensitivity of stages in Miami regarding the crisis faced by the Cuban people.
The relationship between Pantoja and Miami has its own background: in 2018, the United States denied her visa, which forced the cancellation of the planned concerts in that city and in Puerto Rico. In February 2023, she was able to perform at the James L. Knight Center on two consecutive dates.
The video of the moment, posted on Instagram with the hashtag #SOSCuba, circulated rapidly among the Cuban exile community, who found in Pantoja's words a reflection of their own longing for freedom.
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