Amaury Vázquez Villalón, founder of the sociocultural project Casa Madiba in Camagüey, reported this Sunday that officials from cultural institutions in the city are pressuring artists not to participate in his activities, which he described as institutional racism against his project due to being a Black entrepreneur.
The trigger was an event about choirs and voices held on Saturday, to which one of the invited guests did not attend after receiving a call from cultural institutions telling him that "they were not authorized to come to Casa Madiba." A second artist did attend despite having received the same alert.
"What I find unacceptable is the hypocritical selectivity of the institutions, where they require that for Casa Madiba to take action, they must request permission, or I have to ask for permission to do so while others do not, as if I were an obedient slave. Which, of course, I am not," Vázquez Villalón stated in a video over eight minutes long posted on his Facebook profile.
The cultural promoter pointed out that other private businesses in Camagüey hire musical talents without the need for authorization, while his project is selectively required to obtain a permit.
"Racism remains a flaw that no one wants to acknowledge they possess, much less on a large scale, and even less in an institutional manner. But it is racism," he stated.
Vázquez was straightforward in pointing out the cause: "The difference is that the owner of Casa Madiba is a Black man, and that represents a danger. Above all, there is a lesson that is being sent: that no other Black person in the city should dare to do the same."
The project leader clarified that the Provincial Department of Culture is no longer the source of the pressure; he even mentioned receiving support from its director. Instead, he referred to "obstacles, remnants, and crumbs from former administrations" that seek to make the project disappear.
"I am being fought not to prevent me from doing it, but so that the house and the project disappear, and no black person dares to have such advanced ideas about being black in a cuculanic city, in an inquisitional city," he denounced.
In response to those who argue that among those pressuring him there are also individuals of African descent, Vázquez replied firmly: "No one cleans the floor better for a colonizer than the slave who betrays his brothers."
Vázquez announced that this Monday he will go to the Prosecutor's Office to file formal complaints. "We are going to file lawsuits. But we are not going to ask for permission to do it legally. We are not going to ask for permission to do what is right."
The complaint was publicly supported by user Iamara Castro, who posted a message on Facebook addressed to the "Cultural leaders of the province of Camagüey" with a direct question: "Is it your race or people of our color who are not allowed to grow in values?"
Casa Madiba, located at 479 República Street in Camagüey, was founded in 2021 as a space that combines hostel, gastronomy, and free community cultural activities, inspired by the thoughts of the anti-apartheid fighter and former president Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), affectionately known as "Madiba" in his native South Africa.
Its eight rooms are named after figures who fought against discrimination, such as Martin Luther King (1929-1968), Malcolm X (1925-1965), Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), and Angela Davis (1944).
The project has received national and international recognition and has been included in the official cultural circuits of the city.
The case adds to a growing pattern of reports of racial discrimination in Cuban cultural spaces.
In April, activist Oraisa Estrada was interrupted by the official Cuban delegation while she was denouncing racial discrimination at the UN in Geneva.
In December 2025, actress Anniet Forte reported the rejection of a Black couple in a Havana establishment, while in July 2025, actress Natasha Díaz stated that racism persists in Cuba "especially among those who claim to be revolutionaries."
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