Jenny Sotolongo, the Cuban singer known since childhood as "the girl from the stands," published a personal statement on her social media where she addresses a childhood photograph with Fidel Castro and responds to those who have tried to define her by that image.
In the Facebook post, Sotolongo was straightforward: “I sang for Fidel Castro. It was not a political decision made by an adult; it was part of the life I had to live in Cuba.”
The singer, who currently resides in the United States, explained that she was between nine and ten years old when she participated in the massive Open Forums organized by the Cuban regime between 1999 and 2000 to demand the return of the boy Elián González.
In those propaganda events, Fidel Castro recognized her talent and integrated her into his ideological machinery.
Sotolongo sang for the first time in December 1999 in front of the United States Interests Section in Havana, performing songs such as "Let the Children Sing" and "The Maza" by Silvio Rodríguez.
He never received any money for his participation and, as he has stated, acted out of artistic ambition and innocence.
"Many have tried to define who I am by a single photograph. But an image never tells the whole story of a person," she wrote in her post.
The artist acknowledged her past without renouncing it: "I don't deny my past, because it is part of my story. I also do not allow that past to define who I am today."
Sotolongo described a process of personal transformation that was built over time by discovering other realities outside of Cuba.
"Over time, I grew, encountered different realities, lived experiences that transformed my way of seeing the world, and, like any human being, I evolved," he stated.
Sotolongo closed his publication with a phrase that summarizes the full arc of his story: "This photo does not speak of who I am today. It speaks of where I come from. And understanding where we come from also explains why we value so much where we want to go."
In previous statements to Telemundo 51, the singer explained that process in more detail: "I was a child, living a reality that for me was completely normal because it was the only one I knew."
She added, "I don't like to judge the girl I was; I look at her with compassion because she was growing up in a very particular context."
This statement is the final piece of a public distancing from the regime that Sotolongo has been building for years.
In October 2023, she announced that she would write a song about the Cuban crisis, inspired by her followers, stating that she was “deeply affected by the hardship that we Cubans have endured for so many years.”
On June 1, 2026, she released "The Voice They Lent Me", a song that symbolizes her break from that phase: "I am no longer the voice they lent me, / nor the reflection of what they wanted to see."
Related videos:
Filed under: