Seidy La Niña summarized her visit to Cuba with a message full of emotion. This Tuesday, the singer posted on Instagram a series of selfies from a balcony in Havana to encapsulate what it meant for her to return to the island after nearly seven years of absence.
“Gratitude is what I feel most in my heart. For being able to be in my homeland with my people,” the artist wrote alongside the images, in which she appears wearing a bandana in the colors of the Cuban flag while dozens of people gathered in the street below the balcony during the filming of a music video.
The return of Seidy to Cuba, the first in almost seven years, was marked from the very beginning by moments of great emotional intensity. As she passed through Guanabacoa, her followers recognized her in the street and she had to stop the car and get out to attend to those who came out to welcome her.
The visit also had its share of economic reality. The artist mocked the devaluation of the Cuban peso by displaying 1,000 peso bills and sarcastically commenting, "With that, you can buy a pile of things," referring to the limited purchasing power of the currency, which was trading at 664 pesos per dollar in the informal market.
But the journey was not just about reunions and contrasts: it also brought music. A few hours after her first message, Seidy posted a second post announcing the recording of a song with three Cuban artists residing on the island.
"In Cuba, there is a lot of talent and many strong women. It's impossible not to record a track with them," he wrote, naming his collaborators: Musteerifa, Liz La Diva, and Yandri Ameli.
The images from the announcement show the four women in a recording studio with acoustic panels, a professional condenser microphone, and a clearly festive atmosphere. "Proud of you and of being able to create this musical hit," Seidy added.
The artist's journey has also been the target of countless criticisms. While filming a music video on the streets of Havana, Cubans questioned the festive atmosphere she promotes in her posts amidst the widespread misery and crisis in the country.
The recordings in Havana represent the culmination of a promise that Seidy had publicly made earlier when she announced her intention to return to Cuba to sing. The artist, who emigrated to Miami several years ago, arrived on the island at a peak moment in her career.
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