Just eight days after setting foot on U.S. soil, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara experienced an emotional moment this Sunday by attending the concert of Daymé Arocena at the Sala Catarsis of the Teatro Trail in Coral Gables, Miami.
The activist and visual artist shared the meeting on his Facebook account with the words: "The concert by Daymé Arocena today at the Catarsis hall of the Teatro Trail was very beautiful. Cuban music shines and brings us together, both in exile and within Cuba. #WeAreConnected."
The published photographs show both artists hugging affectionately inside the venue, with the green neon sign of "Sala Catarsis" visible in the background. The event, presented by Díktuon, took place in an intimate acoustic format, accommodating fewer than 100 people.
The meeting takes on a special symbolic dimension due to the date it occurs: the 26th of July, the anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, which the Cuban dictatorship has turned into its most celebrated commemoration. That two of the most recognized figures of the Cuban cultural resistance gather on this day in Miami emphasizes the idea that Otero Alcántara expressed with his hashtag: Cuban culture transcends the borders imposed by the regime.
Otero Alcántara arrived at Miami International Airport on July 18 on flight AA2706 from Havana, with a humanitarian parole approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. His five-year sentence was set to officially end on July 9, 2026, but he was released from the Guanajay prison on the 7th without his whereabouts being disclosed for several days, a situation that Amnesty International described as "forced disappearance."
"I was expelled from Cuba, that's not right. I was still imprisoned. They were simply taking me to another place," stated the activist after his arrival in Miami.
Daymé Arocena, for her part, is one of the most recognized voices of Cuban music in exile and has been openly critical of the regime. In February 2025, she stated to BBC Mundo that "Cuba is a country burdened by repression and dictatorship," and in that same interview, she mentioned Otero Alcántara —who was still incarcerated at the time— as a specific example of that repression.
The connection between the two dates back a long way. On July 11, 2021, during the historic public protests, both publicly urged Cubans to take to the streets. Arocena then posted: “Demanding our rights is not a crime! Public spaces belong to us! Let our discontent be heard loud and clear!!!”
This Sunday, in the Sala Catarsis, the thread that unites them since 11J became visible once again. Otero Alcántara also stated on this day that building a better Cuba is a "collective responsibility" of Cubans both on the island and abroad, and reiterated his commitment to activism: "I will continue to fight for my mission."
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