The Cuban musician Osamu Menéndez broke his silence this Monday in his first public interview since the death of his son, DJ Mauro Menéndez, artistically known as Maahez.
Osamu issued a direct warning to young people about electronic cigarettes: «Don’t smoke that, gentlemen, really. Don’t smoke that. I know that’s what killed him».
The interview, granted to journalist Erwin Pérez for the program «La Trastienda», took place 10 days after Mauro's death, which occurred on the Caribbean island of Barbados between the night of July 16 and the early morning of July 17.
The vape is an electronic device. It works by heating a liquid to create an aerosol that is then inhaled. It is very popular among young people.
Osamu believes that using the vaporizer worsened his son's illness and caused the pneumonia that led to the death of the 32-year-old. This is a personal opinion and not an official medical conclusion from the authorities of Barbados.
Mauro traveled to Barbados on July 15 to fulfill a work engagement as a DJ, despite being ill. The day before his flight, he had sent a message to his mother, the actress Aylín Mujica, telling her that he had gone to the doctor, that he had been diagnosed with pneumonia, that he had antibiotics to recover, and that he was feeling fine.
Osamu revealed that he did not know his son was in Miami before the trip to Barbados. He believes that Mauro deliberately hid it from him to prevent him from stopping him from flying while sick.
On July 16, while playing on a beach in Barbados with his friends, the young man began to convulse.
Aylín Mujica shared a heartbreaking account of what happened to her son. Mauro suffered three heart attacks and was resuscitated seven times. Doctors found a clot in one lung and another in the heart. He was pronounced dead at 1:45 a.m. on July 17.
Osamu described the moment he arrived at the morgue in Barbados to say farewell: "I told him why he was so irresponsible, why he left us, why he made us go through what we're going through, and that we loved him very much. I hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the forehead. I think that was my goodbye."
Despite the pain, the musician expressed admiration for his son's career. "I am very proud. I believe he achieved his dream, even though he didn't know it himself. His dream was to play in the most important clubs, at the biggest festivals, and that's exactly what he was doing all the time."
Since 2014, Mauro has built a career as a producer and DJ, being a pioneer of the Global Bass and Moombahton movements in the Latin scene, with collaborations alongside figures like Diplo, DJ Snake, Tiësto, and Steve Aoki, and a nomination for the Latin Grammy in 2020.
Osamu confessed that he has not been able to play the guitar again since the tragedy, and he spends his days recovering about 5,000 photographs and unreleased music from Mauro's computer so that other DJs can share it.
"I don't think I will be able to be the same person. I don't believe I can be fully happy again, but I will try," Osamu said as he closed the interview, which he described as the first step toward reintegrating into public life.
His partner, Yory Gómez, is also going through grief with him. Regarding the sad outcome, she expressed in a video: "There are no words to describe such a great, heart-wrenching pain."
The death of Mauro is the second devastating blow for Osamu in less than four months. In March, Diana Díaz Olivera, the mother of his daughter Adri, passed away.
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