Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera expressed his outrage in an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba, denouncing that the American jazz club Blues Alley organized a series of concerts featuring Cuban musicians under the sponsorship of the Cuban Embassy in the United States, describing the situation as "a bad taste joke" and "absolutely inexplicable."
The incident occurred at Blues Alley, the historic jazz club in Georgetown, Washington D.C., which during Hispanic Heritage Month in October 2026 scheduled a series of Cuban jazz co-presented with the diplomatic representation of the regime on U.S. soil.
It was D'Rivera himself who recounted that upon seeing the announcement of the event on the bill, he alerted the singer Daymé Arocena, who was scheduled to perform alongside the Cuban trumpeter Kalí Rodríguez-Peña. "Daymé, how is it possible that they will play there, at an event sponsored by the Cuban Embassy? That seems like a bad joke," he said, as he recounted in the interview.
Arocena replied that he was completely unaware of the connection. "I had no idea that was happening. I have worked there several times and would never have returned if I had known it was under the auspices of the Cuban Embassy." Rodríguez-Peña also wrote to D'Rivera in similar terms, assuring that he too had "no idea" that the concert was related to the embassy.
After the artists' complaints, Blues Alley canceled the concert—scheduled for October 13, with two performances—on the previous day, without offering a public explanation. Arocena reported the incident in a live video, stating that the cancellation occurred to "preserve the club's relationships" with the Cuban Embassy, which she referred to as "the primary direct representative of the Cuban dictatorship."
D'Rivera praised Arocena's reaction as the only artist who acted with integrity. "The only one who protested and said no... was the honorable Daymé Arocena." The musician expressed regret that other Cuban colleagues—whom he preferred not to name—continue to participate in events sponsored by the embassy without questioning it. "What we have is a true absurdity... This is absolutely inexplicable," he stated.
The musician also mentioned that he has no intention of performing at that club again. "I played there several times in the past and I don't think there will be a future."
Regarding the public denunciation made by Arocena live, D'Rivera spared no praise: "You can say it louder, but not clearer. Daymé is very articulate. It's a pleasure, with that swing she has. She reminds me of Celia Cruz."
The musician also mentioned in statements to CiberCuba that "a couple of years ago things were even worse when the Washington Jazz Festival featured the Pedrito Martínez group within the Castro embassy. It's still online. I also commented on it at the time," he noted.
The incident reflects the ongoing tension between Cuban artists in exile and the regime's representation in the United States. Neither Blues Alley nor the Cuban Embassy had issued public statements regarding the cancellation until days after the episode, as reported by Diario Las Américas.
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