The Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera refrained from judging the Cuban people during his interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba. "You can't approach someone who is extremely hungry and expect them to refuse a can of Russian meat by saying, 'I won't eat that.'"
However, he referred to the Cuban supply booklet, in effect since 1962 and recognized by the regime itself as its main distribution tool, which has been shaping the relationship between the State and citizens for more than six decades —a dependency that, according to D'Rivera, has left a mark on the collective psyche of the Cuban people.
To illustrate what it means to have a more developed awareness of one's own rights, D'Rivera recalled the case of a Venezuelan woman who complained in the store not about the shortage, but about the monotony. “Why do I have to eat the same thing every day?” That question, he said, represents something qualitatively different: claiming dignity, not just quantity.
In that same thread, the musician mentioned the Polish union Solidarity as an example of a people who were able to organize and act collectively against communism, implicitly contrasting it with the Cuban attitude towards the regime.
This reflection comes during a particularly active week for D'Rivera. Last Friday, he was involved in an incident that went viral: he photographed Aleida Guevara, daughter of Che, at the Business counters of Air Europa and posted the image with the phrase "That's how anyone can be a communist, comrade." According to what he recounted in the interview, Guevara did not appreciate the comment.
The week also included his participation in the celebration of the 85th anniversary of Chucho Valdés at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, where both musicians —co-founders of Irakere in 1973— shared the stage.
Regarding international politics, D'Rivera was equally direct, albeit with some reservations. He flatly rejected any rapprochement between the United States and Russia: "I hope we do not ally ourselves with all those bandits who have caused so much pain to us and the rest of the world." He also criticized the withdrawal of support for Ukraine: "Taking away support from someone as beloved as Zelensky, the Ukrainian, seems to me to be nonsense and a cruel act." He then clarified: "But I refrain from political opinions unless it concerns my own country."
It is not the first time that D'Rivera has expressed this kind of disappointment. In August 2025, he described his disappointment with the Cuban people and the musicians of the island as "immeasurable," and in April of this year, he was very clear regarding the possibility of a Venezuelan-style transition with the Castros in power: "The same people who destroyed Cuba will not rebuild it."
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