Eduardo Antonio, known as "El Divo de Placetas," revealed that Cuban television sanctioned him for three months when he was a teenager for wearing a colorful blazer that someone interpreted as a manifestation with the gay flag. He made this confession in a reel posted on Sunday on his Instagram account, as part of an informal interview titled "An Afternoon with the Divo."
"I was banned from television for three months because I wore a colorful blazer, and someone said I was protesting with the gay flag. At that time, I swear I didn't know there was a gay flag," the artist stated.
The artist confirmed to CiberCuba that he was banned for "ideological diversionism" while working on the program "Palmas y Cañas" on Cuban television.
The singer was between 17 and 18 years old when the incident occurred, placing the events in a time when Cuban state television enforced strict ideological and moral criteria regarding the image of artists, and any expression of non-normative gender could lead to professional sanctions.
Despite the backlash, Eduardo Antonio assured that he never altered his essence or his extravagant style: "I have always been this way, always, always."
The artist shared that four of his friends took care of getting him new clothes every week so he could debut a fresh outfit every Sunday: “I had four friends who would take care of swapping clothes with anyone every week, so I always had new outfits to wear on Sundays.”
That habit of constantly renewing his image continues to this day. In his recent appearance on Telemundo, the artist changed clothes five times in one day during three recordings: "I did three programs in one day on Telemundo, I changed five times, so the audience wouldn't get bored."
Eduardo Antonio also reflected on what it meant to grow up and develop artistically in environments he described as machista, both in Cuba and Mexico. He pointed out that those who do not dare to be who they want to be end up attacking those who do: "It has always been difficult, because there are those who understand you, those who do not understand you, those who want to be like you but do not dare, and then they attack, which is much stronger."
The singer, recognized as an LGBTQI+ Icon in October 2025 and awarded last Friday with the Icon Award 2026 in the "Favorite and Indomitable" category, looks back without bitterness and asserts that he has always been true to himself despite the institutional and social pressures he faced since he was young.
"I have always been very brave, very brave, and I say this today, but I think I've always said it: this is what the ship brought, this is who I am," the artist asserted.
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