Carolina Barrero is an art historian, cultural promoter, and Cuban activist. She graduated from the History of Art faculty at the University of Havana. In Cuba, she worked at the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center. In Spain, where she is a citizen, she was a fellow at the Museo Nacional del Prado in the Sponsorship and Communication Department and has worked in art galleries.
Barrero is part of the 27N movement, which emerged from the protests of hundreds of young people on November 27, 2020, in front of the Ministry of Culture headquarters in Havana to denounce the harassment against the Movimiento San Isidro (MSI) as well as the lack of freedoms and the increasing repression on the island against anyone who expresses dissenting opinions or thoughts against the regime.
On January 27, 2021, two months later, following the breakdown of dialogue with the authorities of the Ministry of Culture, young artists gathered in front of the agency for a peaceful protest. On that occasion, Barrero was detained along with several members of the 27N group.
Since then, Barrero has been the victim of several arbitrary detentions, including one on January 31 in front of the National Assembly of People's Power, located in the Capitol of Havana, alongside the rapper Maykel Osorbo Castillo, with whom he was conducting a live broadcast defending the citizens' right to demand Alpidio's resignation.
Barrero has been warned and threatened during those interrogations where she has been suggested to "better return to Spain," lest she be regulated and later prohibited from leaving.
In February 2021, Barrero and the activist Solveig Font presented a petition on behalf of the 27N movement to the National Assembly and the Council of State in Havana, calling for the revocation of Alpidio Alonso Grau's positions as deputy and Minister of Culture of Cuba due to the violence with which the minister and other leaders attacked the young people who were peacefully camping in front of the institution. Days later, Barrero was detained by police officers while she was doing some shopping.
In February 2012, State Security threatened the young woman with charges of "clandestine printing" against public disorder, as stipulated in Article 210 of the Cuban Penal Code, after Barrero printed an image of José Martí adorned with stars, intending to pay tribute to the Apostle's birthday on January 28.
