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 holds citizenship, she was a scholar 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 in Havana to denounce the harassment against the San Isidro Movement (MSI) as well as the lack of freedoms and the increasing repression on the island against anyone who expresses dissenting views or thoughts contrary to the regime.
On January 27, 2021, two months later, in response to the breakdown of dialogue with the Ministry of Culture authorities, young artists gathered again 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 become a victim of several arbitrary detentions, such as the 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 in which he defended the citizens' right to demand Alpidio's resignation.
Barrero has been warned and threatened in those interrogations where it has been suggested that "it would be better for her to return to Spain," lest she be regulated and later prohibited from leaving.
In February 2021, Barrero, along with activist Solveig Font, submitted a petition on behalf of the 27N movement to the National Assembly and the State Council in Havana, urging 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 confronted the young people who were peacefully staying overnight in front of the institution. Days later, Barrero was detained by police officers while she was out shopping.
In February 2012, State Security threatened the young woman with charges of "clandestine printing" against public disorder, as outlined in Article 210 of the Cuban Penal Code, after Barrero printed an image of José Martí adorned with stars, which she intended to use to honor the anniversary of the Apostle's birth on January 28.
