Carolina Barrero is an art historian, cultural promoter, and Cuban activist. She graduated from the History of Art department at La Universidad de La Habana. In Cuba, she worked at the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center. In Spain, where she holds citizenship, 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 that 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 Movimiento San Isidro (MSI) as well as the lack of freedoms and the repression that is increasing on the island against anyone who expresses dissenting views or thoughts against the regime.
On January 27, 2021, two months later, in light of the breakdown in dialogue with the authorities of the Ministry of Culture, young artists once again gathered in front of the agency for a peaceful protest. On this occasion, Barrero was detained along with several members of the 27N group.
Since then, Barrero has been the victim of several arbitrary arrests, including 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 defending the citizens' right to demand Alpidio's resignation.
Barrero has been warned and threatened during those interrogations where it has been suggested to her that "it would be better for her to return to Spain," lest they regulate her and then prohibit her from leaving.
In February 2021, Barrero, along with the activist Solveig Font, presented a petition on behalf of the 27N movement to the National Assembly and the Council of State in Havana, seeking to revoke the positions of Alpidio Alonso Grau as a 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 outside 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," which is against public disorder as outlined in Article 210 of the Cuban Penal Code, after Barrero printed an image of José Martí adorned with stars, intended as a tribute to the Apostle's birth on January 28.
