Carolina Barrero is an art historian, cultural promoter, and Cuban activist. She graduated from the History of Art program 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 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 in Havana to denounce the harassment against the San Isidro Movement (MSI) as well as the lack of freedoms and the repression that is gaining momentum on the island against anyone who expresses dissent or thinks differently from the regime.
On January 27, 2021, two months later, following the breakdown of dialogue with the Ministry of Culture authorities, young artists gathered again in front of the organization for a peaceful protest. On that occasion, Barrero was arrested along with several members of the 27N group.
Since then, Barrero has been the victim of several arbitrary detentions, 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 advocating for the citizens' right to demand Alpidio's resignation.
Barrero has been warned and threatened during those interrogations where she has been advised that “it would be better for her to return to Spain,” lest she be regulated and subsequently prohibited from leaving.
In February 2021, Barrero, along with 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 deputy and Minister of Culture of Cuba due to the violence with which the minister and other officials attacked the young people who were peacefully camping in front of the institution. Days later, Barrero was detained by police officers while doing some shopping.
In February 2012, State Security threatened the young woman with a charge 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 as a tribute to the Apostle's birth on January 28.
