Maykel Castillo Pérez, more commonly known as “El Osorbo” or Maykel Obsorbo, is a rebellious Cuban rapper born in Havana on August 20, 1983. Of humble origins and self-taught, Obsorbo is, alongside Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the leaders of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) in Cuba and one of the most important faces in the struggle that an increasing number of young Cuban activists are waging against the regime in the island.
In 2015, Maykel was imprisoned for his controversial song "Por ti señor," in which he accuses Fidel Castro of being responsible for the suffering and precarious situation of the Cuban people. "For you, sir, injustice exists; for you, sir, my people feel sad; you were the one who promised things you didn't fulfill."
On September 25, 2018, after performing a concert at La Madriguera (headquarters of the Hermanos Saiz Association in Havana), where he, along with other artists, spoke out against Decree 349, Maykel was arrested at his home. In March 2019, he was brought to trial and sentenced to a year and a half in prison (six months longer than the prosecutor's request) on the alleged charge of attacking a police officer. Maykel was released in December of that same year.
Since that moment, his tireless work as an activist has resulted in a series of detentions, police abuses, and harassment against his friends and family, as he has personally endured mistreatment and assaults by Cuban police officers.
In August 2020 he made headlines for sewing his mouth shut as a sign of protest against the constant harassment and repression he was facing.
On November 18, 2020, he went on a hunger and thirst strike alongside Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara at the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement, when State Security agents cut off their food supply and confiscated the food and money from the neighbor who was helping them. The writer Katherine Bisquet Rodríguez, Iliana Hernández, activist Esteban Rodríguez, and self-employed worker Osmani Pardo later also joined the strike.
Alcántara and Obsorbo presented a deteriorated state of health. The main demand of the strikers was the release of Denis Solís, also a member of the San Isidro Movement.
In December 2020, Maykel participated in the collaboration between the popular Cuban groups Orishas and Gente de Zona, who recorded the song Ojalá Pase together with him and Funky.https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2020-12-23-u1-e186450-s27061-maykel-osorbo-une-orishas-gente-zona-nuevo-tema-musical
Obsorbo and Funky have also joined their voices in songs such as “DIAZCARAO,” where they criticize the management of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and the entire clique leading the Cuban government, and in “What are they going to talk to me about,” where they call for freedom for Cuba and advocate for their fight for democracy and human rights.
His latest song with Funky, "El Aletazo de Alpidio," has been released in response to the events of November 27, when Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso used violence against the protesters gathered in front of the Ministry of Culture to demand the release of several detained artists and activists.
On February 5, 2021, together with Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, after evading the surveillance they are subjected to in their respective neighborhoods, they arrived at the Capitol in Havana to demand the resignation of the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso.
