Maykel Castillo Pérez, better known as “El Osorbo” or Maykel Obsorbo, is a rebellious Cuban rapper born in Havana on August 20, 1983. From humble beginnings and a self-taught background, Obsorbo is, alongside Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the leaders of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) in Cuba and one of the most significant figures in the struggle that an increasing number of young Cuban activists are waging against the regime on the island.
In 2015, Maykel was imprisoned for his controversial song "Por ti señor," in which he blames Fidel Castro for the ills and precarious situation faced by the Cuban people. "Por ti señor is why 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 (the 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 tried and sentenced to a year and a half in prison (six months more than the prosecutor's request), for the alleged crime of assaulting 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 long list of detentions, police abuses, and harassment from State Security against his friends and family, and he has personally endured mistreatment and assaults by Cuban police officers.
In August 2020, he made headlines for sewing his mouth shut in protest against the constant harassment and repression he was enduring.
On November 18, 2020, he began a hunger and thirst strike alongside Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara inside the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement, when State Security agents cut off their food supply and took the food and money from the neighbor who was helping them. Later, the writer Katherine Bisquet Rodríguez, Iliana Hernández, the activist Esteban Rodríguez, and the self-employed worker Osmani Pardo also joined the strike.
Alcántara and Obsorbo presented a deteriorated state of health. The main demand of the hunger strikers was the release of Denis Solís, also a member of the San Isidro Movement.
In December 2020, Maykel was part of 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 like “DIAZCARAO,” where they attack the management of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and the entire clique heading 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 track with Funky, "El Aletazo de Alpidio," was released following the events of November 27, when Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso used violence against the protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Culture to demand the release of several detained artists and activists.
On February 5, 2021, alongside 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.
