Sing a Song of Castro

Regarding “The Van Has Arrived,” Calendar, Jan. 23: “What does the artist do in a brutal, totalitarian society? Can art ever claim to be above politics?” asked the British newspaper the Guardian after the opening of Ronald Hardwood’s play “Taking Sides.”

“Taking Sides” deals with the case against the gifted German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler, who decided to stay and work in Nazi Germany when many of his colleagues, because they were Jews, were forced to leave and while other non-Jews, opponents of the Hitler dictatorship, chose exile as an act of protest.

Since Castro came to power, Cuban artists have been faced with the same question, although the answer was clearly stated by Castro himself in his landmark speech to the “Union of Artist and Writers”: “Within the Revolution, everything. Outside of the Revolution, nothing.”

Many Cuban artists, such as playwright Anton Arrufat and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, suffered because of their ideas. Others, like Celia Cruz, Paquito D’Rivera and Arturo Sandoval, chose to come to the United States.

The presence of Los Van Van in Los Angeles is more than a performance by a gifted group of musicians. It is a propaganda statement by Castro. While I agree that anyone has the right to perform in the United States, I also have the right to question their motives. And so does the press.

RAUL DE CARDENAS

Los Angeles