This controversial Cuban group canceled their Miami Beach show. Logistics or politics?
Cuban orchestra Los Van Van canceled the concert it had scheduled for Friday, May 19, at the Miami Beach Bandshell.
“Our fans are informed that it is logistically impossible for the Los Van Van Orchestra to arrive on time to perform at the Miami Beach Bandshell due to commitments and a combination of flights elsewhere,” said the post shared by the group on Instagram and Facebook earlier this week.
The group’s shows in South Florida are usually accompanied by controversy and protests from Cuban exiles, but this time the orchestra says that they are not coming to Miami due to conflicts in travel schedules. Nevertheless, a Miami Beach city commissioner says that he requested the cancellation.
Miami Beach commissioner, Alex Fernández, said that he requested the cancellation of the concert, according to a post on Twitter this morning.
“For decades ‘Los Van Van’ have used their musical talent to promote the Cuban tyranny and its violation of basic human rights,” said the Cuban-American politician, indicating that “the money raised in the concert would contribute to sustaining the violation of human rights and individual liberties within Cuba.”
The commissioner also thanked the Rhythm Foundation, the organization that has managed the Miami Beach Bandshell since 2015, for responding to his request to cancel the “offensive concert.”
Ticket refunds
The orchestra’s post announcing the cancellation tells ticketholders to contact the Miami Beach Bandshell by email at info@miamibeachbandshell.com. However, a website for the city of Miami Beach that lists the event and describes Los Van Van as “the Rolling Stones of Cuban music” indicates that tickets to the outdoor amphitheater are non-refundable.
Ticket prices for the Los Van Van concert in Miami started at $63, according to the Songkick ticketing site, which also sells tickets for the group’s concerts in other U.S. cities. A VIP table was $612.
Los Van Van offered concerts in Mexico last week. With the Miami show canceled, the U.S. tour begins on May 26 at the Lehman Center in the Bronx. The prices of the “Tren de Cuba” concert in New York range from $58 to $133.
They will also perform the weekend of May 27 at the San Francisco Carnival and at the Roccapulco Club, in the same city, where tickets cost from $30 to $50.
Los Van Van made a similar tour of cities in the United States and Puerto Rico in 2022, their first appearances in three years. However, instead of Miami they performed at the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines.
Dozens of Cuban exiles protested against the show, which included Los Van Van and Habana D’ Primera, another group from the island that is signed to Searock Music, a New York-based company that coordinates the concerts of both orchestras in the United States.
Buena Fe cancels in Spain
The cancellations of several concerts in Spain by duo Buena Fe, which many consider proponents of the Havana regime, have also made headlines. Two attendees of the group’s concert in Madrid, on May 11, were attacked by presumed agents of the Cuban government.
The duo’s presentations in Barcelona, Zamora and Salamanca were then canceled. Although the Buena Fe show in Bilbao in the Basque region did take place, the group’s leader, Israel Rojas, took the opportunity to attack “the U.S. blockade of Cuba.”
“We are paying dearly for our social commitment,” said Rojas, who since then has been defended by Cuban ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, his wife Lis Cuesta and the pro-government singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez.
This story was originally published May 19, 2023 at 1:08 PM with the headline "This controversial Cuban group canceled their Miami Beach show. Logistics or politics?."
