Cuban-American singer Willy Chirino made an appeal to Cuban President Raul Castro on Wednesday: Let my music and that of other Cuban Americans flow – uninterrupted – to the island.
''I call on you to stop being an impediment and allow Cubans on the island to freely enjoy the fruits of the Cuban artistic community,'' Chirino said in a statement at the AmericanAirlines Arena.
Chirino then challenged the Cuban government to broadcast his upcoming Miami concert in Havana, at a park along the famed seaside Malecon – and even offered to pay all costs related to sending a satellite feed. The broadcast in Havana, he added, should be free and open to all islanders.
Chirino's message comes a week after the Obama administration eliminated restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba for people with family on the island. At the recent Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Obama also urged Castro to free political prisoners and reduce fees on cash transfers sent from the United States.
Raul Castro has said he would be willing to talk about "everything" with the Obama administration, though his older brother Fidel Castro, who ceded power to Raul in 2006, wrote in a column this week that Obama had "misinterpreted" Raul's comments.
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