Amnesty International Delivers 27,000 Letters of Solidarity to Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
- Cuban artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara received more than 27,000 letters of solidarity during a private event at El Espacio 23 in Miami, following his release...
- Thousands of messages from supporters worldwide finally reached the Cuban artist in person at the Miami art space.
- Otero Alcántara serves as the general coordinator of the San Isidro Movement, a constellation of artists, journalists, and academics established in 2018 to oppose Decree 349.
Cuban artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara received more than 27,000 letters of solidarity during a private event at El Espacio 23 in Miami, following his release from prison and forced exile. Amnesty International and local cultural figures gathered to honor his nearly five years of imprisonment and ongoing resistance against state censorship in Cuba.
Solidarity Letters Reach Otero Alcántara in Miami
Thousands of messages from supporters worldwide finally reached the Cuban artist in person at the Miami art space. According to Amnesty International, the delivery demonstrated that international supporters continued to stand with him despite Cuban authorities isolating him behind prison walls. Astrid Valencia, Deputy Director of Research for the Americas at Amnesty International, stated that his release does not erase nearly five years of injustice or his forced exile. The organization called on Cuban authorities to release all individuals imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights and to guarantee Otero Alcántara’s safe return without surveillance, threats, or reprisals if he chooses to visit his homeland. Today, thousands of messages of solidarity finally reached Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in person. Each letter is a reminder that, even when the Cuban authorities tried to silence and isolate him behind prison walls, people around the world continued to stand with him demanding his freedom. — Amnesty International
Arrest, Conviction, and Artistic Resistance Under Decree 349
Otero Alcántara serves as the general coordinator of the San Isidro Movement, a constellation of artists, journalists, and academics established in 2018 to oppose Decree 349. According to reporting from the Rafto Foundation, Decree 349 requires artists in Cuba to obtain advance permission for public and private exhibitions and performances. As a prominent voice defending freedom of expression, Otero Alcántara faced years of interrogations, political persecution, and the confiscation or destruction of his artworks by state security officers. Following large antigovernment protests in Havana, he was detained on July 11, 2021, after posting a video online about his planned participation. In June 2022, a Cuban court convicted him of contempt, public disorder, and insults to national symbols, sentencing him to five years in a maximum-security prison outside Havana. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience. Artist Ai Weiwei noted in commentary on Otero Alcántara’s work that his uncompromising stance against autocracy reveals the power of resistance and transcends the condition of banality and mediocrity.
Community Gathering at El Espacio 23
The Miami event brought together Otero Alcántara, representatives from Amnesty International, and members of the local artistic, activist, and human rights communities. Jorge M. Pérez, philanthropist, art collector, and founder of El Espacio 23, emphasized the significance of the gathering. According to Pérez, bringing the artist and thousands of letters together highlights what happens when a community refuses to let a critical voice disappear. Pérez noted that Miami serves as a central hub for artists and ideas from across Latin America, and the campaign response demonstrates the broad resonance of Otero Alcántara’s work. Bringing Luis Manuel and these thousands of letters together at El Espacio 23 is a reminder of what happens when a community refuses to let an artist’s voice disappear. Miami has always been a place where artists, ideas and people from across Latin America come together. — Jorge M. The organization maintains its call for Cuban authorities to unconditionally release all political prisoners and end the criminalization of artists, journalists, and dissenting citizens.
