Miami, June 29, 2023 – This Thursday, July 6, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) commemorates in Miami (United States) two years since the peaceful protests of July 2021 (11J) in Cuba, the most massive that have been recorded on the island in recent years. It will do so through ‘We are searching for another Cuba’, the name of the art exhibition held in conjunction with Civil Rights Defenders and Cuban producer Anyelo Troya, which reflects the struggles of those who have been victims of repression and violence exercised by the State.

The exhibition, which begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the Hodler Gallery (257 NW 24th St, Miami, FL 33127), is an X-ray of daily life in Cuba, the demonstrations, the cases of harassment, the stories of people deprived of their freedom for political reasons and their families, and the stories of Cubans who dream of a different country, the same people who seek a free island. Those who wish to participate may do so by registering at this link.

“‘We are searching for another Cuba’ comes from the name of a poem written by a person imprisoned for marching in the protests of 11J. In it, the word ‘Freedom’ is the slogan of those who remain in prison for demanding their rights in Cuba,” says Carlos Quesada, executive director of Race and Equality..

The art exhibit will open with a panel discussion, which will feature the president of the San Isidro Movement in the United States, Cuban actress and activist Iris Ruiz; academic and activist Joanna Columbié; and the director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, Jorge Duany, who will reflect on the historic demonstrations, what has happened after two years have passed, and the future of the island.

The protests of July 11 and 12, 2021 spread throughout Cuba, thanks to social networks that allowed the news to spread that a group of people in San Antonio de los Baños, a municipality in the province of Artemisa, had taken to the streets to demonstrate against the State, in response to the serious economic, social and political crisis, which still affects the Cuban citizenry.

The demonstrations, which were then brutally repressed by the authorities of this country, left a balance of 1555 people arbitrarily detained, of which 681 remain imprisoned, according to a report published in early June 2023 by the organization Justicia 11J^[1].

Race and Equality invites people living in or visiting Miami to attend the art exhibition ‘We are searching for another Cuba’, with which we commemorate the two years of the 11J protests, and we will demand the Cuban State to release those deprived of their freedom for political reasons. We will also call for an end to repression and all forms of violence against dissident voices. We will remember those who exercised their legitimate right to demonstrate in 2021, those who dream of a country in freedom.

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[1] Political detentions – Justice 11J. Published on June 7, 2023. Available: https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?u=4bd0b7d67e3a80c4ad07b3deb&id=59f5d969cf