HAVANA TIMES – At the least eight members of the Entrevoces chamber choir, belonging to the National Choir of Cuba, stayed in Spain, where they were touring Tenerife. Based on sources from 14ymedio, five of them stayed on the Canary Island and three in Madrid, without further details of their flight being known thus far.
The choir, founded in 1981, is directed by Digna Guerra, deputy of the National Assembly of People’s Power. Their trip to Tenerife, on the occasion of a tour that began last yr to rejoice their fortieth anniversary, was being covered by the local press, which defined the group as “a mixed vocal formation that stands out for its excellent interpretation of music from all eras and styles, from Spanish, English and Italian Renaissance polyphony to contemporary music, black spirituals, Latin American folklore and Cuban music usually.”
On April 25, the choir was received on the Arona town hall, within the south of the island, where the mayor highlighted the ties that unite Canarians and Cubans. “Today we aren’t politicians sitting on this room, but blood brothers and sisters together, thanking you for this chance, excellent ambassadors of Cuban music,” said the mayor, who has family in Camagüey.
In that institutional act, Entrevoces performed a choral version of Chan Chan, by Compay Segundo, and, after a tour of the municipality with the councilor for culture, received several books published in Arona about Havana.
The group had two other concert events scheduled, one on the Leal Theater in La Laguna and its last performance, on Friday night, on the Auditorium of the University of La Laguna.
The official Cuban press had echoed the performances and acts carried out by the choir within the Canary Islands, but nothing has been said thus far concerning the indisputable fact that almost half of its 18 members have decided to remain in Spain and never return to the Island.
Champion Wrestler also abandons ship
On May third, the Greco-Roman wrestler Ismael Borrero, 30, left the wrestling delegation that competes starting this Wednesday on the Pan American in Acapulco, Mexico.
The knowledge was confirmed by Francys Romero, a Cuban reporter specializing in baseball and residing within the US, which has change into certainly one of the biggest sources of escapes of athletes from the Island at sporting events. Among the many mounting cases of defections, was the departure of half of Cuba’s baseball team that played in Mexico’s under-23 tournament last yr.
Borrero was an Olympic champion in Rio 2016, in 59 kg, and twice World champion. Within the last games, Tokyo 2020, he finshed eleventh at the burden of 67 kg. His departure has been disclosed by the official press, within the weekly Jit, which reported that “the arrival [of the team to Acapulco] was marked by the abandonment of the delegation by the Greco-Roman wrestler from Santiago Ismael Borrero, Olympic champion and twice on the world level. Borrero’s decision constitutes a serious indiscipline inside the Cuban sports system and sets aside the objectives of his team on this competition and within the four-year period leading as much as the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.”
Two other members of the wrestling squad, Leonardo Herrera y Amanda Hernández, also abandoned ship.
Romero, accustomed to recounting increasingly more athletes leaving the Island, is the primary to be amazed on the alarming increase in recent months. “The exodus of Cubans transcends any sport and category right now,” he said on his Facebook profile. There was more irony within the conversation with the source from the world of song who confirmed to 14ymedio the ’escape’ of the choir: “This Revolution is great, the way it exports talent.”
