(en) Blasphemy for a tagger in Havana (fr, it, pt) [machine
translation]
?While in France, following the events of January 7, the debate on freedom of expression
and blasphemy invaded the media, Cuba another event shows us the limits of liberalization
in Cuba that some wanted highlight after the start of talks between the Cuban government
and the US government. The following testimony is damning for the Cuban authorities, we
discover the particularly difficult conditions of detention of Cuban prisoners. ----
ElSextoDanilo Maldonado, artist tagger known as El Sexto (the sixth) is in prison in
Havana for six weeks. He was arrested while traveling in a taxi whose trunk contained two
live pigs. The animals were covered in green paint and each one had a name written on the
side. It read one side Fidel and Ra?l another. ---- The intention of the artist was to
release them in the central park (in the heart of Havana) to return to a rural tradition
in which the challenge is to catch pigs. The performance was interrupted by the police,
she was entitled Rebellion in the barn, in memory of George Orwell.
The light blue Lada carrying him was intercepted by three patrols of the National
Revolutionary Police (PNR). The police officers removed his ID to Danilo and the driver of
the vehicle and took them to the police street Infanta and Manglar. Two days later, they
moved the artist to the police unit Zapata and C, where a teacher told him he would be
prosecuted. He stayed seven days in the dungeons of the unit until it is transferred to
the police Vivac Calabazar center, where he spent six days.
It turns out that this center of Vivac was the destination of dozens of detainees accused
of trying to participate in the performance announced by the visual artist Tania Bruguera
on Revolution Square on 30 December. This performance was interpreted by the authorities
as a provocation against revolutionary. Some of the detainees, who were informed of the
presence of El Sexto in these places, cried, among other slogans: "Free El Sexto" and "El
Sexto return."
The Valle Grande prison where he is being held today, Danilo sent us some anecdotes and
some prison designs.
Daniel Pin?s
Salvador Segui-group of the Anarchist Federation
"The Tank"
When I arrived in Valle Grande, they took my blood for lab samples, they hit me and they
shaved. They also gave me also photographed. During the days I spent in Vivac, they
diagnosed pneumonia, why I had with me some antibiotics, but having removed me until today
they have not rendered me, they not listen to me either done by a doctor to know if I was
in the same condition as when I arrived in prison, or in better condition, or worse
condition. To top it all, I'm surrounded by smokers who do not care about the fact that I
am sick and asthmatic.
I am in the company of four detainees. In this place they call "the tank", there are
people of all kinds. I met four dissidents Alturas of Lisa. Yorlay P?rez P?rez Yusel,
Santiago P?rez and Hanoy.
Fidelito
One day, arrived at the "reservoir" a boy who claimed to have known me in Central Park and
knew my pictorial work in the streets of Havana. This young man of small stature, swarthy,
surprised me when he removed his shirt revealing a tattoo on her back with the face of
Fidel Castro. I explained that I was an opponent of the Castro regime and that the
gentleman that was etched on his skin was responsible for my imprisonment.
He replied that he had no family and he was a "son of the fatherland", why Fidel had given
him a home and that this does not happen in other parts of the world. I told him it was
true, but that if he was born in another country, nobody would have given him a home, but
maybe he could find himself and he had to do really nothing to Fidel. I told him about the
situation of Amaury Pacheco, an artist, and his family of six children being harassed
before ejecting of an abandoned house in the neighborhood of Alamar. They even deny access
to water and electricity.
Then through another boy, who was known in the neighborhood of Vedado, I knew it was said
that he worked for the state security and he always carried a pistol under his shirt. His
entourage called El ronco, but I call Fidelito.
This son of the motherland was in prison for falsifying documents, something he had made
to leave the country. In one night, he tried to hang himself twice.
Yusel the opponent
In a constant inspections that are performed here, a major and a lieutenant felt that one
of the detainees had long fingernails and had to cut them. He explained that he did not
nail clippers and even less of scissors. Major pulled a dagger from his belt and
threatened to cut his nails by force. The boy resisted, then Major said he had to eat them.
When they passed Yusel the opponent, they found he was wearing one of his wrists a white
plastic bracelet with the word "Change". As he did not obey the order to remove it, they
ripped by force. Yusel then exclaimed: "Down with Castro", "Down with dictatorship".
Lieutenant pushed him against a bed to hit him, but the rest of the prisoners got involved
and they prevented correct Yusel. The Tempers flared, but it was not beyond, because the
staff started shouting that they were not going to hit him. It is only then that the
prisoners are relaxed. Yusel spent four days in a punishment cell, but they have not beaten.
"El Puro" urinating on him
"El Puro" arrived quietly. Strong, tall, he must have between 60 and 70 years, and he
never sleeps. He said he was arrested because he was threatened with a screwdriver youth
who threw a ball against the wall of his house. Nobody approached because he never washed.
One day he urinated in the middle of the dormitory, which was understood as a form of
"blackmail" by other prisoners who had to clean filth. When they demanded that the puddle
dries, he said he would do with his clothes, but they refused because it would undergo
more odor again. We realized he was going mad when we were read out texts voice with
everyone's crimes from us. This is where we learned the reason for his incarceration:
sexual abuse of minors.
Fragment of a letter from Danilo Valle Grande prison
To my Facebook friends and readers of my blog
I am saying that I regret not being able to be informed of your travels and all
interesting event on networks.
I also want to thank all those who show solidarity with my case and none of them admit my
follies have been possible if I did not know I was not alone and that I count on the
support of many of you .
It is possible to fill the hearts with hope.
Never will defeat evil against good.
Never retrograde minds defeat against free spirits.
Never will defeat violence against art and reason.
Death never will defeat against life and love.
The test that I am undergoing is an ordeal. Originally I wanted to do a good deed and my
detention is the result of a harsh dictatorship that it is necessary to fight with the
spirit and cunning.
Believe me, sometimes I laugh alone in this dark place of 5.60 m 32.80 m with 37 triple
bunks, between 118 and 190 people, not counting those who sleep on the floor.
I laugh, even if the latrines are juxtaposed against each other with no privacy.
I am happy because I live without fear and, even if they harass and accuse my family, they
will never be able to start my creativity.
This time, I think I have ridiculed as no one has ever done before.
Even if they prevented the pigs arrive at Central Park, while those of the imagination
could see them running with their names inscribed on the side and the people behind them,
as a true "Rebellion in the barn."
Ha, ha, ha. Hugs to all and I hope to hear from you.
Danilo Maldonado
El Sexto
Posted by Salvador Segui-Group of the Anarchist Federation
http://salvador-segui.blogspot.fr/2015/02/delit-de-blaspheme-pour-un-taggeur-la.html
