Cuba hosts Peace Without Borders Concert

Peace lovers of the world are rejoicing while haters and those who want to promote conflict are fuming.

Why? It is all due to the second “Concierto Paz Sin Fronteras” (Peace Without Borders Concert), scheduled at Havana’s Jose Marti Revolution Plaza, Sept. 20, to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Peace.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Many popular Latino artists are making two major statements with the concert:

• Artists will not longer be cowed by pressures and threats from the right-wing anti-Cuban revolution emigrants;

• The concert will serve as a “bridge for better relations between all Cubans, particularly with the youth” says Colombian rocker Juanes.

The Cuban poet Amaury Perez explains, “The message is that we should be championing peace every single day”.

It has become a rally for freedom of artistic expression and at least 15 artists have agreed to participate. It is making many anti-Cuba right-wingers in the United States, Latin America, Spain and the world unhappy and angry.

The fifteen artists are from six different countries. They answered the call to celebrate peace and music from Juanes and Miguel Bose, founders of “Peace Without Borders.” The artists will not be charging a fee for their performance.

The participants include Amaruy Perez (Cuba), Danny Rivera (Puerto Rico), Juan Fernando Velasco (Ecuador), Jovanotti (Italy), Juanes (Colombia), Luis Eduardo Aute (Spain), Miguel Bosé (Spain), Olga Tañón (Puerto Rico), Orisha, Silvio Rodrigues, X Alfonso, Los Van Van, Carlos Varela (Cuba), Víctor Manuel (Spain), CuCu Diamantes and Yerba Buena (US and Cuba).

All artists have agreed to perform just their most popular songs and that the concert will not present political messages of any nature. There will be no presenters on stage – just music performers. The concert organizers have requested that the artists and the audience wear all white attire to symbolize peace.

A total of 128 people including artists, musicians, management and technical staff will travel to Havana to stage the concert. Additionally, more than 160 journalists from across the globe have been credentialed to cover the concert.

Concierto Paz Sin Fronteras will be transmitted live via satellite through Cuban television and the signal can be used freely without restriction in any country and through any television channel, website or radio station that makes a request.

In the U.S., the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, HITN. TV, will broadcast the concert.