Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (born December 2, 1987) is a Cuban performance artist and dissident, known for his public performances that openly criticize the Cuban government and its policies.[1][2] A self-taught artist, Alcántara lives in the El Cerro neighborhood of Havana.[3] Since 2018 Alcántara has been arrested dozens of times[4] for his performances in violation of Decree 349, a Cuban law requiring artists to obtain advance permission for public and private exhibitions and performances.[5][6][7]
Protests and arrests
In 2017, Otero Alcántara was arrested for "being in illicit possession of construction materials" in relation to his work as a cofounder of the #00 bienal de la Habana, an alternative event to the official Havana Biennial.[8][9]
In April 2019, Otero Alcántara was arrested by the Cuban police during his participation in a satellite event of the Havana Biennial.[6][10] On August 10, he was arrested in Havana during part of his performance Drapeau. In the work, he wore a Cuban flag draped over his shoulders, in defiance of a 2019 law dictating how the flag could be used.[3][11][12]
On March 1, 2020, Otero Alcántara was arrested in Havana on the charges of defiling patriotic symbols and property damage.[13][4] At the time of the arrest, was on the way to join a protest at the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television against the censorship of a two men kissing on television.[14][15] In November 2020, Otero Alcántara took part in a hunger strike as part of the San Isidro Movement. He and other protesters were twice detained by police during the protest.[16][17][18] On December 3, he was released from prison, but arrested again the same day when he joined another protest. He was released to house arrest the same day.[19][20] In April 2021, he initiated another hunger strike, gaining widespread attention and global media coverage.[21]
In May 2021, State security agents dressed as civilians broke into Otero Alcántara's house and forcibly detained him and the poet Afrika Reina.[22][23] To justify their assault, agents outside the house yelled, "¡Qué viva la revolución! (May the revolution live!) ¡Qué viva Fidel! (Long live Fidel)" The agents also confiscated some of Otero Alcántara's most recent art work.[23][22] Later that month, in solidarity with Otero Alcántara, a group of activist Cuban artists working under the name 27N asked the director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Havana to remove their works from public exhibition.[22] On May 21, 2021, Amnesty International named Otero Alcantara a prisoner of conscience.[24][25] A few days later a group of prominent international cultural figures, including Junot Díaz, Edwidge Danticat, Julie Mehretu, John Akomfrah, and Carrie Mae Weems, issued a public letter to the Cuban president requesting Alcántara's release.[26]
On May 31, 2021, the San Isidro Movement confirmed that Otero Alcántara had been released from custody, after being detained in a hospital for over four weeks.[26] On July 11, 2021, he was arrested by Cuban authorities on his way to join a march calling for freedom. Since then, he has been under custody.[27] On May 30 and 31st of 2022, a closed trial was held in the District Court of Marianao in Havana. Although the international press requested access to the trial, the Cuban Government did not reply to requests. At that time, he was facing up to 7 years in prison.[28] In June of 2022, Otero Alcántara was sentenced to 5 years of incarceration to be served at a Maximum Security Prison in Guanajay, located in the province of Artemisa, Cuba. As of November 2024, he continues to serve his sentence.[29]
Awards and recognition
In September 2021, Time named Otero Alcántara as one of the 100 most influential people in the world on their annual Time 100 list.[30]
In 2022, Otero Alcántara was one of six recipients of the 2022 Claus Impact Award for his performances that addresses the critical conditions that Cuban citizens are facing.[31] The six other recipients include Ailton Krenak, Alain Gomis, Hassan Darsi, María Medrano, and May al-Ibrashy.
