Cuban musicians venture into enemy territory to celebrate art, not politics

[Judi Lynn]

Cuban musicians venture into enemy territory to celebrate art, not politics
Published on Sunday October 28, 2012





By Oakland Ross
Feature Writer

KANSAS CITY, MO.—Nearly 1,600 mostly well-heeled denizens of the U.S. heartland stood at attention one night this month as Cuba’s national anthem was played for their benefit.

Then they burst into eager applause.

The next evening, a substantial gathering in Urbana, Ill., did exactly the same thing, followed just 24 hours later by a similar occurrence in Ames, Ind.

Is Middle America going Communist?

Not in this millennium.

Instead, for the first time in its 53-year existence, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba is on a tour of enemy territory, a month-long journey through 10 states of the union, winding up in West Palm Beach, Fla., five days after the U.S. presidential vote.

~snip~
The Cubans aren’t getting rich this way. U.S. law prohibits them from collecting wages for their performances on American soil. To get around this restriction, more or less, the organizers of the current tour are paying each of the players a per diemof $50 — a lot of money to most Cubans.

More:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1277334--cuban-musicians-venture-into-enemy-territory-to-celebrate-art-not-politics

[flamingdem]

1. These articles are always full of errors

The per diem - the guy has to add that this is a lot of money for Cubans - but for musicians it's not that much.
It's the normal salary for a concert in Havana.

These trips really are a sacrifice financially, they do much better in Europe. They do it to build new markets for
the future and to make connections and see family.