36-year-old Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a Afro-Cuban self-taught artist. He comes from a poor and marginalized neighborhood in Havana and uses sculptural and performance art to protest violations against freedom of expression. He has been arrested multiple times for his art and activism and is currently in prison.

High personal costs

Cuba has long been one of the countries with least freedom of expression in the world. In an already limited political and civic space, the large protests of 2021 in Havana were met with an iron fist by the Cuban government. Hundreds of activists were arrested, including Otero Alcántara. Torture and ill treatment of prisoners have been documented by Human Rights Watch.

Otero Alcántara is the general coordinator of the San Isidro Movement – a constellation of artists, journalists and academics promoting freedom of expression. It was established in 2018 as a reaction to Decree 349. The decree requires artists to obtain advance permission for public and private exhibitions and performances. Decree 349 is one of the legal instruments used to silence artists, musicians and performers who are critical to the Cuban government.

Otero Alcántara’s artivism has come at a high personal cost. Since 2016 he has been the subject of interrogations, political persecution and arrests, and his art has been confiscated and destroyed by state security officers.

Expressing oneself through art: A basic human right

Despite this, he continued his artivism through performance pieces to raise awareness of Cuba’s ongoing repression of independent artists and activists. Otero Alcántara was detained on July 11, 2021, after posting a video online of his planned participation in the protests. In 2022, he was convicted for "contempt, public disorder and insults to national symbols”. He is currently serving a five-year sentence in Guanajay maximum security prison outside Havana.

The Rafto prize 2024 aims to highlight the importance of the work of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and the basic human right to expressing oneself through art. We call upon the Cuban government to stop the persecution of artists and human rights defenders. We also urge them to free Otero Alcántara and all political prisoners in Cuba.

Spokespersons:

Prize Committee Leader, Ingrid Hoem Sjursen: Phone: +47 922 21 947 / E-mail: ingrid.hoemsjursen@rafto.no

Executive Director at the Rafto Foundation, Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt: Phone: +47 920 66 025 / E-mail: jostein.hole.kobbeltvedt@rafto.no

For inquiries about other relevant interview subjects: Contact the Rafto Foundation's press officer, Kaspar Knudsen. Phone: +47 928 33 267 / Email: kaspar.knudsen@rafto.no