Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna
* 1968
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“To say, during all these years we have been working extremely hard, we have worked on an especially useful objective, because the Cuban regime is uncomfortable talking about racial issues and issues of racial discrimination. Fortunately, in recent years, the communist regime has recognized internally and externally that there exists some problem, nevertheless, this due to the pressure of civil society itself, due to the pressure of the ‘Citizen Committee’ itself with its complaints, with its advocacy activity politics. We have felt accompanied by international cooperation agencies, but of course the Cuban regime, especially the ‘Department of Confrontation of the State Security’, better known as the ‘Department 21’, has always sought the way to dismantle, demobilize our actions, attack us, invade our space, our headquarters and an institutional academic space as well.”
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“Yes, I also believe that, for example, one of the great achievements we made, is that in 2013, yes back in 2013, we had the opportunity to be part of the ‘Cuban Section’ at the ‘International Congress of Social Sciences’ known as ‘LASA’. I can say, we were the first activists who were part of a Cuban official delegation, in which there were both representatives of the ruling Communist Party, but there were also those who were not from the official institutions. Because it was the moment when ‘LASA’, as an educational project, opened doors to civil society, particularly to human rights defenders.”
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“There was at that time also an interesting intellectual discussion, where, for example, it looked beyond the topic of the human rights and the civil society. The topic and problematics of the civil society is now much easier to handle, also for the Cuban Government to assume the category of civil society, but I remember that at the time, back in 2000, Amado Alzar being the Minister of Culture and later president of the ‘Martiano’ program office, many times he demonized the issue of civil society, as Abel Prieto did at the time when he was a president of the unit.”
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“There was a moment when it crossed my mind, to go to Angola as well, it was even a moment during my stage of military service, I had the status of a militant of the ‘Communist Youth’. Initially, I passed through the process, in which I felt in love with the Revolution. For example, when I was 16, till 20 years old, I was listening to all speeches of Fidel Castro. He began to speak to the nation at six in the afternoon and suddenly it was twelve, one in the morning and I was in front of the television and I felt like seduced by his speech. Many times, I even memorized his speeches. Many of those of my generation were generally enthusiastic about this epic period of the Cuban Revolution.”
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Full recordings
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Cuba, 15.12.2020
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“I believe in, and I defend diversity and multiculturalism in Cuba.”
Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna was born in 1968 in Havana. His parents were loyal followers of the revolutionary process and communist doctrine in Cuba. Despite growing up within socialist realism, including listening to the speeches of Fidel Castro, he became an anti-government activist defending universal human and racial rights. In 2008 he co-founded the “Citizens Committee for Racial Integration” [Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial] to promote racial inclusion and multiculturalism in Cuba, following social and educational projects. From then until today, he is the national coordinator of this committee. Nevertheless, this task has led to countless arrests, interrogations, and threats by State Security. As a committee delegate, he participated in congressional meetings in Washington and at the United Nations. He has also traveled to Colombia, Brazil, and Costa Rica, as the committee is linked to the international movement against racism. He resides in Havana and promotes anti-racist equality in Cuban society.
