Estefans hit a sour note

Carlos Santana, at the 2005 Oscars

For about two weeks, I have been mulling how, if at all, to react in writing to the news that guitarist and noted Chéista Carlos Santana had performed on 90 Millas, Gloria Estefan's new CD, set for release in September, dedicated to the music of her native Cuba. I was immediately struck by the contradiction of someone enamored with a killer like Ché Guevara — as evidenced by his fashion choice for the 2005 Oscars, where he sang a tribute to the bastard — playing on songs about Cuban freedom, and concluded I probably would not be buying the record.

But before passing final judgement on Estefan, and her work, I wanted to know what the hell she was thinking.

On Tuesday, she, and her husband/producer Emilio, released a statement in which they gave their non-answer answer:

For the last 32 years of our career, our anti-Castro position has been made extremely clear to presidents, the royalty of various countries, Pope John Paul, the international press and any person who has brought up the subject of Cuba with us. Even when it would have been easier to be quiet we have expressed our discord with the dictatorship in Cuba and we have tried to communicate the pain of the Cuban people to the world.

We have never collaborated nor will we collaborate with any person that supports Fidel Castro's regime nor Che Guevara. This should be completely clear upon observing the trajectory of our actions.

Carlos Santana expressed these words through his representative after his performance at the 2005 Oscar Awards:

4/18/2005. The image was not intended to project a single note of the hatred, anger or revolutionary ruthlessness displayed when Che Guevara was a revolutionary leader in Cuba. It was worn to honor the soulful young man portrayed in the movie, who awoke to the struggle of the disenfranchised and who had a profound political epiphany during a journey across South America. The image was not meant to be an endorsement about a man who helped to establish the Castro dictatorship in Cuba.

Perhaps some people saw his performance and his wardrobe and not what he expressed afterwards with respect to the matter. Mr. Santana spoke decisively during the interviews that were conducted for the documentary that will accompany our new project "90 Millas" and he expressed his desire to perform in a free Cuba.

I have never doubted the Estefans' commitment to Cuban liberty. As two of the most recognized Cuban Americans in the world, they have repeatedly used their celebrity to raise awareness of the tragedy that is Cuba today.

It is not their beliefs I question, however, just their judgement.

If they were making yet another CD filled with tepid love songs and dance numbers, and invited Santana to play a few solos, there wouldn't have been a problem.

But the name 90 Millas immediately evokes the gap that separates the Cuban people from freedom, a freedom that was stolen from them almost 50 years ago, in part, by Ché Guevara. They should have known the news would anger many of their fans, but if they didn't, it reveals a gross ignorance of their own history.

On Tuesday, the Estefans, with their attempt at spin control, compounded their error.

First of all, they did "collaborate" with someone who "supports" Che Guevara. In a close encounter with Cuba blogger Henry Gomez, Santana said, “Ché is dead for you but not for me, he's alive in our hearts.” If in the 90 Millas documentary, Santana disavows that sentiment, why not include a direct quote in their statement?

But worse than that, the Estefans use Santana's own words, and his selective morality, to defend him, and themselves. Santana says his wearing of a Ché shirt honored the "soulful young" Guevara, not the man who later would be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Cubans — as if how the two can be separated. (What's next, Hitler t-shirts that honor his work as a young art student?)

Note in his statment that Santana never apologized.

And neither did the Estefans, who by implication seem to be saying the problem lies with us "crazy Cubans."

The protests will not stop the release of the CD, nor force the Estefans to re-record or edit tracks to cut Santana out of the project. They have stated their non-position position and to back down now might cause an even bigger PR nightmare — for themsleves, and for the Cuban American community.

But the protests must continue, if only so we can continue to educate the world about Ché's true legacy.

Obviously, plenty of work remains.

For more on Santana/Estefan debate, read the recent posts and comments at Babalú and Cuban American Pundits.

And to learn more about Ché Guevara's bloody legacy, enroll yourself in the Ché Guevara Re-Education Program.