A popular Cuban group, Los Tres de la Habana (pictured at right at a recent show in Canada), took advantage of a performance in Cancun, Mexico to flee Cuba and petition asylum in the United States:

The popular Cuban percussion and vocal band arrived in Cancun in October on a cultural exchange contract where they would perform for a little over a month. Once the last commitment was finalized on December 17th, they crossed the border between the United States and Mexico through the city of Tijuana into southern California, where they petitioned for political asylum.

The group — now in Miami, minus one member who decided to go back to Cuba — say they “felt bound at the hands and at the feet” in Cuba “both artistically and economically”. Earlier this month, 17 artists left the island in search of political asylum in the U.S., among them members of the Cuban National Ballet Company and the Cuban National Circus, respectively.

The most high-profile of Cuban defections in recent months is that of television personality Carlos Otero, who defected to Canada while shooting a show there and later filed for asylum in the U.S. at the border.

In 2004, over 40 members of a dance troupe also filed for asylum in the U.S.

Via / 20 Minutos

Image via TorontoHispano.com