Legendary singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez — arguably Cuba’s most celebrated musician — is lashing out at the United States government because they have allegedly denied him a visa to travel to the country. Rodríguez was set to perform at a tribute concert for U.S. folk musician Pete Seeger on his 90th birthday, but ICE seems to have impeded that. In a letter sent from Paris and published in Cuba’s Granma newspaper, Rodríguez states:

“It’s Friday, May 1st, 8:40 pm in Paris and I just visited the U.S. Embassy’s website for France where information about visa appications is published [...] mine is still pending, the same state it has been in since I first applied. Since today was the day I was to fly to New York and the visa hasn’t materialized, tomorrow I am going back to Havana.”

Rodríguez says that his visa limbo is “contradictory” to U.S. President Barack Obama’s promises of a closer relationship with Cuba. Granma reports that Rodríguez stated: “As a worker for Cuban culture, I still feel as blockaded and discriminated against as I do by other administrations [...] and I truly hope that changes someday.”

We do too, Silvio!

Via / El País