Paz Sin Fronteras II
Encyclopedia
Paz sin fronteras II was the second in a series of benefit concert
s headlined by Juanes
that occurred September 20, 2009, in Plaza de la Revolución
, Havana
, Cuba
. More than 1.15 million people attended the all-star concert made up of many of the top Latin pop
, rock
and salsa
stars from Latin America
, Europe
, Puerto Rico
and Cuba. The concert was transmitted live on the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network
(HITN) and was also acknowledged by U.S. representative Jim McGovern
in the House of Representatives
during morning-hour debate on September 22, 2009 which was broadcast on C-SPAN
.
s, and using the medium of music, speak directly to young people and encourage them to think in fresh ways — to change their way of thinking — and leave behind the old politics, the old hatred
s, prejudice
s and national enmities that have locked too many people into patterns of conflict
, violence
, poverty
and despair, dividing them from one another. It is an attempt to break down barriers and ask people to join in common purpose.
and Cuban governments helped facilitate the concert, including providing Juanes and his company of 15 international and Cuban artists full control over message and staging. The Departments of State, Treasury
and Commerce
, and especially Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, provided various licenses and authorities required for U.S. musicians, technicians, musical and production equipment to travel to Cuba.
s in Miami protested the concert charging that it would service the PR campaign of the Communistic Castro government. The location of the Havana concert was also seen as possibly symbolic by Cuban exiles, as Revolution Square features the headquarters of the Cuban communist party along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara
's face. Various demonstrations were staged in South Florida, where some destroyed CDs from Juanes publicly by running them over with a steam roller. Juanes also received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime.
Before and after the performance, Juanes stated that his "Peace Without Borders" concert is not about politics but reconciliation. According to William Booth from the Washington Post, whose following commentary is now part of the Congressional Record, "Tanon shouted that she brought greetings from Miami — home of many Cuban exiles who live in opposition to the Cuban government — and no one in the crowd booed, but instead whistled and cheered".
The concert was used by Hugo Chavez during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly of September 24, 2009 to criticize the Cuban exiles in Miami for destroying Juanes' Cds in protest.
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
s headlined by Juanes
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
that occurred September 20, 2009, in Plaza de la Revolución
Plaza de la Revolucion
Plaza de la Revolución is a municipality and a square in Havana, Cuba.The municipality stretches from the square down to the sea at the Malecón and includes the Vedado district.- Square :...
, Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. More than 1.15 million people attended the all-star concert made up of many of the top Latin pop
Latin pop
Latin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
stars from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Cuba. The concert was transmitted live on the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network
Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network
The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. was established in 1983 as a private, non-profit organization to create a network of non-commercial telecommunications facilities to advance the educational, social, cultural, and economic circumstances of Hispanics.HITN-TV, established...
(HITN) and was also acknowledged by U.S. representative Jim McGovern
Jim McGovern
James Patrick "Jim" McGovern is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
during morning-hour debate on September 22, 2009 which was broadcast on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
.
Message
The message of the concert, according to U.S. representative Jim McGovern, is to circumvent politicianPolitician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, and using the medium of music, speak directly to young people and encourage them to think in fresh ways — to change their way of thinking — and leave behind the old politics, the old hatred
Hatred
Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike, directed against a certain object or class of objects. The objects of such hatred can vary widely, from inanimate objects to animals, oneself or other people, entire groups of people, people in general, existence, or the whole world...
s, prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
s and national enmities that have locked too many people into patterns of conflict
Group conflict
Group conflict, or hostilities between different groups, is a pervasive feature common to all levels of social organization .. Although group conflict is one of the most complex phenomena studied by social scientists, the history of the human race evidences a series of group-level conflicts that...
, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and despair, dividing them from one another. It is an attempt to break down barriers and ask people to join in common purpose.
Performers
- Headliner: JuanesJuanesJuan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
(ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
)
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Format
Many of the 1.5 million patrons wore white to symbolize peace. The BBC's Michael Voss, who was at the five-and-a-half hour concert, said there was a mood of excitement as many residents of the isolated, music-loving island had never seen anything like it before.U.S.
Both the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Cuban governments helped facilitate the concert, including providing Juanes and his company of 15 international and Cuban artists full control over message and staging. The Departments of State, Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
and Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
, and especially Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton, provided various licenses and authorities required for U.S. musicians, technicians, musical and production equipment to travel to Cuba.
Controversies
A small vocal group of Cuban exileCuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
s in Miami protested the concert charging that it would service the PR campaign of the Communistic Castro government. The location of the Havana concert was also seen as possibly symbolic by Cuban exiles, as Revolution Square features the headquarters of the Cuban communist party along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
's face. Various demonstrations were staged in South Florida, where some destroyed CDs from Juanes publicly by running them over with a steam roller. Juanes also received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime.
Before and after the performance, Juanes stated that his "Peace Without Borders" concert is not about politics but reconciliation. According to William Booth from the Washington Post, whose following commentary is now part of the Congressional Record, "Tanon shouted that she brought greetings from Miami — home of many Cuban exiles who live in opposition to the Cuban government — and no one in the crowd booed, but instead whistled and cheered".
The concert was used by Hugo Chavez during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly of September 24, 2009 to criticize the Cuban exiles in Miami for destroying Juanes' Cds in protest.
External links
- In Pictures: Cuban Peace Concert by BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Cubans Flock to Iconic Plaza for Peace Concert by NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
- Juanes in Havana: "This is the Power of Music" by The Miami HeraldThe Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...