Cuban artist Tania Bruguera, a resident of Havana, set up a podium and microphone as the backdrop to her performance art show on Sunday at the 10th Havana Biennial, a prestigious international festival. Volunteers from the audience were invited to speak for no more than one minute each, and during each speech actors dressed in fatigues would place a white dove on the shoulder on the speaker, a reference—presumably in mockery—to the Jan. 8, 1959, victory speech by Fidel Castro during which a white dove landed on his shoulder (viewed by many in that instance as a sign of divine recognition).
Watch the full performance:
The opportunity to speak became a forum for those present to protest the lack of freedom and expression on the island. And the reaction has been swift: the Cuban government on Tuesday called participants “dissidents” and “individuals at the service of the propagandistic anti-Cuban machinery.”
This sort of expression remains extremely rare in Cuba, a point made by several of the participants in the show. The further reaction of the Cuban regime will likely affect prospects for similar opportunities in the future.