By Madeleine Sautié on December 18, 2021
photo: Bill Hackwell
The great Cuban trova singer, songwriter and humanitarian Vicente Feliu died last night just as he was about to perform. Ironically his passing comes on the 7th anniversary of the return of the Cuban 5 that he worked hard on to help bring about. For those of us who were in the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5 in the US we will always remember the concert tour we did with Vicente in 2012 to bring awareness to the case in Washington DC, New York and San Francisco. – Editorial
“A Sad blow to the soul of the Homeland”, this is how the First Secretary of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, defined the death of troubadour Vicente Feliú.
Vicente Feliú has gone “as if by lightning”. He was about to sing at the Museo de la Música when a massive heart attack took him away, at the age of 74, as much as it hurts, forever.
But there are many forever in what will continue to be the life of the troubadour, who chose the intelligent word to write the song. Sensitive to the beauty and the cry of humanity, he starred in a way of saying that showed the moral stature of his heart, committed to justice and the betterment of his fellow men.
Together with the best known exponents of the new Cuban trova, Vicente’s voice was raised, which not only increased the value of the artistic movement, but also led it in its leadership missions.
Author of fundamental themes for theater and television, he signed lyrics such as Créeme, which would have been worth to live forever in the memory of his people alone; but Vicente did not know conformism. He faced and engaged himself in the struggle for a better world, from the environment in which he was given to live, he was tireless.
Active in social networks, he used to offer his criteria, which showed the solidity of a lucid and illustrious thought; and before the Internet users who defended Cuba and its projects, he wrote a word: “ovation”, that word that today crosses our throat when we think of him singing forever, because those who have lived to illustrate the stages with the sap of greatness do not die.
Believe me when I tell you that I’m going to the wind: Vicente Feliú has died
https://www.granma.cu/cultura/2021-12-17/ovacion-para-siempre-por-vicente
Source: Granma translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English