We Must Fight Division, Cuban Musician Says

Proud of the result of his show Afrolatin Renaissance, which received great ovations in this American city, the Cuban musician Ignacio ''Nachito'' Herrera is now considering new projects of this type.

Herrera was concerned about the great division existing at present in the communities, between countries, and for that reason he pointed out that it is necessary to continue fighting against those differences.

The renowned pianist last night gathered artists from his native country, North Americans and other nationalities at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, capital of Minnesota, and after the event he assured Prensa Latina he is ready to do another concert like that.

The Afrolatin Renaissance was, at the same time, a tribute to Cuba, to Latin America, and to the mark made in the United States by millions of immigrants who work and give their best in this country, as Herrera reiterated on several occasions.

The artist who has lived in Minnesota since 2001, who wants the end of the blockade imposed by Washington on his native country and encourages better ties between both nations, wanted the proposal to ratify how music can be a driving force of unity, and how it can be a force of unity and peace.

Concluding the show, he stated that he had mixed feelings: on the one hand, the satisfaction of achieving the dream of this event of almost three hours long that revered the continent's culture; on the other hand, the certainty that there are still many things to be done on issues such as the blockade of his country.

In that sense, he expressed the desire to take the participating artists to Cuba and said he will begin to work hard to achieve that aim.

'I want to wake up one day and see that all this nightmare is over', he declared about the state of relations between Cuba and the United States.

At the same time, before and during the concert, Herrera repeated the idea that immigrants are not criminals, drug addicts or rapists, rejecting controversial comments like those made by U.S. President Donald Trump about Mexicans.

Between the many artists who performed last night was his daughter, Mirdalys Herrera, who called it a dream come true to share the stage with her father in such a big concert and pay tribute to artists like Diva from the Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban Omara Portuondo, 'one of my favorite singers'.

We honored our roots, we let the audience know that that's why we're Cubans, this was an incredible night' , he told Prensa Latina.

For his part, saxophonist Mike Phillips, who paid tribute to Prince, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, said he wanted to be part of this proposal because of his admiration for Nachito's sincerity, because 'it's not just about the music you play, it's about the heart you have'.

Although he has never been to Cuba, he said he wants to go there soon and spend at least two weeks there to enjoy 'the people, the culture, the music, the food'.