room for the truce of dialogue and tolerance requested by the authorities. The talks began for reconciling the artistic program. We gave in and, of course, we reasoned with the most vulnerable artists, the dangerous ones, who had no other place than Rotilla to let themselves be seen. First was OMNI Zona Franca: " Friends, this happens to us. We do not want to lose the event. They tell us that you won’ t be included. We do not want you to leave, but you will not be able to perform. Be part of the film crew, at least this time. What do you think? " They weren’ t taken by surprise, since they were accustomed to such troubles. We remained a team, I think, despite the circumstances. Then it was the turn of Los Aldeanos, super stars, a symbolic group, impossible to be censored. We wanted to attend a concert by La Aldea, to listen to them, to shout their choruses. Maybe Aldo don’ t remember it, hopefully not: " Aldo, sing until you get hoarse, all the time is yours. What we would like to suggest is to avoid speeches between the songs. That ' s what bothers them the most and we ' re trying to gain a space. What do you think?". A discontent Aldo sympathetically and quietly accepted. It was not enough to act as censors. We had to camouflage them: " You will not appear on the concert’ s schedule; your concert will be started by Silvito el Libre, who will present you as his guest. It ' s the only thing we can do to achieve our goal. Let ' s do it so or we ' ll be knocked down." And that was so for three years. La Aldea was rapping before the greatest public that they have had in Cuba. I hope the good memories will prevail. When we were gaining more experience as organizers and our commitment surpassed the obligation to conform an excellent artistic proposal. When we trusted that the officially proclaimed changes would be put into practice and that we were managing everything in a disciplined fashion, they treacherously killed us.
The festival planning improved and renewed the social and public good’ s campaigns that we had been executing until then, namely " Because I love Cuba ", " Be Here ", " Eco-Rotilla ". We wanted to develop them with the artists to turn them into spokespersons with positive messages: preventing the harassment against women and the abuse of toxic beverages and substances, which could harm the harmony within the party and the health
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