Joaquin Sabina: Outraged at Ortega’s betrayal of Nicaragua

Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquin Sabina is disillusioned and angry at some of the leftist governments in Latin America, especially the regime ruling Cuba and that of Nicaragua.

“I’m indignant at Daniel Ortega’s betrayal in Nicaragua. This is something that I can’t talk about without shitting on the names of those responsible for such infamy, so much betrayal,” the artist stated frankly, during an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

The last time Sabina performed in Nicaragua was in 2018, in Managua’s Ruben Dario theater. It turned out to be just a few weeks before the beginning of the civic protests that exploded in April of that same year, only to be quelled by a massacre perpetrated by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

The subsequent repression from the Nicaraguan police and paramilitary left over 330 killed, according to national and international organizations, plus thousands injured and hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans forced into exile.

This is the second time during the current year that Sabina makes reference to the Nicaraguan situation. In September, during another interview with the Spanish daily El Pais, the composer commented that he “follows the events in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela with a heart that’s enormously torn and hurting.”

“Regarding Nicaragua, there are no words to describe that scum-ball Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo,” remarked the influential singer, known for his interpretation of songs like El bulevar de los sueños rotos [“Street of Lost Dreams”], Y sin embargo [“And Nonetheless”], and 19 dias and 500 noches [“19 days and 500 nights”].

No longer a “friend” of the Cuban revolution

During both interviews, Sabina expressed his disillusionment and disappointment with some political figures on the left. “Those of us who have been leftists have a responsibility to tell the truth about some of the Left’s disasters,” he asserted.

“I’m very pissed off. And also pissed off with the devastating failure of all the revolutions of the twentieth century. I considered myself a friend of the Cuban revolution and of Fidel Castro. But I’m not that any longer – I can’t be,” he stressed.

“Now,” he continued, “I’m on the side of those who protest and of those who flee the island [Cuba].”

At the beginning of November, the Spanish musician announced his intention to return to the stage in 2023 with a Latin American tour, which will begin in San Jose, Costa Rica on February 25, then move on to Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina, before returning to Spain on April 20th.

These will be his first concerts following a spectacular fall he suffered in the middle of a concert in Madrid in February 2020.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times.