Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (Havana, December 2, 1987) is a self-taught Cuban visual and performance artist known for work centered on everyday life, public space and freedom of expression in Cuba. In 2018 he co-founded the San Isidro Movement, a collective of artists, writers and musicians named after the Old Havana neighborhood where he lived, which formed after the adoption of Decree 349, a rule requiring prior authorization for artistic presentations.

He was detained numerous times in connection with his performances and public protests. On July 11, 2021, he was arrested during that day's protests, and in 2022 a court sentenced him to five years in prison for contempt, insulting national symbols and public disorder; he served the sentence at Guanajay prison in Artemisa province. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience; the Cuban government rejected the characterization of him as a political prisoner.

While imprisoned he received the Prince Claus Impact Award (2022), Norway's Rafto Prize (2024) and the Human Rights Foundation's Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent (2025). Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of 2021.

He completed his sentence on July 9, 2026, and arrived in Miami on July 18 on U.S. humanitarian parole. The artist says Cuban authorities decided he had to leave the country, while the pro-government website Razones de Cuba argued that Washington arranged his departure. In August 2026 he showed drawings made in prison at Miami's Freedom Tower, and in September he accepted the National Endowment for Democracy's 2026 Democracy Award in Virginia. He lives in Miami, where he continues his artistic work.