Medicines Donated by Silvio Rodríguez and Several Spanish Organizations Arrive in Cuba

March 14, 2022

A container with medical supplies, some of them purchased with funds raised during a concert offered by singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez in Madrid, arrived on March 9th at the western port of Mariel, according to official media on the Island published today.

Several solidarity groups organized under the State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MESC) also participated in the shipment, according to information from the official newspaper Granma.

The cargo destined for the Cuban people is composed of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antipyretics and other health care materials such as surgical and examination gloves, probes, personal protective equipment, syringes and masks, according to a publication on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Mincex) of the Island.

According to that agency, the shipment that departed on February 12th from San Fernando de Henares, in the Spanish capital, has an approximate value close to 300,000 euros, "composed of a direct expense in purchases of 80,736 euros and the rest in various donations in kind."

The information released by Mincex points out that the initiative came from Silvio himself, who sent an email to the MediCuba company representative in Spain with the proposal to donate the proceeds from his two concerts in Madrid and from an award he would receive in León, for the purchase of medical supplies.

The troubadour agreed to combine his donation with that of "the rest of the solidarity associations with Cuba in the Spanish State," the statement adds.

At the end of last year Silvio offered a concert at the Miguel Ríos auditorium in Rivas Vaciamadrid, as a closing of the festivities for the Centennial of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE).

More than 8,000 people attend Silvio Rodríguez's concert in Madrid

A few days later he repeated his performance at the WinZink Center in the Spanish capital, titled La espera terminó, in which he performed songs from his album Para la espera, premiered in 2020, along with classics from his vast and acclaimed discography.

The Mincex note states that before this shipment, another had been dispatched from the city of Barcelona, as part of the campaign "Tons of Solidarity Against the Blockade of Cuba," promoted by the 58 groups that make up the MESC.