Silvio Rodríguez thanked the Government's invitation, but will not perform in Colombia

April 5, 2024

The Cuban artist assured that for now he is focused on finishing some studio work that he has had pending for some time.

Silvio Rodríguez will not go to Colombia. At least not for now. The Cuban singer and poet is currently focused on finishing some studio recording projects he has been working on for a long time. For that reason, he declined the proposal he received in an invitation letter from the Minister of Culture, Juan David Correa, to perform a concert in the country.

Rodríguez, 77 years old, has not visited our country for 14 years. The last time the singer, one of the important representatives of Cuban Nueva Trova —born in the 1960s and anthem for several generations of Latin Americans— was in Colombia was in July 2010.

That time he participated in the opening of the third Iberoamerican Congress of Culture held in Medellín. With him were artists of the caliber of Fito Páez, Rodolfo Menderos, and Colombian Alfredo Gutiérrez.

"I feel very honored by the invitation you extend to me to perform a concert in Colombia, a country of Our America from which I hold deep memories," Rodríguez assured in his message to Minister Correa, who shared a fragment of the singer's response on his official X account (formerly Twitter).

"Do not doubt that I will take your invitation very much into account, which also conveys the desire of President (Gustavo) Petro and the people of Colombia," the artist stated.

Rodríguez's most recent concert tour in our country dates back to 1995, when he performed a series of shows in Bogotá. In the letter sent by the Colombian Culture Minister to the singer, it stated that, given the climatic conditions he was accustomed to (the stifling heat of Cuba), they had placed at Silvio's disposal the option to choose the city where he would perform.

One of the options they had given him was to do it in some Caribbean Coast city like Barranquilla or Cartagena, although they did not rule out the possibility of it being in Bogotá, where there is a good number of people who are fans of the Cuban's music.

After the confirmation that there will be no Silvio concert in Colombia (something that had excited university students and leaders of social movements in the country who share his lyrics), Minister Correa tweeted: "Thank you for your kind response. I understand the reasons you cite for not being able to accept, for now, our invitation which will remain, like our arms, always open. Perhaps and hopefully are words that are part of our sentimental education."

Now, as the song De la Ausencia y de Ti says, which hit the market in 2015 and was part of the album "the best of," lovers of Silvio's ballads will continue "Waiting for you/ waiting for you."

The artist has released 20 studio albums to the market, recorded between 1975 and 2021 (the one he would be working on would be the 21st). He also has five live albums and four compilation albums.