Jan. 13, 2009
Reprinted from ACN

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 12 (acn) The song Balada de Adriana y Gerardo, interpreted by the Cuban duet Ad Líbitum, captured the attention of collaborators from the archipelago working in Venezuela.

With the text by Jorge Debravo, a Costa Rican poet, and music by Leonel Pérez, a member of the duet, the song brings to mind the separation of Adriana from her husband Gerardo Hernández, one of the Cuban Five, unjustly incarcerated in the US for over 10 years.

The duet participated along with troubadours and improvisers in the celebrations held in Venezuela for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, informed Alejandro Gumá from the Cuban Music Institute's Department of Foreign Relations.

The duet members, María de las Nieves Morales and Leonel Pérez, commented via Internet that it was very moving for them to feel the solidarity toward the Cuban Five from the audience composed of Cubans, Venezuelans, and people from other countries. The commemoration took place in Guárico, Barquisimeto.

"The emotional impact was huge. At the end of the performance, we got a standing ovation, and we could see tears in many eyes. People stood up, moved by the cause of the Cuban Five," assured María and Leonel.

Artists from Cuba and other nations are increasingly including in their repertoires pieces denouncing the injustice committed against Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, René González, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González, imprisoned in the United Status since 1998 for monitoring the activities of Florida-based, anti-Cuban terrorist organizations.