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AP. Wed Sep 18,12:09 AM ET.
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HAVANA - Cuba charged that the U.S. government has not granted visas to 22
Cuban artists nominated for Latin Grammy awards which will be presented
Wednesday evening in Los Angeles.
Vice Culture Minister Abel Acosta said the delegation had planned to travel
to Los Angeles last Friday but as of Tuesday night still hadn't received word
about visas, effectively preventing the group from attending the awards
ceremony.
The musicians included jazz pianist Chucho Valdes, members of the group
Sintesis, guitarist Rey Guerra and rapper X Alfonso.
Officials at the U.S. Interests Section, the American mission here, could
not be immediately reached for comment after hours on Tuesday. The State
Department in Washington declined to comment. And telephone calls to the Latin
Recording Academy, which puts on the awards ceremony, were not immediately
returned on Tuesday evening.
Acosta told reporters about the artists' inability to obtain visas during a
small ceremony held to deliver the small golden gramophones awarded to Cuban
artists last year, when the gala ceremony was canceled after the Sept. 11, 2001
terrorist attacks on the United States.
The awards Cuban artists won last year arrived here from Los Angeles last
week and went to producers Cary Diez and Joaquin Betancourt for the recording "La
Rumba soy yo," of Bis-Music. The Latin Grammys ( news - web sites) honor a
range of Latin music styles, such as flamenco and ranchera.
Acosta charged that the visa issue was aimed at "limiting the cultural
exchange" between Americans and Cubans.
While the American government has denied U.S. visas to prominent Cubans in
the past, those denials have been reserved mostly for senior officials in Fidel
Castro's government. Cultural figures usually obtain U.S. visas without
problems.
But in recent months, such visas have been increasingly denied to other
high-profile Cubans who do not hold senior government jobs.
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