Changing Their Minds About Juanes’ Havana Concert

Now, more than a week after the Sept. 20 show, a new poll reveals attitudes toward the event may be changing and many who initially opposed the concert are now glad it took place.

The poll, taken by Bendixen & Associates, claims that Juanes only had 27 percent approval before the concert, but that figure rose to 63 percent after the show, according to the Miami Herald.

What caused the change? A phrase Juanes shouted during the concert might have been responsible – “Free Cuba.”

“The support is logical,” said Carlos Saladrigas of the Cuban Study Group which promotes diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the island nation. “Cubans had fun and heard Juanes scream ‘Cuba libre’ in the middle of La Plaza de La Revolución. … He showed courage.”

The plaza is kind of a landmark in Cuba’s communist history. Not only does it house the offices of Fidel Castro and his brother Raul, but it has been the site of many hours-long speeches by the Cuban dictator.

The poll was based on 400 interviews with Cubans living Florida, New Jersey and New York. Although support almost doubled after the concert, 21 percent disagreed, saying it “helped the Cuban government and not its people” while 10 percent said “Cuba needs food, not music.”

One of the poll’s surprise outcomes is that 60- to 80-year-olds were more likely to watch the concert.

“They were not interested in rock, they were interested in the politics,” said Bendixen & Associates’ Sergio Bendixen. “Despite their resentments, most of them concluded the concert uplifted the Cuban people.”

Click here to read the complete Miami Herald article.