Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan and Cuban Willy Chirino have joined the "Connect Cuba" campaign, which hopes to bring an Internet connection to most Cubans.
According to the "Connect Cuba" website, Estefan and Chirino, two of the artists exiled from the island with the biggest international renown, have joined the effort started by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) who demand freedom of access to the Internet for Cubans.
In a video made by the FHRC, Gloria Estefan declared, "As an artist and Twitter user I know the importance of being connected to the Internet".
According to the FHRC, Cuba has the "worst broadband Internet penetration, with 0.04 percent for every hundred habitants" in the region, a figure that is well below the figures of other countries like El Salvador (3.86 percent), Honduras (0.77 percent) or Haiti (0.16%), highlighted news website Terra.
On his part, singer Willy Chirino commented in a different video, "I know very well the importance of freedom of expression, this is why I ask you to support the FHRC and its 'Connect Cuba' campaign".
The venture undertaken by the FHRC has denounced the Cuban government for maintaining the "monopoly of information" on the island, limiting its citizens' access to the Internet, which is why the "Connect Cuba" campaign seeks to raise awareness among the civil population of the country so they can demand more freedom.
The first phase of the campaign has been launched through IndieGoGo, where it seeks to raise funds to cover expenses that might come up.
Gloria Estefan Spoke About Cuba In Spain
Last Tuesday, October 22 Gloria Estefan travelled to Madrid to present her latest album "The Standards", which compiles songs composed between 1920 and 1950, songs that have "accompanied her since she was a child".
During her stay in Spain, the Cuban singer told ABC that she maintains her critical position against the Cuban government, which her family chose to be exiled from when she was a year old.
"There are no opportunities there. Anyone who is anti-Castro or anti-communism has no voice. Cubans are living a harsh reality. I spoke with Yoani Sánchez, the blogger and she told me that the government provides basic things to survive. But surviving is not living", Estefan said.
You can see the promotional videos for "Connect Cuba" made by Gloria Estefan and Willy Chirino here: