Pablo Montero defends himself against those who criticize him for singing on Nicolás Maduro's birthday

The Mexican interpreter affirmed that as an artist he does not have parties or flags, more than music that is universal.

The Mexican singer Pablo Montero responded to criticism from thousands of social media users for singing to the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, November 23 at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, during the celebration of his 59th birthday.

The Mexican was classified by users of social networks as a communist and a sold out, since the Maduro government has been questioned and unknown by many countries in the world, due to the crisis that his policies have generated in the South American country. Maduro has also been accused of being a dictator and an oppressor.

Faced with the remarks on social networks, Montero released a statement in which he states that he is an artist who "has no party, no flag other than Mexican music, which is universal."

He added that he does not interfere in the situation that may exist in Venezuela, and expressed his wishes so that the country can soon resolve its conflicts in peace.

The First Lady's Gift

Pablo Montero's participation in Nicolás Maduro's 59th birthday was a gift from the first lady, Cilia Flores to her husband.

Regarding the payment that he could have received for this participation, it is presumed that the sum could have reached 60 thousand dollars, since it was the amount that the merenguero Bonny Cepeda received when he sang to Nicolás Maduro in 2020.

But this is not the first time that the singer offers shows to politicians in Venezuela, since in 2013 he performed the song "El Rey" by Vicente Fernández at the wake of the late President Hugo Chávez Frías.

Bonny Cepeda and Juan Gabriel

But Pablo Montero has not been the only one who has sung to Maduro. In 2013, when the Venezuelan president turned 51, Juan Gabriel, the divo from Juárez, who was on tour in the country, was invited to sing to the president at the Miraflores Palace.

But the most controversial participation of an artist in the birthday of the leader of the Venezuelan regime, was that of the Dominican Bonny Cepeda, who sang to him in 2020, and in early 2021 he stated in an interview that he had received 60 thousand dollars for his performance on the birthday. Although a few days later it came out in various media denying the aforementioned payment.

This situation was highly criticized, not only for participating in the celebration, but for admitting having received that sum of money from a country in which its citizens are going through the most serious crisis in their history, and the salaries of the administration public do not exceed two dollars a month.

Another large number of artists have been criticized for showing their sympathy for the Venezuelan government, among them are: the nationalized Russian actor and director Steven Seagal, the Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, the Cuban guitarist Silvio Rodríguez, the Spanish singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat and rapper Pablo Hasel.

In the case of Venezuelan artists, the following stand out: Omar Enrique, Omar Acedo, Roque Valero, Hanny Kauan, Antonio “El Potro” Álvarez, and the singer of Llanera music Armando Martínez.

Polarized situation

The fact that an artist sings for a politician is nothing new or controversial, however, in the case of Venezuela, since the arrival of the Bolivarian revolution, the fact that a singer participates in some government activity generates the rejection of a large part of the population due to the high polarization in which it has been since the beginning of 2000.

With the arrival of Hugo Chávez to power in Venezuela, society was further divided, since the ex-president's speech went against the upper classes and “empowered” those from the lower strata. This led to a kind of confrontation in these sectors of the population.

In fact, on repeated occasions Chávez said that “being rich is bad”, a speech reiterated by the leaders of the ruling party.

Therefore, when an artist publicly claims to be a follower of the revolution or participates in acts of the socialist government of Venezuela, it provokes the rejection of those who currently oppose Maduro and Chávez at the time.