State Dept on visa problems for Cuban Grammy nominees

(2 Sep 2003) Washington DC - 02 September 2003 1. US State Department spokesman entering briefing room 2. Cutaway of reporters 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Boucher, US State Department Spokesman: "This is a complicated situation, we all know that Cuba is on the states sponsors list of terrorism and therefore for all Cubans, they have to get appropriate handling of their visas and it takes a while. Everybody knows the Cuban government knows, most Cubans know, certainly Americans who deal with Cuba know, that can take from six to eight weeks to process applications. They've just submitted their applications little while ago. We are processing the applications even without the regularly what is normally required as an invitation letter from the US sponsor, in this case the Latin Grammys, so we are trying to process this cases expediciously as we can but there are lots of checks that need to be done but I am not in a position to promise that we can do them in time." 4. Richard Boucher at podium FILE Havana - 3 November 2001 5. Various of Chucho Valdes Cuban jazz musician with Herbie Hancock US jazz musician FILE Havana, 18 August 2000 6. Singer Ibrahim Ferrer on stage (MUSIC RIGHTS MUST BE CLEARED) 7. Audience applauding 8. Ferrer thanking applause 9. Wide of stage, audience applauding STORYLINE: On the eve of the Latin Grammy awards in Miami, some nominated Cuban musicians still had not received U.S. visas Tuesday - a headache alternately blamed on politics and red tape. Twelve Cuban acts - including singer Ibrahim Ferrer of the Buena Vista Social Club, pianist Chucho Valdes and the popular group Los Van Van - have been nominated for the awards, to be presented Wednesday night in a nationally televised ceremony. Since Cuba is classified by the U.S. government as a state sponsor of terrorism, more extensive background checks are required for citizens of the communist island who apply for visas. The process can take from eight to 10 weeks. The U.S. Interests Section received seven visa applications three weeks ago, on Aug. 12, a U.S. government official said Tuesday, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. Three of the seven applications have been denied, and four others are still pending, the official said. The identities of those who were denied is confidential information. But a State Department official in Washington, who also spoke on customary condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that no visa applications had even been received from Ferrer and Valdes. Officials in Cuba's Culture Ministry said earlier this month that they began the process of seeking approvals for nominees on Aug. 2. Officials from Cuba's foreign relations ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Some of the other nominees were believed to have European passports, which could allow them to enter the United States without a visa. Fueling the suspicions of Grammy nominees and their supporters in Cuba are the yearly protests of Cuban exiles in Miami who oppose the communist government of President Fidel Castro and the Grammy nominations of Cuban musicians. A 1999 protest of a Los Van Van concert by Cuban exile groups in Miami turned violent when demonstrators chucked eggs and batteries at concertgoers. In the past two years, the threatened protests forced organisers to move the show to Los Angeles. This year, the Latin Recording Academy, the city of Miami and protesters agreed on a plan that would keep anti-Castro demonstrators 168 feet (50 meters) from the arena's entrance and in view of television cameras. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/eb490d96a5a7622f128bf0334ada12fe

Added 30 Mar 2026