July 13--More than six months after having her passport confiscated following an aborted attempt to hold a public performance in Havana, artist Tania Bruguera had her passport returned to her by Cuban authorities Friday, according to a statement issued by #YoTambienExijo, the art and activism platform run by Bruguera in collaboration with her sister Deborah.
"The day has arrived," reads the statement. "The Cuban government has returned Cuban artist Tania Bruguera's passport, and she is now legally allowed to travel outside the island again."
"They are desperate for me to leave," the artist told Miami's El Nuevo Herald on Saturday. "But I worry that they won't let me back into the country in the future."
The artist is a Cuban national, but frequently spends long periods in the U.S. and Europe exhibiting and teaching. She was temporarily detained in Havana just before the new year for trying to stage a performance about freedom of expression in the city's iconic Revolution Square. During that time, she had her passport revoked by the Cuban authorities.
In the months since, she has been temporarily detained on multiple occasions, most recently during the 12th Havana Biennial following a sanctioned performance in which she read from a book about totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt.
After having her passport revoked, Bruguera was forced to remain in the country as the Cuban government weighed whether to pursue charges against her. With the return of her passport, it is safe to assume that the government will not pursue a legal case against her.
Bruguera, however, is intent on remaining in Cuba until she has some assurances that she will be able to return.
"I'm not going to leave Cuba until I have an official document in my hands that legally guarantees that I can come back without any problems," she declared in the statement. "My argument has never been about leaving Cuba. My argument is about working so there is freedom of expression and public protest in Cuba."
The statement notes that Cuban government officials have promised the artist a document that will guarantee her re-entry. But officials have not issued any public statements on the matter.
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