Danilo “El Sexto” Maldonado is a Cuban artist and activist whose work has made him a target of the Castro dictatorship.
In December 2014, El Sexto was arrested on his way to exhibit a performance piece called “Rebelión en la Granja,” entailing two pigs decorated with the names “Fidel” and “Raúl.” He was charged with contempt and imprisoned for 10 months without trial.
In May 2015, El Sexto was awarded the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent by Human Rights Foundation and named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He was released on October 20, 2015, following pressure from international human rights groups.
El Sexto was arrested again on November 26, 2016, the morning after Fidel Castro’s death. Just hours after Castro’s death was announced, he had taken to the streets and sprayed “Se Fue,” or “He’s Gone,” across La Habana Libre. He was imprisoned for two months without trial and released in January 2017.
He emigrated to the US in 2017.
