Carlos Massola's Ashes Safely with His Daughter

The former partner of artist Carlos Massola and mother of his only daughter, Bertha Mariela Sablón Roque, denied rumors this Saturday that the actor's remains are missing and confirmed they are securely in her possession.

"The ashes are safely with us. The audios that surfaced were due to a miscommunication between Mrs. Gladys Escandell and me. We requested that she leave Carlos's ashes at the house, and she sent them with someone who later brought them to me. At the time of the audio, the ashes were on their way to my house, and they are here now, with his daughter, where they should be," explained Sablón Roque in statements to the news portal Cubanet.

Sablón Roque also refuted reports spread online through Facebook pages like La Tijera and content creators like Alain Paparazzi about the supposed involvement of Cuban State Security in this matter. "I am not from State Security, nor do they have the ashes. This is purely a family issue," she emphasized, noting in a Facebook post that Massola was the love of her life.

She recalled that she was a Dama de Blanco and has been persecuted by political police for 30 years for being the wife of Calixto Fernández, "a political prisoner who suffered under this Government." Currently, Sablón Roque cannot leave her home due to severe lymphangitis and cervical issues that prevent her from standing.

She also clarified that the friend of Carlos Massola who collected the ashes was the one who ensured that the beloved actor was picked up by the funeral car after hours of waiting and that he was cremated despite the funeral authorities' refusal. Another rumor circulating on social media was that the regime did not allow Carlos Massola's body to be viewed, which Sablón Roque also denied.

"No one prevented Carlos's wake, and he was not in a state of decomposition. Carlos's mother is very old and did not want to attend the wake. To avoid embarrassment, we as a family explained to that same friend to cremate Carlos. At that moment, my mind was so tormented that I did not have the capacity to request an autopsy, but I thought his mother had requested it," she detailed.

Finally, the activist asked for respect for her daughter and clarified that the ashes are well and will eventually be taken to the sea, although this was not Carlos Massola's last wish, as he never planned to die in Cuba. She mentioned that his desire was to go to the United States, but his parole never arrived.

Carlos Massola announced in October 2023 his potential departure from the island through humanitarian parole, sponsored by his cousin Eduardo Massola, but he passed away suddenly on July 3 at the age of 62. He had become an uncomfortable figure for the regime due to his denunciations of the government's abuses, and his death was completely ignored by Cuban cultural authorities. No official cultural institution or state media acknowledged his passing.

Despite the official silence, the Asamblea de Cineastas Cubanos published a timid text more than 24 hours after his death, lamenting the event while using a couple of euphemisms to refer to the actor's political rebellion. Despite the silence in official circles, Massola received tributes from many of his colleagues and the affection of the people, who appreciated his courage in expressing his political ideas and denouncing the government for its inefficiency, corruption, and human rights violations.