Singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos has cancelled her performances at the Trump-John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, over President Donald Trump’s involvement with the organization.
De Los Santos was scheduled to present two concerts aimed at kids on February 7, the AP reported.
The singer announced her decision on Instagram, claiming that the Center is no longer a “welcoming place.”
“As an artist, I treasure the freedom to create and share my music, and for many years I have used this privilege to uplift the stories of immigrants in this country,” De Los Santos wrote. “Unfortunately, I do not feel that the current climate at this beloved venue represents a welcoming space for myself, my band, or our audience.”
Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi blasted the singer’s cancellation. “This country was built on legal immigrants and as a first generation American, I find her statement highly offensive,” Daravi wrote in an email, the AP reported. “Refusing to engage with an institution open to everyone is, in fact, a step towards discrimination.”
The little-known Mexico-born singer, who is a children’s performer, was part of the Grammy Award winning group Dan Zanes and Friends before striking out on her own. She was nominated for a Latin Grammy award last year. She has also toured along with the Grammy Award winning Americana folk duo The Okee Dokee Brothers in a bilingual show entitled “Somos Amigos.”
De Los Santos comes only days after banjoist Béla Fleck has announced the cancellation of his shows, scheduled for mid February.
“I have withdrawn from my upcoming performance with the NSO at The Kennedy Center. Performing there has become charged and political, at an institution where the focus should be on the music,” Fleck exclaimed n a January 7 Instagram post.
De Los Santos and Fleck join a growing list of artists who have cancelled shows at the Kennedy Center.
Artists including actress Issa Rae, The Cookers, Kristy Lee, Chuck Redd, Doug Varone and Dancers, and others, have cancelled their show.
President Trump took over operations of the Kennedy Center and appointed himself the chairman of the theater in February.
In December, the Kennedy Center board unanimously voted to add President Trump’s name to the edifice, further angering left-wingers.
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