He is young, dark, and handsome, with a beautiful light tenor voice, and he swept the Latin Grammy Awards in 2008. But should Juan Esteban Aristizabal, better known as Juanes, perform his songs at an upcoming “peace concert” in the Cuban capital, Havana? The debate over this Colombian rock star, who is based in the US city of Miami, has been raging on that city’s Spanish-language radio and television shows. Older Cuban-Americans, who left Cuba in the immediate aftermath of the 1959 revolution there, vehemently oppose the concert. They argue that it is just the latest attempt by the Cuban regime to manipulate public opinion. Traditionally, these older exiles have held all the political power in Miami. But younger ones are pushing back, especially when it comes to the arts. Beyond the overall Cuban-American community, the Juanes concert is seen as a potential great turning point in US-Cuban relations. A successful outcome could smooth the way for a further softening in American policy towards Cuba. Artists other than Juanes have attempted this kind of bridge-building with Cuba before; for example, left-leaning musicians like Bonnie Raitt and The Police appeared there in 1999, but they had an overtly political agenda. However, Juanes himself, who is widely admired for his humanitarian work in his native Colombia, denies having any thought of politics. “My only message is one of peace, of humanitarianism, and of tolerance,” he said recently.