A Different Kind of Cool Kid

National Review readers are well familiar with Danilo Maldonado, the Cuban street artist and dissident known as “El Sexto.” (The nickname has nothing to do with dirty texts. In Spanish, it means “The Sixth.”) I have written about him for some years. Maldonado is extraordinarily daring. He has been in and out of prison. I believe he is out of prison this week. Next week, who knows?

In a recent issue of the magazine, I had a portrait of him (having interviewed him). That portrait is on the homepage today: here. I’d like to quote the last paragraph, which is a personal one. I have a feeling that many people — many Americans — will know what I’m talking about:

Before we part, I tell El Sexto that I consider him something of a miracle. When I was growing up in Ann Arbor, Mich., the cool kids like him — the artists and rebels, with funky hair, tattoos, jewelry, etc. — were all on the left. They wore Che shirts. They were pro-Castro. And here the coolest kid on the block is anti-Castro, pro-democracy, anti-Che. “I’m so glad you exist,” I tell him. He grins.