MIAMI—Looking radiant and feeling even more so, Daylan Rubido and his wife, Janel Diamond, spent their Sunday afternoon on March 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts watching Shen Yun.
“We’ve been wanting to come every year, and for one reason or another, we can’t make it. This year, as soon as the tickets went out, I was the first one to buy them,” Ms. Diamond, a paralegal, explained.
“This is a great surprise. … We’re definitely enjoying it very much,” Mr. Rubido, a real estate broker in Miami, said.
Mr. Rubido loved the show, and Ms. Diamond thought it was spectacular.
Ms. Diamond said with excitement: “It’s just amazing. … Not just how beautiful the designs, the choreography, the dressings, everything is beautiful, and the storyline is absolutely amazing.”
It was this aspect that captivated the couple—the faith demonstrated in the story-based dances.
“There’s a lot to take in and a lot to meditate on because I think that the message across the board is very powerful,” Mr. Rudido said. “I think it’s beautiful.“
“It’s very powerful,” Ms. Diamond said.
For Mr. Rubido, the overall message “is about what people believe in” and also how, when faith is forbidden in a country, it’s challenging for people.
Ms. Diamond explained: “The freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, is important. Strong beliefs are the core of family values, and you should be free to have … to choose your belief.
“We’re both Cubans,” Mr. Diamond said, “and we come from a communist country. So, this hits home.”
In China, the communist party has spent decades trying to destroy beliefs and culture and replace them with atheism. During the Cultural Revolution in particular, the CCP destroyed temples, burned books and art, and publicly humiliated teachers.
“It’s definitely a show that hits home,” Ms. Diamond said.
“Like my husband said, we’re both Cubans, we come from a communist country where you don’t have any freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and that’s why we came to this country. So, it’s definitely a powerful show that anybody that comes will take something away from it.”
Daylan Rubido added that his own faith has been “persecuted in other countries, in Cuba, for example. It’s a country that people were persecuted because of their beliefs.”
To see another people being persecuted for the same reason “is very impactful.”
“If anybody has an opportunity to come and see it, definitely, they should,” he said.
“Absolutely. Yes, this is a must-see in your lifetime,” she said.
