Concert of the American singer Joan Baez in Bratislava, 2018. (source: Photo archive SME - Gabriel Kuchta )
On Friday, at the honorary consul's residence near San Francisco, USA, President Zuzana Čaputová honoured American singer and activist Joan Baez with the Order of the White Double Cross, Third Class, for her exceptional contributions to human rights and freedoms in Slovakia.
"Her life story is that of a person who sought to protect democratic values and human rights. We remember her performance at the Bratislavská Lýra (popular song festival in former Czechoslovakia), where she symbolically showed that while music can be silenced, freedom cannot be silenced," noted the head of state.
According to Čaputová, Baez is living proof that art and an engaged stance can influence many things.
"At the right moment, she gave us all optimism and courage," the president wrote on Facebook.
For Baez, the honour is a reminder of what she has accomplished. One such thing for her is the Velvet Revolution.
Joan Baez's support in Bratislava
Baez passionately advocated for political and societal causes, opposing racial segregation and protesting the Vietnam War, leading to her brief imprisonment.
She empathetically supported Czech and Slovak artists, such as the persecuted Plastic People of the Universe and Charter '77 signatories, including Václav Havel (last Czechoslovak president and first Czech president later on).
Her impactful gesture in 1989 at the Bratislavská Lýra concert, broadcast live on television, highlighted human rights abuses in communist Czechoslovakia.
Baez welcomed Havel to her team, addressing a greeting to him and Charter signatories from the stage. In a memorable moment, she invited banned singer Ivan Hoffman to the microphone, who defiantly finished the song despite his silenced microphone.
Grammy goes to Baez
Baez is also a multiple Grammy Award winner. In 2008 she reunited with Václav Havel at the Pohoda music festival and performed in Prague in 2009 at Havel's invitation for the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
Returning to Bratislava in 2014 and 2018, Baez, along with singer Juraj Benetin, sang the Slovak anthem and supported protests after the tragic murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová.
Recording over 20 studio albums, Baez received the Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International in 2015, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
