Estefan leads Cuban march in Miami

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MIAMI, March 26 (UPI) -- Singer Gloria Estefan says she and tens of thousands of Cuban refugees marched in Miami to protest a Cuban crackdown on the peaceful Ladies in White group.

The marchers donned white and marched along the Calle Ocho neighborhood Thursday carrying flowers and flags as a show of solidarity with the Damas de Blanco, or Ladies in White, a peaceful dissident group subject to a violent attack last week from government security forces, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

"Thank you, Miami," Estefan said in her address to the crowd. "This shows we're one people. We are the people that love and defend freedom."

The march coincided with a Thursday march by the Ladies in White along the Havana seawall. Estefan received word of the Havana march via her cell phone and shared the information with the crowd.

"At this moment, the Ladies of White are marching and are receiving violence again," Estefan said. "Ladies in White, we walk with you."

The Cuban-American singer ended her remarks with a call for unity.

"Peace, love and freedom in the world," she said.