My grandson in the Protest of the Thirteen (*)

By Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada 

Originally published in Spanish for  Cubarte. 

We spent most of the afternoon watching the sparrows and talking about neocolonial Cuba. “What was young people’s life like then, what were they like?” He would stop playing to ask me over and over again. “Where were you and what were you doing when you met Fidel?”

That’s my grandson, who’s eager to know about Cuba back when his grandfather was his age. In my answers I tried to explain to him what Cuba had been like under [the tyrant Fulgencio] Batista . I think I noticed a certain disappointment on his face when I told him that [president Gerardo] Machado’s regime had come to an end before I was born. As the last of the hummingbirds were flying away and we were going into the house, we talked a little about [Cuban poet, writer and revolutionary leader Rubén Martínez] Villena’s immortal phrase.

The following day I attended “Un paseo por la Historia” [A walk through history]0) at the UIE Elementary School. It was one of those beautiful celebrations that give the word “participation” a real meaning beyond any rhetoric. Present there were all the children from preschool to sixth grade and their teachers –most of whom, not surprisingly, were female– as well as family members and local neighbors. The school building was used both as “dressing room” for the “artists” and to accommodate the audience around.

The students and teachers took over the street. We saw a parade of natives and slaves, mambí and rebel fighters (and their opponents) enacting historic events ranging from the“discovery” to the Cuban Five’s heroic deed. I saw my grandson with the other twelve“protesters”, voicing [president Machado’s nickname] “donkey with claws” and daring the“pro-Machado henchmen” to come out in the open.

It was a form of  Jerzy Grotowski´s “poor theater” , with few material resources. All that was needed was provided by the children, their families and teachers. It was above all, a labor of love and a testament to the enormous moral force that continues to animate countless anonymous educators willing to keep the legacy of Luz, Varela, Martí and so many others alive. Men and woman who throughout the years have known how to feed patriotism and plant the seeds of values in our smallest. Some there present that day lamented the lack of press coverage and one asked me to write something for Cubarte.

I had been to this place over half a century ago on many occasions, with colleagues from the FEU (Federation of University Students) and members of the UIE, (International Union of Students), all of us guided by Ernesto “Che” Guevara, doing voluntary work in the construction of a building where today you can feel Che´s presence, his revolutionary spirit, his authentic magistrate sustained always by example.

At the end of the ceremony we went inside the school, where I saw a comrade from my younger days. Several of his photographs accompany a text which summarizes the life of José Ramón Rodríguez López, whom we called “Ramoncito”, never mind that his strong body had been forged by physical exercise and sports. He was born and raised in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood, right where he was cowardly murdered by the Batista police,  not far from this school which remembers him so well. “Ramoncito” had yet to celebrate his 20th birthday. Had he not been killed on that distant August day, he too would have surely enjoyed –with his own grandchild– last Friday’s unforgettable tour of our history.

And yet, who is to say he wasn’t there? José Ramón, “Che” Guevara and many others came back to life that morning along side all those children whom they joined in song, dance and laughter. Because, as is written on a wall of the  school, children are the ones who know how to love, and love will always vanquish death.

 

 

(*) Manifesto drafted by Rubén Martínez Villena and a group of fellow Cuban intellectuals denouncing governmental corruption and triggered by the purchase of the Santa Clara Convent by then-president Alfredo Zayas for more than two million pesos.

A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann. With special thanks to Eileen Boruch-Balzan

Defending the defensible

 

 

For Gerardo, René, Antonio, Fernando and Ramón, thank you.

 

Margarita Alarcón Perea

 

I have written about the Cuban Five  and have posted even more on this blog site about the subject. Five men unjustly imprisoned in the United States, serving long Machiavellian sentences for a crime they did not commit. It’s a long story that most have not heard about and should really learn more on.

Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution back in January of 1959, Cuba had to establish one of the best Intelligence networks the world has ever known. Often times compared to Israel’s Mossad, not because of its record for killing but yes for its record as an  intelligence service. The island was struck with numerous blows both on a military scale (Bay of Pigs Invasion, Missile Crisis, explosion of the Cargo Ship La Coubre), as it was a victim of terrorist attacks on civilian targets (Fire at the El Encanto department store, fire at the “Amadeo Roldán” Theater,  Cubana Flight 422) or multiple terrorist biological attacks on crops and livestock and of course direct terrorist attacks on individuals throughout the more than half a century of tension between the island and its closest neighbor to the north.

All of these attacks have been proven to come from the Cuban American community living in the South of Florida and working directly under the noses of the CIA, the FBI and the White House. This is not news to anyone who has been alive and paying attention for the past fifty years.

For a good part of those years, the excuse was that Cuba was a satellite nation of the Soviet Union and since the Cold War was on, Cuba was considered a nation to be exporting revolution and  it was an accepted fact that it  was the enemy and that the island and its people were a valid target. After the demise of the USSR and the socialist block in Eastern Europe it would have been logical to expect a change in these policies and I like to think that on many levels in the CIA, the FBI and the White House this is the case but unfortunately these same institutions created a Frankenstein that is now a rogue killer and completely out of control.

One of the “revolution” exports was Nicaragua and then Angola and Namibia and South Africa. Nicaragua was “taken care” of by the Reagan Administration and Angola, Namibia and South Africa were, well, let’s just say, that former President Nelson Mandela has publicly acknowledged the role of Fidel Castro and his people in not only freeing him but also in putting an end to that gruesome system known as apartheid in that region of the world.

Yet the Cuban Five are a term we who love Cuba and its sovereignty use over and over again. What is it? Well, it’s not an “it” per se. It’s the term used to refer to five men who infiltrated Cuban American terrorist networks to try to put an end to terrorist activities against the island years after the fall of the Berlin wall, years after the end of the Cold War and years after so called “democracies” were taking over much of the hemisphere. Because you see, it wasn’t the Cold War or the “exporting” of Revolution or even the fact that Cuba is the only island to stand in the face of imperialism and win.

The  Cuban Five are men who were standing up for things that the Cuban Revolution stands for and that are now becoming  a reality the world over. These men were protecting not only their homeland, they were protecting what their homeland stands for in the rest of the world.

Cuba today, is guilty of one thing only. It is guilty of having been in Haiti with 400 doctors collaborating with the country when the earthquake hit in 2010. It is guilty of having sent another 5000 to Pakistan shortly after another such natural disaster struck the mountains in that eastern nation. It is also guilty of having guaranteed that some 6.5 million citizens in 28 nations are no longer illiterate persons thanks to the Cuban Literacy Program known as “Yes, I Can.” A figure that surpasses all statistics reported by other similar programs implemented thus far around the world. Here is the humdinger: the cost of the course depends on the conception of how to apply the program. Depending on the application of the program and the teaching means, including a TV set and a DVD player, teaching a person how to read and write does not cost more than five dollars.

And that is one of the main things the Cuban Five were defending, Cuba’s right to “export” literacy at a cost of FIVE dollars a pupil.

How can anybody condemn anyone for defending something like that?

Cuba Embargo’s Golden Anniversary

 

By Fernando Ravsberg / version en español

HAVANA TIMES, Feb 8 — Johana Tablada, the deputy director of the North American Division of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, granted us an interview to discuss the US economic embargo against Cuba, which has just marked its 50th year of remaining in place under ten US presidents.

Q: One of the arguments given by the proponents of the embargo is that it’s an excuse used by the Cuban government to explain all of its own mistakes.

A: If it’s an excuse then why not lift the blockade? Why not remove it and let life tell us where the truth lies? They’re not lifting it because it’s a way of putting pressure on us, a way of persecuting us. Then they step back and say, “Look how badly things are going there.” That’s how it’s been for 50 years now.

Q: What are the major types of damage caused by the embargo?

A: We could spend the whole day talking about all the harm it does, but to summarize, I’d say the essential harm is that Cuba has been prevented from developing itself to its full potential. The blockade prevents us from having relations with the US and it impedes us from interacting with the rest of the world under normal conditions; this latter is because the embargo has an extra-territorial dimension that places pressure on third countries in order to make the Cuban system collapse.

Q: But don’t you trade with all of the other countries in the world?

A: The truth is that we cannot trade with everyone. No article produced whose components are more than 10 percent Cuban can enter the United States. So, if a Japanese company wants to use our nickel, then it is restricted from exporting its products to the US if they contain that metal from Cuba.
What’s more, they prohibit us from buying anywhere in the world products containing more than 10 percent US components. The blockade prevents it and punishes any company that sells such products to Cuba.

We are also affected in financial transactions. We cannot open accounts in banks if they have operations that take place in a subsidiary bank in the US. Therefore, especially with globalization, it’s very difficult to operate under those controls.
All vessels docking in Cuban ports suffer a penalty that prevents them from re-entering the US for 180 days. Who’s going to accept coming to the Caribbean with a prohibition from landing on our island when they can go to other more important ports in the region?
There are US laws penalizing foreign investment in Cuba. They punish such investors.

Q: Who have they applied this punishment?

A: It can give two examples: it was leveled against executives of the Canadian company Sherritt, who were denied visas to enter the United States after they invested in Cuban nickel; likewise, the Spanish company Sol Melia had to choose between keeping their business in Florida and their investments in Cuba.

Q: All this seems contradictory to the policy of US food trade with Cuba.

A: There is no “policy.” It’s only a window in the blockade that was the product of a strong campaign on the part of the agricultural lobby in the US, which acted in alliance with humanitarian organizations that considered it cruel to deny items as essential as food and medicine.
It can’t even be called “trade,” because we can’t sell anything to the US in return. It’s very restricted and operates under conditions that are commercially outdated and unprofitable. There’s no credit; instead, cash must be paid by Cuba in advance.

Q: The oil lobby is more powerful than agricultural interest groups.  With discoveries of oil in Cuban waters, will this open a larger window?

A:  We still don’t know, but there’s increasing consensus among US citizens that travel should be allowed, relations should be restored, and authorization should be given to oil companies to participate in the Cuban oil program. Cuba does not engage in any discrimination against American companies.

Q: Obama authorized travel by Cuban-Americans and eliminated restrictions on sending money. Now US officials are complaining that Cuba didn’t respond with similar gestures?

A: We said publicly that we continue to be open to dialogue without conditions, and in 2009 we presented the US with a draft agenda on seven issues. Within this we included the blockade, but also less sensitive issues of common interest: a proposed immigration accord, the restoration of direct mail, an agreement on the fight against drug trafficking, cooperation in confronting natural disasters and the tightening of relations between our scientific communities. They never responded.

 

 

A billboard reading “12 hours of the blockade is equivalent to the annual amount of insulin needed by 64,000 patients in our country,” demonstrates how the US embargo affects all sectors of society. Photo: Raquel Perez

 

 

Q: Isn’t it asking too much of Obama to lift the embargo if only Congress can do that?

A: The blockade is the scaffolding of very complex set of sanctions, and not everything is codified by Congress. In addition, in almost all of the restrictions there is a section stating that these cannot be applied if they threaten the national interest or if the president stipulates otherwise.

The US president possesses a long list of privileges that allow for greater flexibility on issues like medicine and Cuban children having access to medications, antibiotics, and equipment and devices necessary for some surgical procedures.

Q: One of the reasons given for the embargo is that Cuba didn’t compensate US companies that were nationalized in 1959. Is this true?

A: The Americans were not the only ones. At least 15 other countries — Switzerland, Germany, Spain, for example — had property nationalized. All of others have been compensated and many of these companies are back in Cuba. The US was the only one that refused to accept the compensation agreement. Apparently it was more attractive for them to plan the invasion at Playa Giron (the Bay of Pigs).

Q: What prospects do you see in the future?

A: Most US citizens would like to have good relations with Cuba. For many of them — just as for many Cubans — the idea of ??working together for social justice remains more attractive than the idea of ??trying to become a part of the now famous 1 percent.

Cuba remains a poor and blockaded country that has showed it is possible to build a society in which all children have a place to sleep and go to school – which would be a miracle for many people in the world. For that reason alone Cuba deserves to see the blockade disappear.

An authorized translation by Havana Times (from the Spanish original) published by Cartas Desde Cuba.

 

Sound & Fury…signifying Something

Poster for La Primera Tricontinental, by Alfredo Rostgaard, 1969

 

Margarita Alarcon Perea

A few years ago I had the pleasure of lecturing to a group of students from UC Davis who were down here on a 10 week academic study program. The teacher that had brought the group down asked all the students to write an essay at the end of the trip which would in turn be part of their grade for the semester. Each student had to pick a topic and a lecturer to hand over the essay to. One part of the grade would rest on the lectures opinion and the other on the Davis teacher.

I was presented with 12 papers to read.

They were all good, some more decent than others but there was one which caught my attention more than the rest and it was not just the writing or the thesis behind the essay but the pupil and how he had arrived at the topic.

For the purpose of anonymity I will refer to him as “John”. Turns out that John had never really heard about Cuba or the Revolution and it was not until a song by Rage Against the Machine that he heard of “Ché”. He told me that on a poster of the band he noticed one of the members wearing a “really cool t-shirt of a guy with a beard and beret” and liked the image so much he decided to look him up. And he did. All the way around Latin America.

Turns out John, read so much about Ché, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, that he took a trip similar to the one Ernesto and his friend Alberto Granados took back in 1952 right before graduating from medical school.

John learnt a lot about the continent and this in turn paved the way for his years at UC Davis and taking the trip to Cuba.

Here on the island he continued his quest for more information on Ché. He went to Santa Clara to visit the site where his remains are; he wandered around town and would every now and again bump into posters, signs, billboards with the man’s face and a phrase uttered at one point or another in history. He saw the huge metal structure in front of the monument to Jose Marti in Revolution Square, and he asked questions.

By the time he handed in his essay he knew all there was to know about Ernesto “Ché” Guevara, but he had one last question which he left unanswered at the end of the piece.

How was it possible that the country to which a  man like this one, a man who whole heartedly and selflessly had arrived to help in the creation of a better world and in the liberation of its people, one who gave his life to help mankind and his continent, how was it possible that this island was brandishing his good name and his history and all that he stood for by allowing that the face of this person become an icon stamped on all sorts of t-shirts with or without glitter, ashtrays, cigarette lighters, wrist watches, beach towels and who knows what else?

John came to me with the question before finishing the piece and I had no answer to give him. Did I agree with him that Ché would indeed be furious if he were alive to see this? Yes, of  course, but then the contradiction lays in the fact that were he alive, there wouldn’t be a reason for the iconoclasms. Is it a contradiction that the Cuban Revolution allow this to happen? Yes, it is. In my view. Then by the same token it is also true that by murdering him the way the CIA did in Bolivia and then sending out the picture of his lifeless body out into the world, all they accomplished was to turn him into a Martyr and one that lives on today as the symbol of the true revolutionary.

Was it wrong when Absolute Vodka used the image of his face taken by Alberto Diaz “Korda” to promote the sale of its 40% proof elixir? Yes, it was, and Korda made sure they knew it and put an end to the phantasmagoric escapade.

Is it inappropriate for a company like Mercedes Benz to use the image of this man who by his own right and due to the circumstances in history has become larger than life? Yes, it is.

So I must agree that the use of the iconic image to help boost a publicity move for Mercedes Benz is an incorrect use of the man and his raison d’être, but not for the reasons expressed by some in Miami in today’s piece in the Sun Sentinal. Ché deserves better than a car dealership and a quick alcoholic fix, he wasn’t killed for that. He deserves, as John  put it, that young people read his work and study his life and use him as an example of the true revolutionary, the true man of the future, a future he with his example is helping make possible in the hemisphere that gave him life the same way it took it away.