Omni Zona Franca - Yesterday in Alamar

On his two blogs, Boring Home Utopics and Lunes de Post-Revolucion, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo reports on the recent activities of the alternative arts, culture, and hip hop group Omni Zona Franca - including this new hip hop number - Protesto - against censorship.

You can go to OZF's own blog about the annual unauthorized Alamar arts festival, "Poesia Sin Fin," which means either "Endless Poetry" or "Pointless Poetry" depending on how you translate it.

Here is what Pardo writes in his own blog:

En exclusiva el más reciente tema PROTESTO de Omni Zona Franca y 26 rappers underground cubanos TODOS UNIDOS contra la censura y la mentira oficial. Desde el pasado jueves 3 de septiembre, el audio se distribuye gratis dentro de la Isla y estará recogido en varios discos de agrupaciones alternativas cubanas, para decirle alto y claro al Ministerio de Cultura que Omni Zona Franca es más cultura cubana que todas sus resoluciones y subvenciones juntas.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page" - Saint Augustine

Please take a few minutes of your Labor Day weekend to send a letter to President Obama at the White House and Arturo Valenzuela at the State Department expressing your support for an end to the travel ban and an expansion of all kinds of people-to-people contacts between Yumas and Cubanos.

Our policy should aim to empower the Cuban people even if that opening may aid the Cuban government too; instead of our current policy which aims to harm the Cuban regime even if that inflicts collateral damage on the Cuban people.

This just in from John McAuliff.

Not long ago 758 of us sent a letter to President Obama saying "Don't Wait for Congress to Open Travel to Cuba".

Much has changed since the letter was drafted.  News stories have confirmed that the Administration is actively considering new regulations for non-tourist people to people travel.

The reports disagree about when the announcement will be made, who will be included and whether licenses will be given on a specific application case-by-case basis or as a general license that will not require an application by qualified persons or organizations.   The variation in stories may reflect contending positions within the government and in the media, or trial balloons to see what flys best.

My guess is that the President will act in the next ten days, before Congress returns from recess, most likely in the week after Labor Day.  However he will have to ignore intense opposition from the Cuban American quintet in the House and Senate and cautious political advisers who prefer to wait until after the mid-term elections in November.

My hope is that President Obama will not be satisfied simply to return us to Clinton era specific licenses and will follow the general license model he used for family reunion travel and US agricultural producers. 

The first audio tweet from Cuba on "Chir.ps" from you know who

I just listened to the first audio tweet from Cuba sent by Yoani Sanchez. It's only 20 seconds long but it's music to the ears. Listen to it and you'll hear what I mean. It's on a new service appropriately called "Chir.ps."

By the way, Sanchez turns 35 years young today and she also recorded this brief "Chirp" of thanx just three hours ago addressed to all members of her red ciudadana (citizen network) around the world who read, write, praise, and even criticize her.

Her minute-long message ends with these words:

"Gracias. Aqui estoy y voy a seguir."

(Thank you.  Here I am and I will keep going.)

Sanchez also "Tweeted" a "Chirp" from a member of the alternative art collective Omni Zona Franca. He reports that his group will indeed participate in an unauthorized hip hop "happening" in Alamar today despite encountering numerous bureaucratic obstacles and censorship.

Here is my transcription and translation of Yoani's first "Chirp."

"La tecnologia me ha hecho libre en un pais con rejas, con muros, con censura.
De manera que quiero lo mismo para mis compatriotas.
Que tengan acceso a la informacion a las noticias a lo que ocurre alli afuera y aqui adentro.
Todo aquel que pueda ayudar a un cubano a empoderarse informativamente tiene mi agradecimiento ante mano, eh!
Muchas gracias."

* * *

"Technology has made me free in a country with bars, walls, and censorship.
I want the same for my compatriots.
That they have access to information about what happens there outside and here inside.
Anyone who can help a Cuban empower him or herself with information has my thanks up front, eh!
Thank you."


PS: I even recorded and sent my own first Chirp through Twitter.  I'll be the first to admit that it's not very eloquent, and - like you - I hate to hear a recording of my own voice, but here it is for your consumption or rejection.

James Cason for Mayor of Coral Gables?!

This just in from Rui Ferreira at his blog Herejías y Caipirinhas 2.0.


VIERNES, SEPTIEMBRE 3
El cabo Cason pa' alcalde

Pues así es, James Cason, el ex jefe de la Sección de Intereses de EEUU en La Habana, más conocido por esos lares como el 'Cabo Cason', se acaba de postular para alcalde de Coral Gables, Florida, ciudad del área metropolitana de Miami donde vive desde el año 2008. A continuación les brindo un pequeñoresumé suyo, de lo más relevante que ha hecho: grabó un disco de música guaraní interpretada por él antes de dejar la embajada en Paraguay (ver imagen al lado). Estuvo en La Habana intentando convencer a mucha gente a dar el paso al frente, pero apenas logró instalar un servicio noticioso en el techo del edificio en el Malecón, que todo el mundo en su oficina detestaba, por el ruido y el calor que producía. Desde que dejó el servicio exterior se ha dedicado a las labores de pitoniso en el Centro de Estudios Cubanos de la Universidad de Miami, profiriendo conferencias (a $1.000 la hora) sobre el futuro de Cuba. O sea, haciendo aquello que los cubanos más detestan, que un extranjero les enseñe qué pasa en su país. Tengo entendido que su experiencia en el manejo de fondos públicos consiste unicamente en distribuirlos, sin grandes contemplaciones, por sus amistades cubanas, lo cual no creo que sea suficiente para administrar una ciudad pudiente como Coral Gables, porque aquí tendrá que prestar cuentas. Si alguno de ustedes se les ocurre otra cosa, me lo dejan saber.

And here's Cuban Colada's report of the same news in English:

Ex-diplomat enters mayoral race in Florida

James Cason, the former head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana – who earned a reputation as an aggressive critic of President Fidel Castro during his diplomatic tour – is the latest contender for mayor in Coral Gables, Fla.
The election is April 12, 2011.
Cason, 65, moved to Coral Gables in 2008, after his final stint as U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay. The New Jersey native, a diplomat for 40 years, has served in the Caribbean, South America and Europe.
As the chief U.S. diplomat in Havana from 2002 to 2005, Cason angered the Cuban government when he traveled throughout the island meeting with dissidents and handing out books and shortwave radios.
A 2004 Christmas display on the U.S. Interests Section grounds – with a "75" alluding to the 75 dissidents jailed in a 2003 crackdown – prompted the government to build its own billboards across the street showing U.S. abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Cason says he does not believe Cuba will be a factor in the election.
To read the full story, in The Miami Herald, click here. For a 2004 profile in The Dallas Morning News, click here. For a 2005 feature in The Herald, by Frances Robles, click here.
(PHOTO SHOWS Cason, left, welcoming dissident Vladimiro Roca to an opposition rally at the diplomat's residence in Havana in May 2005.)
–TANIA VALDEMORO.

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/#ixzz0yWmQKSlp

Pirates of the Caribbean

REUTERS: Despite embargo, Cuba a haven for pirated U.S. goods
Thursday, September 2, 2010

* Pirated U.S. TV shows, movies, software abound in Cuba
* U.S.-Cuba embargo blocks legal access to most U.S. goods
* Lack of formal U.S.-Cuba relations hurts enforcement

By Esteban Israel

HAVANA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A few weeks after Ashton Kutcher's latest comedy "Killers" premiered in the United States, the movie was already entertaining the masses in communist Cuba.

For two pesos, the equivalent of nine U.S. cents, the state-owned Yara movie theater in the heart of Havana offered Cubans a washed out and pixilated copy of Kutcher's adventures as a CIA assassin who is himself targeted for a hit.

"It's a very good flick. We just got it on DVD," says a woman in the ticket office.

The problem is that "Killers" will not be officially released on DVD in the United States until Sept. 7 and even then Cuba will be off limits due to the 48-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the Caribbean island.

But half a century of U.S. sanctions have turned Cuba into a piracy haven and a missed opportunity for U.S. businesses.

Even though the embargo forbids U.S. companies like Microsoft from exporting software to Cuba, most personal computers on the island run unlicensed copies of its Windows operating system.

Florida - So close to Cuba but yet so far away

Christian Science Monitor

No travel to 'terrorist' countries for Florida state universities: court

A challenge to a 2006 law banning state university-funded travel to countries the US deems sponsors of terrorism was struck down Tuesday. Florida-based international scholars say the decision will disrupt studies.

See this link for the decision of the Court: http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200815647.pdf

By Warren Richey, Staff writer
September 1, 2010

Miami —
Florida-based international scholars are reacting with disappointment to a federal appeals court ruling that reinstates a ban on state university funding for travel to "terrorist" countries, including Cuba.

The decision greatly complicates the funding of a range of Florida-based research projects focusing on Cuba and other countries. Analysts say it could undercut existing research efforts, encourage top scholars to leave Florida, and deter others from studying or working at the state's public universities.

BREAKING: Cuban Blogger Yoani Sanchez is Named IPI’s 60th and Final World Press Freedom Hero

Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez takes the stage during a performance

at the 10th Biennale of Contemporary Art in Havana March 29, 2009.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Enrique De La Osa

El Yuma just got word that our friend and favorite blogger Yoani Sanchez has just been named the 60th and final World Press Freedom Hero by the International Press Institute (IPI).

All 60 IPI World Press Freedom Heroes will be honoured at the IPI 2010 World Congress in Vienna and Bratislava (11-14 September 2010) to coincide with IPI's 60th year of defending and promoting press freedom worldwide.

Now that Raul has allowed Juan Juan Almeida, as well as the critical musicians Los Aldeanos, Gorki Aguila, and Silvito El Libre to travel outside of Cuba recently, I wonder if Sanchez will be permitted to return to Europe to receive her prize. Vienna and Bratslava are right next door to Zurich where Sanchez lived for 2 years between 2002-2004. It would be a glorious return for her a short 6 years later!

Below is the official announcement, and you can go here for the full list of all 60 awardees from across the world. Yoani should be proud to count herself in the company of greats like Argentine journalist Jacobo Timerman (at right).

Better Red Than... Aroldis Chapman clocked at 105 mph

Friday, August 27

Report: Scout clocks Reds' pitching prospect Chapman at 105 mph

By David Brown

Hang onto your catcher's mitts, people. They reportedly clocked Cincinnati Reds prospect Aroldis Chapman(notes) at 105 mph Friday night.

No, not in a car, driving home from Louisville Slugger Ballpark. Chapman was pitching for the Triple-A Louisville Bats of the International League. And, Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse reports, the left-hander threw 105 mph.

One-oh-five.

Your first thought might be, "Yeah, right. Did he strike out the Loch Ness Monster on three pitches while he was at it?"

Price, who usually isn't given to hyperbole, tweeted the news.

Che and the "Original Sin" of the Intellectuals - Yoani Sanchez

Che and the "Original Sin" of the Intellectuals

August 28, 2010 - Exclusive to Huffington Post.

Photo Credit: Ted Henken, London, August, 2010

It's been said a thousand and one times: intellectuals are the conscience of society. But nearly fifty years ago Che Guevara criticized Cuba's pre-Revolution artistic and literary world, accusing them in the harshest terms: "The guilt of many of our intellectuals and artists resides in their original sin; they are not authentic revolutionaries." Published in the Uruguayan weekly Marcha, under the title, "Man and Socialism in Cuba," Guevara reminded his readers that the struggle in the Sierra Maestra had not been supported by a battle from the pages of books, nor by an offensive launched through painters' easels nor poets' stanzas. Very few writers chose to link their prose or rhymes to the pounding of the guns, although many opposed Fulgencio Batista's government and supported political changes in the country.

It's Time for Western Hemisphere Countries to Collaborate - Gov. Bill Richardson, Washington Post

By Bill Richardson
Saturday, August 14, 2010; A13


Arizona's attempt to create and enforce its own immigration policy has once again amplified -- and politicized -- the immigration debate in this country. But the fallout of that debate extends beyond our borders. The anti-immigrant push in Arizona has further alienated our neighbors throughout Latin America, who had been hoping for better relations with the United States after President Obama's election. We need to turn this opportunity to our advantage and engage with our neighbors throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Latin America has perhaps the greatest impact, in terms of trade and culture, on the daily lives of most Americans. U.S. exports to Latin America have grown faster in the past 11 years than to any other region, including Asia. Hispanics represent the biggest ethnic and most sought-after voting bloc in the United States. And nearly every country in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean now has a democratically elected government.

The time is right to leverage our trade and partnerships and advance a more collaborative relationship with our neighbors to the south. The Obama administration should consider these five steps: