Claudia4Libertad

Cell Phone Ban in Cuba Lifted. ¿Y qué?

Today it was announced that raúl castro has lifted the ban on ordinary Cuban citizens owning a cell phone.  It's big news- even the Cuban national newspaper, Granma has it on the front page.

This news was not as good as one might think.  In fact, I was conflicted.  On the one hand, I am loathe to see raúl as a reformer because, well, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  It's hard to reconcile 50 years of tyranny with a few months of relaxed rules.  But part of me really wants to give him a chance and the benefit of the doubt.

I mean, you have to start somewhere, right?  Is raúl inching his way toward leaving a legacy as a reformer before reform is thrust upon him, perhaps?  Is he having second thoughts now that his brother is an invalid?  Does he truly want to ease in these changes that will benefit the Cuban people who for so long have been cut off from the rest of the world without cell phones, cable and satellite tv, internet and periodicals? (Save those ingenious few who have illegal satellite or cell phones.) It would appear to the average American that castro is moving in the right direction.  I won't deny that.  It's not a step backwards, at least.  And by doing this, it leads me to believe that fidel is truly in a vegetative state or sedated out of his mind, for I cannot imagine him going along willingly with this plan any other way.

But then you have to consider this fact:

"Telecommunications monopoly Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A., or ETECSA said it would allow the general public to sign prepaid contracts in Cuban Convertible Pesos, which are geared toward tourists and foreigners and worth 24 times the regular pesos Cuban state employees are paid in."

The average Cuban makes 408 CUBAN pesos (or about $20 US). This is not the same as a convertible peso. Cubans do not get paid in convertible pesos, they get Cuban pesos.  Foreigners, though, can exchange their currency for Cuban Convertible Pesos, valued at about $1.12 USD. Cuban convertible pesos are worth 24 Cuban pesos. Got that? So, um, how are the Cuban people supposed to buy a cell phone with money they can't get?  Not to mention that even if they did have it, they can't afford it with what they earn. Maybe another change raúl might consider is currency reform- perhaps, oh, eliminating the convertible peso, for starters? And then he might want to consider raising wages.  There has been talk of this, but so far that's all it has been.  Talk.

So you see my conundrum. I do want to believe in raúl, that his black, withered, heart has somehow begun to pump again.  Who wouldn't want to believe that the man has had an all-too-late epiphany?  But I can't.  Not when the ban on cell phones being lifted seems little more than an empty gesture. Keep going raúl.  If not, your legacy will be as meaningless as lifting this ban.

More here.

Interview with Susana Lohse

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking with author Susana Lohse on Blog Talk Radio.  Susana spent an hour chatting with me and Alberto De la Cruz about her life in Cuba, how she was inspired to write her book, "The Peerless Dulcinea," the writing process and what her hopes are for Cuba. If you missed the show, you can listen to it here. If you have children and you'd like them to read a really great book with Cuban history intertwined throughout, or you'd like to read it yourself, please visit Susana's website www.thepeerlessdulcinea.com where you can order her book at a discount and with free shipping.  You can also get it on Amazon but at the moment they are waiting for more stock.

Author Susana Lohse on Blogging for Libertad

Cuban-American author, Susana Lohse, author of children's book, "The Peerless Dulcinea," will be Thursday's guest on "Blogging for Libertad." 

"The Peerless Dulcinea" won a Gold Award at the 37th Annual WorldFest Houston International Film Festival as a screenplay before the novel was even finished. Susan Lohse also has two other children's books in the works, to be available next year.

Alberto De la Cruz and I will be interviewing Susana on Blog Talk Radio-Blogging for Libertad-this Thursday, March 27th at 8:00 EST. We'll be discussing her writing career, her accomplishments and much more. We hope you check out Susana's book HERE and tune in on Thursday.

The call-in number is (646) 378-1983

Feliz Aniversario

Jose Reyes began his super-informative website, Cubanology.com, five years ago. If you have never visited make it a point to do so. Jose has information on just about evrything Cuban. Congratulations, Jose!

Video Project: Que Bella es Cuba/En Cuba No Falta Nada

I hope you enjoy it. It was very sad to make it.

Qué Rico el Mambo

In the 1950's my parents used to go dancing a lot, especially at a place called the "Latin Quarter."  They used to be pretty good dancers, and they have a decent repertoire of dances.  When I was growing up, my dad used to dazzle us with a few dance moves here and there and would frequently sing "Mambo, qué rico el Mambo."  I didn't know anything about the Mambo or that song as a child, but as an adult it's one of my favorite songs and I love to watch videos of Pérez Prado.  Here's the song in a video from 1951.  Enjoy!

President Bush Talks About Cuban Black Spring at Press Conference

Today President Bush gave a press conference in which he spoke about Cuban Miguel Sigler Amaya, former political prisoner who was arrested and imprisoned during the 2003 crackdown on independent journalists and librarians in Cuba, known as La Primavera Negra, or the Black Spring.  President Bush told the story of Miguel and his brothers, Ariel and Guido, who were also arrested, and how they were beaten and had their lives threatened.  Miguel's brothers are still imprisoned.  President Bush used the occasion to denounce the regime, to state that Cuba has merely replaced one dictator with another and to send a message to Las Damas de Blanco through Miguel's wife, Josefa:

"I've asked Josefa to please tell the Ladies in White -- las Damas de Blanco -- that as they pray for a free Cuba, the American people -- many American people will pray for them. And we can be confident that a loving God will listen."

President Bush called Miguel, his wife and his brothers, "heralds of freedom" and said that

"the United States will continue to shine a bright and revealing light on Cuba's abuses. "

I'm glad that someone in the world is willing to shine a light on these abuses.  I can't help but wonder how Barack Obama would plan to shine a light on the abuses when he's in meetings with the bed-ridden fidel or with raúl, trying to establish dialogue with a communist regime that has oppressed its people for 50 years.

You can watch the video here: VIDEO

You can read the speech here: SPEECH

Thank you to Jorge Ponce for the heads up!

Gracias, fidel, for Steven Bauer

As usual, I was looking on YouTube for something and found something I was not looking for but I am really happy about it.  I came across the video below and realized there was something I, personally, could thank fidel castro for- Steven Bauer!   Had castro not taken over Cuba, the Echevarria family would not have had to leave Cuba and I would not have ever seen this:

So, I'd like to take this space to acknowledge my admiration of him here.  I was a teenager in the early 1980's and very interested in learning Spanish when I came across what I later found out were re-runs of Qué Pasa, USA? on tv.  As soon as I saw Steven Bauer's (then Rocky Echevarria) face I decided not to change the channel.  The show was a novelty for me- where I grew up there was no evidence of latinos anywhere, in spite of the fact that I lived a few miles from Philadelphia. (Though at that time, there were many more Italians than Hispanics in the city.)  We had one half Cuban kid in my whole school of 3,000, and I think he was third generation American.   

When Scarface came out I was too young to go to see it but as a big Pacino fan I was dying to find a way to watch it.  As soon as it came out on Beta (Beta!) my friend's older brother rented it and I watched it at her house without my parents knowing.  I was a sophomore in high school and grossed out by the violence but in love with Steven Bauer.  Al may have been the star but I only had eyes for Manolo. After that and for years later, I rented anything that he was in and I had pictures of him on my walls in my college dormitory. It wasn't just because he is (still) gorgeous- I really think he is a great actor. If I had forgotten, I only needed to think about his role in the Lost City and remember how I ended up in tears at his last scenes.  I thought he was great in Traffic, and he was awesome in the Kiki Camarera Story.  It always made me mad that Hollywood didn't take more notice of him- he should be as big as Andy Garcia is now.

So, fidel, thank you so much for giving us Steven Bauer.

You can check out an interview with Steven below.

Can Someone Please Tell Me

...why anyone would want to own a che guevara rubber stamp?

I'm a scrapbooker and I use rubber stamps all the time.  But I fail to see how a rubber stamp of che guevara's ugly mug would be of use to anyone.  And I don't even mean because he was a murdering, heartless thug.  I just mean, what are the uses of this particular item?

The ad says "to give your customers that dividual touch."  I guess you could stamp his face on an unpaid invoice to scare someone in to paying their bill.  Or you could just send a little message that says "I love overhyped marxist murderers." Or you could make some handmade flyers and give them to Maria Isabel to pass out for Obama.  I guess I just didn't think about it enough.