Claudia4Libertad

On hiatus

Claudia4Libertad will be on hiatus until later in June.

Dos cubanas muy especiales

 Today I printed my photos from Cuba Nostalgia so I could start my Cuba Nostalgia scrapbook and I began to think, for about the 10th time this week, how lucky I was to have been able to go to Miami last week and to meet people who I had never met before but who treated me as if I had. I almost feel like posting a daily "Special Cuban" feature but that would be a full-time job to feature everyone.

So, I'll talk about two for now, at the risk of embarrassing them (lo siento!) because they have been in my thoughts all week. I already posted last week about meeting Maggie, the sweet and adorable wife of Val Prieto of Babalublog and how she greeted me and took me by the arm as if we were old friends. She introduced me to everyone she stopped to talk to and told them who I was ("This is Claudia, she writes for Babalú.") Maggie gave me a very special gift to remember her by. How I lived without these for all these years I do not know, but they are indispensable. When I got back to my hotel at about 11:30, she texted me to see if I had made it back ok.  When I didn't go to Nostalgia the next day she called to see if I was alright, because I said I was going to be there.  This was a woman who had met me not even 24 hours earlier.  I was touched.

The other amazing Cubana I met for the first time was Marta Darby, whose blog, www.mybigfatcubanfamily.com is one of my favorites. Although I had been emailing with Marta since last year once we realized that we were both scrapbookers, I was unprepared for a tearful first meeting. (I'm such a girl). It was a fun, educational, entertaining and slightly mischievious seven hours I spent with her.

Marta supervised my dinner order, introduced me to Masa Real de guava and helped me order coffee. Sounds simple, I know, but I have never ordered Cuban coffee, in Spanish especially, and except for the occasional 4 successive cups of Cuban coffee in a row I drink at home, I don't ever order coffee of any kind when I'm out, in English or Spanish. So, I ordered it by taking the easy way out in spite of Marta's help, by saying "Quisiera exactamente lo que tiene ella," ("I'd like exactly what she has,") referring to her daughter's coffee which I seemed to have a problem figuring the proper term for- cortadito, bonbon, café cubano, café con leche, colada, quééé??? One of the ladies behind the counter asked me what part of Cuba I was from. ¿?¿? Ummm, the Philadelphia part? Then, because I'm a little slow, it ocurred to me that HELLO, this question was perfectly logical, because why else would I be at Cuba Nostalgia wearing a "Got Cuba?" shirt, drinking café and speaking Spanish?  

But back to Marta, she not only supervised my culinary adventure, but she explained things to me like the number "22,"made me a "cubanita de corazón" t-shirt, and shed some tears with me while we watched the viejitos dance. When I bombarded her with cubanía questions, she happily provided me answers. I also somehow got embroiled in accosting a Univisión show host with her when her celebrity radar started beeping. (Read Marta's account HERE.)

I am very lucky to have met these two special ladies who treated me so well.  Gracias, chicas, from the cubanita de corazón.

Jose Marti

It's not great picture but I was excited to accidentally come across the Jose Marti statue with flowers and Cuban flag at the base today. I wasn't even looking for it.

Here is a better picture and the story of my adventure in New York City with the statue, posted on Babalublog.

Cuban Solidarity Day

Today President Bush will once again make it a point to draw attention to the oppression suffered by the Cuban people by making a speech in conmemoration of Cuban Solidarity Day. Val Prieto of Babalu Blog was invited to the White House and I am waiting to hear something about the goings on. I am out of the loop all day today, away from tv and videos as I make my way into New York City to go to a Broadway matinee with a gaggle of teenagers. I will post links as I am able to access them.

Tune into Channel 41 in Miami tomorrow

George Utset of TheRealCuba.com will be interviewed by Oscar Haza about a malpractice case of a Cuban girl and he will have new videos from Cuba. I will add information as I get it. Be sure to tune in!

CUBA SOLIDARITY DAY MAY 21

May 21st is Cuba Solidarity Day, marking a day to promote peaceful democratic change in Cuba and to focus on the Cuban prisoners of the conscience.There are various events in the US and other countries that have been organized to promote awareness of the plight of the Cuban people and the political prisoners, but if you don't have an event near you, you can still help by signing this petition to ask for the release of the 220 political prisoners currently languishing in Cuban jails.  Their jail sentences are in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.  Click here to go to the petition.

Help Wish Dr. Biscet a Happy Father's Day

Dr. BIscet's daughter, Winnie, posted a request on her Facebook, asking for supporters of her father to send her their thoughts so she can send them to him on Father's Day.

"I WANT THAT PEOPLE WRITE SOMETHING TO MY FATHER ANYTHING THEY WANT TO SAY TO HIM. IT HAS TO BE IN SPANISH! IM GOING TO SEND ALL THOSE WRITING TO HIM AS SOON YOU SEND IT TO ME. I KNOW HE WILL LOVE IT. I WANT TO D[O] IT FOR "FATHERS DAY" PLEASE SEND TO MY EMAIL (winnie_biscet@yahoo.com)"

If you would like to send your support, please email Winnie at the above email. It's the very least we can do for a hero.

Yoaní Sánchez Is Denied Visa

Yoani Sanchez, whose blog from Cuba, "Generación Y" earned her the "Ortega y Gassett Award" and 15,000 euros (123,000 dollars) was denied authorization to travel to Spain to receive the award. Zoe Valdes, a Cuban novelist in exile in Paris, and freed political prisoner Raul Rivero, poet and journalist in exile in Spain, spoke out about the softer side of Raul Castro being meaningless when he denies something like this. Rivero is no stranger to being punished for writing. Once a writer for the state controlled media, he later founded Cuba Press, for independent journalists. He and his wife were harrassed by authorities and Raul was arrested in the Black Spring Crackdown in 2003 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was freed in 2004 for frail health and now lives in exile in Spain. There he can carry all the propaganda about the regime that he wants, because the Cuban people won't hear it there. More on this later.