jluix.com

What’s amazing about this video is that not much has changed, except for the deterioration of the buildings you’ll see.

In an essay about blogging vs. old media, Henry Gomez quotes a recent post by Yoani Sanchez “about being denied an “exit visa” to leave Cuba and accept a journalism award in Spain:”

They forget that in cyberspace my voice can travel without limits, leaving and returning without asking for permission… It does not matter if they have kept my passport. Since one year ago I have another, on which, in the section for nationality, appears a short word: “blogger”.

Cuba is a reverse Matrix. Freedom exists in, not outside, the Matrix. Yoani Sanchez sneaks blog postings into the blogosphere, but is not allowed to travel to receive a prestigious award for her work. In political prisons, men and women express themselves freely, but pay for it with physical bondage. Outside are the prisoners, inside the free. Set them free.

Tonight, I had the honor, along with Claudia Fanelli, to interview Dr. Antonio de la Cova, author of The Moncada Attack: Birth of the Cuban Revolution and Cuban Confederate Colonel: The Life of Ambrosio Jose Gonzales, as well as professor of Latino studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. The subject matter was Cuban history.

Why a podcast on Cuban history? First of all, thank you Dr. de la Cova for taking the time to speak to us on Cuban history, about which, we Americans, including myself, don’t know nearly enough. I was at a technical conference this past December in Miami where I became friends with a fellow from Texas. A conversation that started off about computer programming eventually turned to Cuba and Cubans in America. I answered his questions as best I could, but felt my explanations only scratched the surface, that I needed to delve deeper into my native land’s history, something I’ve wanted to do for years, but have never taken the time to do. We all lead very busy lives. History is just not an immediately pressing matter, but nonetheless, extremely important, for those who don’t know their own history are doomed to repeat it. A podcast is a very convenient way to fit information into our daily lives that otherwise we would likely never get around to giving our attention.

That’s the rationale for the podcast. Here are some of the questions I asked Dr. de la Cova.

1. As I understand it, some time between 1906 and 1959, Cubans had a republic, but we were obviously unable to keep it. How long did this the republic last? Why couldn’t we keep it?
2. Had Jose Marti survived the war, could he have played the George Washington figure Cuba sorely needed?
3. The Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba all got their independence with the same war. How and why did their histories’ diverge?
4. How do you think Cuban history would have turned out had the British kept it?

You can listen to his answers and much more here. Thank you once again Dr. de la Cova for being gracious enough to indulge our curiosity, and even to answer a few speculative, counterfactual, what-if questions. Thank you Claudia for the opportunity once more to co-host Blogging For Libertad. Dr. de la Cova is a treasure trove of information. I learned a lot.

Movimento Ordem e Vigilia Contra a Corrupcao is a Brazilian blog that expresses pro-freedom, anti-socialist views, including coverage of Cuba.

H/T: Cubanology.com

Come see the socialist “paradise” before freedom and free markets turn it into a decent place to live; you know, like what you enjoy back home.

At El Intransigente, a Cuban eatery in Miami that honors the Cuban plight, hangs a big poster depicting a Cuban family behind bars watching tourists enjoying the beach. It reads, “Your paradise. Their hell. Don’t visit Cuba.” Precisely!
H/T: Babalu

The computer-science student who dared challenge Cuban officials in public has been arrested.

English BBC report

We have a dream that one day even the nation of Cuba, a nation sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

Paraphrased from MLK’s I Have a Dream Speech

On Monday, I had the honor, along with Claudia Fanelli, to interview Ana Margarita Martinez. Ana Margarita’s story is one of love, heart-wrenching betrayal, and overcoming the odds. She had the misfortune of marrying a man who turned out to be a Cuban spy, who’s sole reason for marrying was to to create a cover for himself, allowing him to infiltrate exile groups like Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue). He disappeared on the eve of that day that shall forever live in infamy when two Brother-to-the-Rescue civilian planes were shot down by Cuban MIGs, only to reappear the next Monday on Cuban television revealing to have been spying in Miami all along. One can only imagine the personal devastation Ana Margarita had to endure. Yet she rose from those ashes to deal the totalitarian regime a defeat when she successfully sued them for rape. Ana Margarita is one of the few victims that has been able to exact justice from the regime. You can hear her tell her story in her own words, much better than I ever could retell it.

Thank you, Claudia, for giving me the opportunity to co-host. It was an honor all around.

Tomorrow, you can march for cambio!

To commemorate International Human Rights Day, Monday, December 10, marches protesting human rights abuses in Cuba will take place in Miami, Los Angeles, and Havana.
Protest marches will be held in Havana at the park on Calzada between D and E (Vedado), in Miami at the Graham Center at Florida International University (FIU), and in Los Angeles at 202 West First Street. The marches will begin at 11:00 am EST (8:00 am PST).

Let your voice be heard!

Go here for more details, http://bloggersforcubanliberty.blogspot.com/2007/12/for-immediate-release.html

Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,
the joy of all the earth?

Lamentations 2:15

I Was Cuba

How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.

She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.

Lamentations 1:1-2

The New Art of Making Ruins

Inspiration: Myrna Blyth interviews Ramiro Fernandez, I Was Cuba author.