Destination Cuba.

Thursday July, 16th I fly to Houston, Texas to spend time with family for a few days before heading to McAllen, Texas where I will spend a few days with others traveling to Cuba as part of the 20th Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba, http://www.ifconews.org/CubaCaravan, organized by Pastors for Peace/IFCO (Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization).

In addition to photos I have posted on Facebook from the launch of the Caravan bus from Portland I will put others up so check back periodically or subscribe to my blog to get updates. I will be posting photos on Facebook but publishing the links here so you can see them even if you are not on Facebook.

Photos, stories and more to come shortly!

“A Transition Plan for the United States"...sounds lie a good plan to me, I enjoy roadmaps!

“A Transition Plan for the United States

Carolina Cositore

A comment by Venezuelan writer Roberto Hernandez Montoya, in response to the US throwing millions of tax dollars into a plan to force its "transition to democracy in Cuba", to wit the US and the world would be better served by a transition to democracy in its own country "scratched behind my ears" as a friend would say, or really hit the nail on the head.” Click to read more….

I really think that Cubans have some great ideas and the national government seems to be doing some positive things. When I look at Fox News or CNN, read the Washington Post or get information from most other US based news sources, I get a slanted view of Cuba. In looking at Prensa Latina and other sources I get another side to the story (yes, there are usually more than two) and who is to know which is right. This is one of the main reasons that I want to visit Cuba to see it for myself and be able to reach my own conclusions about this mysterious island so close to the US which still seems so far away. To me Cuba is a land of intrigue, contrast and promise and I hope to get there while Fidel is still in power.

There are some other interesting articles that I found at Prensa Latina a few weeks back and wanted to share now. The first, is titled “Two Ways of Getting a College Education” and it starts off by saying: “Cuban students have the privilege of having access to university careers whatever their social standing, they must simply have the aptitude and knowledge required by the specific field chosen.” The rest is just as intriguing as this first paragraph.

The second article tells of how Oliver Stone, famed US film director, says that the US is always at war. The articles starts off: “US film director Oliver Stone said Monday that his country is living a state of permanent war and President George W. Bush took a wrong turn after 9/11.”

Finally, I don’t think I have previously mentioned on this blog about Pastors for Peace, a US based organization. “Pastors for Peace is a special ministry of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, and was created in 1988 to pioneer the delivery of humanitarian aid to Latin America and the Carribean.” My dad and I heard a talk given as part of the “Cuba Caravan” that was heading to Cuba last June. It was neat to meet with people that have been on the caravan before and others going for the first time to deliver aid to Cuba. The interesting thing is that the delivery of aid is not the real mission of Pastors for Peace but rather one of the by products of the work they do to raise the attention of people, especially in the US, about Cuba and the way in which the US Government is treating Cuba and its people. They know that they alone can not bring in all that Cuba needs but can raise Cuba’s profile and the plight of its people who are handcuffed in many ways by the US Embargo. The great thing about Cuba and another thing that intrigues me about it is that despite the embargo Cuba is flourishing in many respects and has learned to be much more crafty and self sufficient than the US for example. One short term goal is go be on the next caravan this next June with my dad if we can make it work. I think that the solidarity, camaraderie and inspiration from a trip like this would be great and would be a good way to meet Cuba.

On a less militant note I will be going to see the Afro Cuban All Stars this Saturday night with a friend who graduated from Principia College some years ahead of me. Her sister who followed her (black South African) along with another South African (white) were co-Presidents at Principia in the early 90’s, I believe just before Mandela was released or at least before he was President. Many of you have probably heard of the documentary Buena Vista Social Club which included many of the same musicians that make up the Afro Cuban All Stars. You also might have heard of another group from Cuba called Orishas which was formed in France and has more of a hip-hop/rap feel to it. You might have heard some of Orishas music in the cheesy (sorry Amy, Fiona et al.) film “Dirty Dancing Havana Nights”. I would recommend any and all of the music from these various groups/films.