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CUBAN AGENCIES
CUBAN FOCUSSED MEDIA
November,
2010 VI
International Colloquium
for the freedom of the Five Cuban Heroes - Holguín, Cuba
HOLGUIN
/ CUBA
¡FREEDOM NOW!
VI International Colloquium
For the freedom of the Five Cuban Heroes
& against terrorism
Holguín, from November 16 to 26, 2010
The Cuban
Institute of Friendship with the Peoples invites all friends of Cuba to
join us in the 6th International Colloquium for the freedom of the Five
Cuban Heroes, prisoners of the empire & against terrorism.
This sixth edition will take place from November 17th to 21st, 2010; in Holguin
province and it will be a new opportunity to all justice-loving people to
unite wills and efforts in the struggle to free the Cuban Five, unjustly
imprisoned in North American jails for fighting against terrorism. Accreditation
fees for the event will be $25.00 CUC per person.
The comfortable Hotel Pernik, located in the center of the provincial capital,
will be ready for accommodation in single/double rooms, including breakfast,
transfers in-out and transportation to all the activities of the program.
Moreover, from November 22nd to 24th, the participants will have access to
an additional program of optional visits to places of historical and cultural
interest.
Program
Wednesday, November 17th
15:00 Welcome ceremony, information meeting, and accreditation for all participants
at EXPO-HOLGUIN
Thursday, November 18th
09:30 Opening of the VI Colloquium.
10:00 Updating about the case of the Cuban Five
Meeting with relatives of the Cuban Five at Expo-Holguín
12:30 pm Lunch at Expo-Holguín
02:30 pm Exchange of all foreign delegations by geographical areas
Friday, November 19th
08:00 Voluntary work in organic urban farms, and planting of trees.
12:30 Lunch at Expo-Holguín.
14:30 Meeting with the delegates to the Colloquium according to different
interests: lawyers, journalists and alternative media, writers and artists,
teachers and students.
16:30 Meeting with the National Commission in the case of the Cuban Five
at ICAP and the International Committee of Solidarity with the Five Cuban
Heroes.
Place: Expo-Holguín.
Saturday, November 20th
08:00 Solidarity Parade.
08:30 Meeting at Che Guevara Monument.
10:00 Session of the VI Colloquium
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Reading and Adoption of the Final Declaration of the Colloquium and
the action plan for the future.
15:30 Conclusions.
20:30 Get together with the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
(CDR)
Sunday, November 21st
09:00 Exchange about the struggle for the freedom of the Cuban Five in different
municipalities of the province.
09:30 Public audience against terrorism.
Place: Boca de Samá community.
20:00 Cultural activity in homage to the 50th Anniversary of ICAP.
Monday,
November 22nd
RETURN OF DELEGATES TO THEIR COUNTRY
Optional
tours offered by Amistur Agency, which will be sold during the days of
the event for no less than 15 persons
Enjoy a day at Guardalavaca Beach
Visit to Guardalavaca Beach. Beach time. Lunch
Visit to Taina Aboriginal Village and “Chorro de Maita” Museum.
Price per person: 25 CUC
Meeting with the History
Departure to Birán. Visit to the birth house of Commander in Chief
Fidel Castro Ruz.
P.M. Lunch in a restaurant
City tour by different hisdtorical and cultural places of interest, including
the visit to the Provincial Museum “La Periquera”.
Price per person: 25 CUC
CLOSE
TO OUR NATIONAL ROOTS
9:00 AM Visit to the National Monumentary Park Bariay, where the Monument
to the 5th Centenary is: Built in October 27th, 1992, during the celebration
of 500 years of Christopher Columbus arrival, which reminds the encounter
of both cultures, the European and the Aboriginal ones.
1 Arrival to the National Monumentary Park Bariay
2 Visit to the Spanish Fort.
3 Visit to the information centre.
4 Transfer to the Museum of the Forester to enjoy a welcoming cocktail (Natural
coconut water)
Lunch at “Colombo” Restaurant with a liquid included.
5 Return to the hotel.
Prize per person: 30 CUC
NOTE: To the friends arriving by Havana City, there will be a bus during November 15th, 16th and 17th, departing at 6.00 AM from ICAP Headquarters, located on 17 Street, No. 301, between H & I streets, Vedado. There will also be a lunch included with. All this will be 15:00 CUC. The return, November 22nd from Pernik Hotel, at 6:00 AM, with the same characteristics.
Organizar
Committee: Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples
Address: San Carlos street Nº 27, Peralta, Holguín CP80100. Cuba.
Telephone: (53-24) 461 914; (53-24) 424 376
Name of the event: VI International Colloquium for the Freedom of the Cuban
Five
Topic: Solidarity
Dates: From November 17th to 22nd , 2010
FRIDAY OCTOBER
15
6:30pm
Britannia Community Centre
Learning Resource Room
1661 Napier Street (at Commercial Drive)
Vancouver, Canada
In July
2010, 8 British Columbians had the good fortune to join the
21st Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba. Over 85 Caravanistas from
across the United States and around the world, joined together to
raise awareness throughout the United States about the cruelty of the
illegal US blockade against Cuba. Along with over 100 Tones of aid for
Cuba, the Caravanistas visited the Island of Cuba and learned
firsthand about the impacts of the blockade on Cuba and the
revolutionary spirit of resistance and creativity that Cuba has used
to overcome the difficulties imposed on them.
On Friday
October 15th please join the 2010 BC Caravanistas as they
recount their amazing trip! We are also honoured to have a Seattle
Caravanista joining us in Vancouver and 2 Caravanistas by video from
the Pastors for Peace Office in New York City!
This
event will also feature a special commemoration of the late
Reverend Lucius Walker. Lucius was a founder and leader of the Caravan
to Cuba who passed away recently, on September 7, 2010. We will take a
moment at the report back from the Caravan to reflect on this man’s
important contributions in the struggle to build a better and more
just world for all of humanity.
+ Refreshments
will be served.
++ Event is by donation
For further information please phone: 778-882-5223
== Organized
by ==
Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC)
778-882-5223 | vancubasolidarity@gmail.com
http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/
July 4, 2010 Pastors for Peace Cuba Caravan at the Peace Arch
A school bus has been bought by supporters on Salt Spring Island and a caravan will begin in Comox June 30, then Victoria July 2, Vancouver July 3, and the Peace Arch border crossing at Blaine on Sunday July 4. VCSC and Tamara will coordinate the Vancouver event and we invite the CCFA to work with them on that.
July 1-17 Caravan routes
through US and Canadian cities
July 18-20 Orientation period - McAllen, TX
July 21-22 Border Crossing into Mexico and travel to Tampico
July 23 Travel to Cuba
July 24-Aug 1 Cuba program
Aug 2 Fly to Tampico and travel back to border
Aug 3 Reverse challenge crossing into Texas
John Waller
Cuba Caravan Coordinator
IFCO-Pastors for Peace
Cell 831-512-6688
email cucaravan@igc.org
www.pastorsforpeace.org
418 W 145th Street
New York, NY, 10031
Sunday, May 2, 2010, 1:30pm
Annual General Meeting
Chilean
Co-op 3390 School Ave. Vancouver (south of Kingsway & Tyne) with special
guests Yanira Kuper & Maritzel Gonzalez-Quevedo from the Federation
of Cuban Women (FMC), election of officers, reports, future plans.
This meeting is for members only. Memberships are available at the door.
NOTE:
The FMC women will be giving a public talk at this year's May
Day
event. Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St. Vancouver, doors open at
6pm - FREE EVENT.
Moncada Day, July 26, 2009
Tom Hawken
Jim Shields, Secretary of the
BC Federation of Labour
Frank Kennedy
Hugo Rojas
SOLIDARITY
FOR CUBA! THE BLOCKADE HAS BEEN BROKEN ONCE AGAIN!
100 TONNES OF HUMANITARIAN AID AND CARAVANISTAS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO
CUBA!
To all friends in solidarity with Cuba,
In the
early morning of Tuesday, July 21, the 20th Pastors for Peace
Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba crossed the border into Mexico from the
U.S. Three weeks after the caravan began its journey, we can clearly
and loudly say that the caravan has given the 20th blow to the US
blockade and all the hateful people who maintain it.
With 100
tonnes of humanitarian aid, around 130 caravanistas, numerous
cars, trucks and buses, the caravan broke through the blockade and
entered Mexico. It is clear as time passes that as more people become
aware of what the blockade truly represents, the US is having a harder
time to justify and keep it in place.
Although
the caravan has not completed its journey, the biggest
stumbling block of getting out of the US has been passed. We can
celebrate the big victory of the US/Mexico border crossing, but we must
keep our eyes on the caravan until all the caravanistas return to their
place of origin.
To all
the people who contributed financially, donated aid, added your
labour, organized events or helped in any other aspect of this caravan,
we send a big hug with thanks to all. Without your ongoing support this
kind of accomplishment and success would not be possible.
The struggle
continues,
Randy Caravaggio
Victoria Goods for Cuba Campaign
May, 1, 2009 Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba benefit event
5:30pm Full Dinner served 7:30pm Live Music with Boogaloo En Orbit
Dance to Latin cha cha, rumba, twist, cumbia and boogaloo
BCGEU Hall 2994 Douglas
Tickets: $13 -15 Dinner & Dance $8 Dance only
For reservations 250-743-2994
Sponsored by the Goods for Cuba Campaign
An update from Goods for Cuba Campaign
Friends
of Cuba,
We send this note with the intention of shedding some light on what has
been taking place with the new US Obama administration in regards to
changes in their relation with Cuba.
No doubt
we will be hearing from various people that the US is now
easing or lifting the Blockade against Cuba. We have heard this many
times in the past when the US has made some small positive changes in
regards to their policy towards Cuba.
The fact
is the changes announced on Monday from the Obama
administration regarding US/Cuba relations does not go anywhere close
to the lifting of the genocidal blockade that the moajority of US
citizens, the Cuban people, the UN and all kinds of people around the
planet have been calling for; nor the release of the Cuban five from US
jails; nor the extradition of the terrorist Posada Carriles to
Venezuela to face justice; nor the return of the US occupied territory
of Guantanamo to Cuba; nor the reinclusion of Cuba in the Organization
of American States which the overwhelming majority of countries of this
continent have been calling for. These are the real issues that Obama
needs to deal with if he means what he states when he says he wants
better relations with Cuba.
In solidarity,
Goods for Cuba Campaign
May 1-9 Kingston Cuba Fest
Dear members of the CNC and others working in solidarity with Cuba:
May is approaching quickly and with it both the conference at Queen's commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution ("Measure of a Revolution" May 7-9) and the first-ever Cubafest Kingston (May 1-9).
Cubafest plans are developing very well and an exciting nine days of Cuba-related events await Kingstonians and visitors. The city is responding positively to the great potential of this event and many individuals, groups and organisations are getting on board. We don't want you to miss out on the enjoyment and fun. The fantastic, interactive Cubafest website is fully operational now so please visit it, inform yourself and your friends, and buy tickets to events before they sell out. You will see as well that Cubafest is presenting lots of activities that are free of charge. The website is http://www.cubafestkingston.ca.
The conference organizers and CCFA Kingston have been concerned to demonstrate to participants and to the general public the importance of the solidarity movement to the Cuban Revolution. This fact is reflected both in the conference program and in the dovetailing of the conference and Cubafest activities. CCFA Kingston hopes, therefore, that the CNC can take full advantage of this opportunity to highlight some of our efforts to promote friendship and solidarity with Cuba. To that end, we have applied to have a display table with volunteer staff at the conference where CNC materials could be handed out or sold. As well, we plan to have a display table at Cubafest events in Market Square on Saturdays May 2 and May 9. Cubafest film nights running each week night from May 4 to May 8 will provide a similar opportunity.So, if you are planning to attend, please bring any solidarity-related materials you wish to display; if you cannot attend but have important materials, please consider sending them to us. In either case, do let us know of your plans as soon as possible.
Of particular importance, of course, is the campaign to free the Five, especially given the crucial stage in the case as the US Supreme Court ponders whether or not it will hear the appeal. The president of the National Assembly of Cuba, Ricardo Alarcon, will be present at the conference and will give the closing address. It is important that President Alarcon, for whom the struggle to free the Five has become a personal battle, see that we too are making efforts.CCFA Kingston has sent an invitation to Leonard Weinglass, one of the lawyers on the legal defence team for the Five, to participate in the conference but so far we have not had any reply.
CCFA Kingston plans to have on hand at the conference and Cubafest activities the postcard addressed to the US administration prepared by the International Committee to Free the Five.
Finally, we would appreciate all CNC groups sending their fraternal greetings to the conference -- a supportive gesture that would reveal to participants and the public the nation-wide extent of Canada-Cuba solidarity.
In solidarity
Evelyn Gervan, President, CCFA Kingston
May 7-9, 2009 Queen's University Conference
CALL
FOR REGISTRATION
With 2009 marking of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, Queen’s
University is proud to host a three-day international conference –“The
Measure of a Revolution: Cuba, 1959-2009” in collaboration with Boston
University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University
of Havana.
The “Measure of a Revolution” will be the only major conference
during the 50th anniversary year of the Cuban Revolution that will provide
an opportunity for scholars and policy makers from Canada, Cuba, the United
States, and eleven other countries to discuss and engage with each other and
the attending general public. With more than two hundred presentations by
leading academics, policy-makers, artists and writers, the conference will
address such diverse themes as culture, gender, the economy, environment,
sexuality, politics, migration, race, education, health, religion, and international
relations.
The conference will take place from May 7th to 9th, 2009 at Queen’s
University (Kingston, Ontario). Registration is now open for interested faculty,
staff, students, and community members via our website: http://www.queensu.ca/sociology/?q=node/138.
Register early as limited spaces are available.
There will also be a week long Cuba Festival in Kingston – May 1st to
9th – to mark both the Queen’s Conference and the twinning of
the City of Kingston with the City of Cienfuegos in Cuba. Conference participants
will be offered a discounted rate for selected events. Please visit our website
for more details on the conference program and related events.
Questions related to the conference may be sent to cuba09@queensu.ca.
We look forward to seeing you in May!
(Preliminary) PROGRAM
THURSDAY, MAY 7 2009
8:30-4:00 REGISTRATION
9:30-11:00
CUBA IN AFRICA; AFRICA IN CUBA
Joint panels with the Canadian African Studies Association
Panel I. Solidarity with Africa; the Cuban Revolution and Africa’s Diaspora
Panel II. Cuba’s Role and Influence in Fighting Apartheid and Colonial
Domination in Africa
Panel III. Cuba’s Internationalism Africa: Sharing Knowledge and Expertise
in International Development
11:00-11:30 PICK-UP BAGGED LUNCH
11:30-12:50
AFRICAN-CUBAN SPECIAL JOINT SESSION: THE MAGIC OF CUBAN-AFRICAN CULTURE
Held jointly with the Canadian African Studies Association
Film presentation by Gloria Rolando and Readings by Nancy Morejón and
Afua Cooper
CONCURRENT
PANELS: THE MEASURE OF A REVOLUTION
Panel 1. Not So Calm Before the Storm: Cuba-U.S. Relations in the 1950s
Panel 3. Threatening Representations: Canadian and U.S. Responses to the Cold
War
Panel 16. Domestic Challenges and International Opportunities: Cuba’s
Economic Development
Panel 17. Citizenship, Organizations and Civil Society
12:50-1:00 BREAK
1:00-2:30
OPENING PLENARY : HEMISPHERIC MOMENTS OVER 50 YEARS
Chair: Louis A. Pérez, J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor in the Department
of History at University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill and he presently serves as the editor of the UNC
Press book series Envisioning Cuba and as the editor of the journal Cuban
Studies
Plenary Speakers:
John Kirk, Canada
Professor of Spanish at Dalhousie University and editor of the “Contemporary
Cuba” series with the University Press of Florida
Josefina de la Caridad Vidal Ferreiro, Cuba
Director of North America, Ministry of Foreign Relations,
Robert Pastor, USA
Professor of International Relations, American University and former National
Security Advisor for Latin America (1977-81), Fellow and Founding Director
of the Carter Center's Latin American and Caribbean Program
2:30-3:00
COFFEE BREAK
3:00- 4:30 CONCURRENT PANELS
Panel 5. ‘A Grain of Poetry to Season a Century’: Readings on
Cuban Culture I
Panel 6. Literary Representation of the Cuban Revolution
Panel 13. Cuba’s Health Initiatives
Panel 18. Religion and Civil Society
Panel 33. Race and Racism: Histories and Narratives of Transformative Politics
Panel 43. Past Paths and New Directions in Cuba-U.S. Relations
Evening
5:30-7:45 DINNER & WELCOMING ADDRESSES
Principal Tom Williams (Queen’s University), and
Principal Rubén Zardoya (Havana University)
[Other speaker to be confirmed]
POETRY
READING
Pedro Pérez Sarduy
8:00 RECEPTION
GRAND THEATRE
8:30 CONCERT “EMBRACING VOICES” JANE BUNNETT with GRUPO VOCAL
DESANDANN
Jane Bunnett, renowned soprano saxophonist, flutist, and bandleader, will
perform selections from her latest album, Embracing Voices. She has built
her career at the crossroads of Cuban music and jazz, and her groundbreaking
exploration of Afro-Cuban melodies express the universality of music. Recipient
of the Order of Canada for her contributions to jazz, twice nominated for
Grammy Awards and winner of numerous Junos, she consistently showcases the
finest musical talent from Canada, the United States, and Cuba.
This high-spirited concert embraces some of the best Canadian and Cuban vocalists
and instrumentalists on the jazz & World music scene today. Featuring
Grupo Vocal Desandann, the extraordinary Cuban Haitian a cappella, 10 voice
choir - who provide a strong vocal canvas upon which Jane Bunnett creates
a dazzling rhythmic fusion collaborating with vocalist Elizabeth Shepherd
and Cuban vocalist and rapper Telmary Diaz, along with her award-winning Spirits
of Havana band.
Tickets: $34.00 (B Section); $39.00 (A Section)
FRIDAY, MAY 8 2009
9:30-6:00 BOOK FAIR
Morning
8:30-10:00 PANELS
Panel 15. Representations of the Self, Race, Gender and Iconography
Panel 20. The Cuban Economy: Difficulties and Innovations
Panel 22. Education beyond the Classroom and beyond Borders
Panel 25. Negotiating Equity within Families
Panel 29. Cuba’s Global Affairs: Lessons Learned from ‘Special
Relations’ and Solidarity
Panel 46. Youth Cultures II: Cultures of Expression and Consumption
10:00-10:30 COFFEE BREAK
10:30-12:00
PANELS
Panel 2. Revolutionary Institution or Command Economy? The Bolivarian Alternative
for the Americas (ALBA)
Panel 9. Changing Modes of Cultural Citizenship
Panel 14. Across Time and Space: Reflections on Fernando Pérez
Panel 21. Raising Consciousness: The Origins of Cuban Educational Reform
Panel 41. Legal Concerns in Cuba-U.S. Relations
12:00 -1:15 LUNCH / BOOK FAIR
Afternoon
1:15-2:45 PLENARY SESSION: “REVOLUTION AND CUBAN CULTURE”
Speakers: Fenando Pérez, Miguel Barnet, and Nancy Morejón
2:45-3:15 COFFEE BREAK / BOOK FAIR
3:15-4:45
PANELS
Panel 10. Culture Industries
Panel 19. In Search of Economic Growth and Equity
Panel 37. Popular Participation within the Revolutionary Process
Panel 39. Public Discourses on Sexuality
Panel 40. Crossing Borders – But Still Cuban
Panel 45. Youth Cultures I: Generations Apart?
5:00-6:00
BOOK LAUNCH: Profits from sale of book to be donated to the Cuba Hurricane
Relief Fund.
Phillip Brenner, Marguerite Rose Jiménez, John Kirk and William LeoGrande
(Eds.) Reinventing the Revolution: A Contemporary Cuba Reader. Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, Inc (2007)
Evening
8:00 CUBA FIESTA FEATURING THE CARIBE GIRLS.
OUR GALA EVENT! GREAT MUSIC! GREAT SALSA! GREAT CUBAN FOOD!
Featuring the Cuba's hot female group, Caribe Girls with Mario Rivera, lead
singer of Los Van Van, and Leoni Torres, ex-lead singer of La Charanga Habanera.
Jack (The Happy Chef) Francis will serve great Cuban food throughout the night.
Cigar rolling demonstrations and more!
Tickets: $40.00 if bought before April 26; $55.00 after April 26 (Special
Price for Conference Participants).
The Joy Supper Club, 178 Ontario Street
SATURDAY,
MAY 9
Morning
8:30-10:00 PANELS
Panel 4. Engagement or Isolation? The Present State of Cuba within North America
Panel 7. The Birth of the Contemporary Cuban Aesthetic
Panel 23. The Environment: In Search of Sustainable Development
Panel 27. “A Revolution within a Revolution”: Gender Politics
in Cuba
Panel 36. The Evolution of Socialist Democracy and the Cuban State
10:00-10:30 COFFEE
10:30-12:00
PANELS
Panel 11. Global Interconnections across Time and Space
Panel 30. Dr. Diplomat? The Political and Public Health Impacts of Cuba’s
Medical Diplomacy
Panel 34. Historical Reflections on Media, Cinema and Legend
Panel 42. Seeking Domination (Unsuccessfully): Five Periods of Cuba-U.S. Relations
Panel 44. From Counter-Revolution to Dialogue?
12:00-1:15
LUNCH
12:00-1:15 ART & REVOLUTION: Discussion with Eduardo Roca “Choco”
Afternoon
1:15-2:45 PANELS
Round Table. Fifty Years of Cuban Studies (Panel 26)
Panel 8. The Ideals of Revolution in Cuban Cultural Production
Panel 31. International Solidarity: Differing Perspectives
Panel 35. The Legacy of Fidel Castro Ruz
Panel 38. Understanding Sexuality in the Cuban Revolution
2:45-3:15 COFFEE
3:15-4:45
PANELS
Panel 12. Public Spheres of the Aesthetic
Panel 24. Ropa Vieja, Caldosas, y Ensaladas Mixtas: The Political Economy
of Having Dinner
Panel 28. Imagining Havana: The Cultural Heritage of a Cityscape
Panel 32. Taking Care of Each Other: The Experience of Public Health and Health
Care in Cuba
Panel 47. Defense Issues and Foreign Policy
Evening
6:00-6:45 CLOSING PLENARY SPEAKER
Ricardo Alarcón, President of the National Assembly of Cuba [Pending
Confirmation]
With an introduction by Dr Saul Landau, Professor Emeritus, Institute for
Policy Studies, California State University
6:45-7:00
POETRY READING
Miguel Barnet, Fundación Fernando Ortiz and National Union of Writers
and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC)
7:00-8:30 BANQUET
8:00-8:45
CLOSING REMARKS
Vice- Rector Christina Díaz López, Havana University
Vice-Principal John Dixon, Queen’s University
AWARDS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SILENT AUCTION RESULTS
9:00-12:00 RUM & CIGAR CRUISE
Sunday, April 19 CCFA Annual General Meeting
The AGM will start at 1:00 p.m. at the Chilean Co-op (3390 School Ave. near Kingsway and Tyne). The meeting will review the past year's work, plan activities for the coming year, and elect a new executive. If you have been a member for a year, please consider standing for the executive.
Sunday, January 25
The
Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association invites
you to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of
Jose Marti
the
great Cuban writer, internationalist,
patriot, and revolutionary.
Sunday, January 25, 1 pm
at
the Chilean Co-op
3390 School Ave.
(near Kingsway and Tyne)
There will be poetry readings, music, and refreshments.
Vancouver Film Festival
Hurricane
Relief for Cuba
Cuba has been reeling
from the effect of 2 major hurricanes causing massive destruction
A
hand for Cubans in their hour of need
(100%
of benefit will go to Cuba trough Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund)
Peņa
– Solidarity Event
(typical food, Chilean wine, etc.)
7pm
Hugo Rojas, Pablo Oyarzo, Guests.
6184 ASH ST. Vancouver, B.C.
(W
45 Ave & Ash) parking
available
About seventy people showed up at the Chilean Co-op in Burnaby, July 27, to celebrate Fidel Castro's attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago (July 26, 1953). The celebrants enjoyed barbecued chicken, numerous salads, and a sweet table overflowing with fruit and cakes.
Local band Son Rebelde (Rebellious Sound) tested everyone's Spanish with some lively music, but the folks in the audience proved they knew the lyrics of Guantanamera. A few brave souls couldn't resist the beat this energetic band produced and got up to dance.
Representatives
of the BC Teachers Federation Cuba group spoke
at Moncada Day about its ESL teaching project in Cuba.
UBC Agrology
Professor Wendy Holm
spoke of her Farmer to Farmer
project.
CCFA Vice-president
Tom Hawken, MC'd Moncada Day 2008,
and kept the amps working. He also introduced Elspeth Gardner,
founding member of CCFA, who spoke of the early organizing.
Pathfinder
Press reps Ned Dmitrishyn and Steve Penner helped
celebrate the event. Pathfinder recently published the remarkable
story of the Chinese-Cuban generals in the cuban revolution under
the title Our
History is Still Being Written.
Derrick O'Keefe, Chair of Stop the War
Son Rebelde: Guantanamera/ Guajira Guantanamera
Free the Five Billboard graces Island Highway
Inspired by the mothers of the Five he met on CCFA's January 2008 tour, CCFA board member Peter Noble arranged for these two billboards to be displayed on Vancouver Island just outside Campbell River. They have been there all summer informing Canadian and US tourists, as well as local Islanders.
Caravan given send off at Peace Arch
CCFA vice-president
and well known local folk singer, Tom Hawken,
sang some old inspirationals at the 2008 Peace Arch Crossing send-off
of a caravan headed for Cuba. CCFA donated to this annual international
project sponsored by Pastors for Peace. Vehicle-loads of medical and
educational goods were taken to Cuba via Mexico, in defiance of the
US blockade of Cuba. To volunteer or donate, contact Randy
Caravaggio.
Film Event
Here are photos from the Cuban film night at the Vancouver Public Library, June 6, 2008. The event was sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library, Necessary Voices, Cinepolitica and the CCFA. Approximately 150 people attended the film.
The CCFA used the opportunity to inform the audience about the recent court ruling in the USA. Many people, of course, did not know about the Cuba Five.
This event demonstrated that the most effective way of promoting the Cuba Five issue is to combine the popular public interest in Cuba with the Cuba Five case.
More than 150 attended the film event, many hearing for the first time the
plight of the Cuban Five.
CCFA, co-sponsor of the event, showed the flag and operated a book table.
April 22, 2008: Arnold August
Participatory Democracy in Cuba and the 2007-08 Elections
by Linda Chobotuck
Arnold August, author of “Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-1998 Elections” was the featured speaker at a public meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, April 22, 2008 in Vancouver. From all the media speculation around the recent retirement of Fidel Castro as President of the State Council, the Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association (Vancouver) realized that Canadians had little understanding of the Cuban electoral system, and invited August to speak. He recently returned to Canada from observing the Cuban electoral process in the latest round of elections and is preparing a forthcoming book on the topic.
Addressing a packed hall of about 75 people at the University of British Columbia’s
Robson Square campus, he characterized the Cuban system as a study in grassroots
democracy. Since the voting age is only 16 and every effort is made to make
sure people are on the voters’ lists, it is also very inclusive.
With the aid of his Power Point presentation, he outlined a two stage process
that takes place over an eight month period. The first stage was the Municipal
elections held in October 2007. Almost all of Cuban elected officials are
unpaid volunteers. There is no election spending by candidates, no mention
of party affiliation (or the lack of it) and no formal campaigning as we know
it: candidate photos and biographies are simply posted throughout the riding
(constituency). The reason this works is that ridings and polling station
areas are very small. At neighbourhood public meetings people nominate candidates
who are known and respected in the community. In August’s case study
area, Riding # 12 of the 108 ridings in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución
Municipality is an area of about 8 square blocks with approximately 1500 voters
who elect one representative to the municipal assembly. Since candidates must
get over 50% of the vote, there can be two or even three rounds of secret
balloting until this is achieved.
Cubans take the process very seriously; voter turnout at the last municipal
elections was 96%. Municipal elections are important not only because municipal
assemblies look after educational, health and economic entities in their areas,
but because up to half of all Provincial and National Assembly members must
first be elected to municipal assemblies.
August explained that the second stage of the electoral process, the elections
to the provincial and national assemblies, works a bit differently. Cubans
consider it very important that their elected officials represent the broadest
possible spectrum of society so candidacy commissions are established composed
of representatives from the mass organizations. All the mass organizations
propose candidates. Just about everybody belongs to at least one of the six
mass organizations: the Women’s Federation, the Trade Union Federation,
the Association of Small Farmers, the Committees for Defense of the Revolution,
or the students’ federations for both high school (pre-university) and
university students. The mass organization representatives to the candidacy
commissions at the municipal, provincial and national levels are charged with
working out a proposal of pre-candidates that they feel will represent them
well; both members of the municipal assemblies and others (often respected
figures from sports, culture, science, politics and other areas)
Of the approximately 55,000 names proposed for candidacy, the commissions
vastly narrow this list down based on the number of proposals each person
had received. They then try to achieve a balance of ages, gender, professions,
race, region, expertise and experience. They consult nominees’ peers
to see if they are thought to be suitable candidates and ultimately come up
with a slate of candidates that must be accepted by the municipal assemblies.
That this selection process ensures broader representation can be seen by
the proportion of female deputies - 42%, the third highest in the world. At
the municipal level only 26% of those elected are women.
Because at this stage candidates are less likely to be neighbours and personally
known to their potential constituents, meetings to introduce the candidates
are held in neighbourhoods, workplaces and educational institutions. The intent
is to put all the candidates on the same level, whether they are a young first-time
candidate from the University Student’s Federation, a workers or a famous
member of the Council of State or National Assembly.
The actual elections were held last January 20th , 2008. Citizens vote by
secret ballot. Provincial and National votes are held at the same time. For
example, the electoral area of August’s study had three candidates for
the National Assembly and four to the Provincial Assembly. The provincial
ballot had 4 names for 4 seats and the national assembly ballot had 3 names
for 3 seats. In order for candidates to be elected they must receive over
50% of the vote. Arnold August noted later on in the question and answer period
that while ratifying candidates nominated by a candidacy commission might
seem strange to us, he thought it was a broader process than in our electoral
system, in which those who vote essentially can only do so for candidates
nominated by political parties.
Those elected to the National Assembly meet, and in conjunction with the National
Candidacy Commission nominate and then vote for the president, vice president,
secretary of the National Assembly as well as the Council of State all of
whom must be elected deputies. August noted that the National Assembly normally
meets only twice a year, and for very short periods; the bulk of the legislative
work is carried out by permanent standing commissions of Assembly members
that meet and work on an ongoing basis. He also described the participatory
democracy at work at the Municipal and People’s Council levels.
August was struck by the very broad popular participation in the electoral
process. About 2.2 million people are consulted in the nomination process
for provincial and national assemblies, and about half a million are involved
in administering the election itself. Ballot counting is public and can be
watched by anyone from the whole neighbourhood.
Elected representatives are held accountable to their constituents and must
both stay in touch with them and report back or they risk being recalled (which,
though uncommon, does happen). In the last national election over 96% of eligible
voters cast ballots and very few of those were blank or spoiled so people
obviously believe in the process. August contrasted this to the US where only
72% are registered to vote and only 64% of those eligible to vote actually
do.
CCFA-Vancouver and other groups had a literature table which amongst other
features displayed huge posters of the Cuban Five and other information demanding
their immediate release from prison and the rights of the family to visit
the ant-terrorists held for close to 10 years in the US jails.
CCFA-Vancouver also organized a meeting on the same subject the previous day
with the Vancouver and District Labour Council. Latin Waves of CJSF Vancouver
radio station responded very enthusiastically to the proposal by CCFA-Vancouver
for a radio interview which was aired a few days before the main lecture and
reached thousands of people.
March 31, 2007
Here are some photos taken while loading a container full of medical equipment, destined for Cuba, at the Rotary World Help Network warehouse in Coquitlam.
CCFA President Ray Viaud, his wife Oly, Don Berg, and Elwyn Patterson met at the Rotary warehouse.
Elwyn
Patterson, Don Berg, Sheila Delany, Oly,
and Ray pose for the camera at the loading.
Tom Hawken loads his mother’s wheelchair.
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