Juanes tells us a little about himself
Juanes has repeated ad nauseum that his concert in Cuba is not political. Even though the event is being arranged and completely controlled by the repressive Cuban dictatorship and Juanes plans to perform with communist apparatchiks, according to him there is no political message at all. None. Nada. Zip.
But that doesn't mean Mr. Juanes does not have an opinion of the tyrant that has been responsible for the enslavement of 11-million people and the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Cuban men, women, and children.
From a Spanish news article in Mexico's El Universal in February 2008:
“No soy de izquierda ni de derecha y pienso que la diplomacia es el mejor camino para conseguir objetivos. Pero me parece que lo de Hugo Chávez es un chiste. Es decir, alguien que se compara con Simón Bolívar… basta leer los textos de Bolívar para darse cuenta de la diferencia. Una cosa es el populismo y otra la inteligencia. Los discursos del Che Guevara en la ONU sí son una belleza, o la lucidez con que Fidel Castro puede hablar cinco horas”.
-Here is the translation of this telling quote- "I am not from the left or the right and I think that diplomacy is the best path to obtain objectives. But it seems to me that Hugo Chavez is a joke. I mean, for someone who compares himself with Simon Bolivar... it is enough to read the writings of Bolivar to be able to tell the difference. One thing is populism, and another thing is intelligence. The speeches given by Che Guevara at the UN were indeed a thing of beauty, or the lucidity in which Fidel Castro can talk for five hours."
Now we know that what turns Juanes on is leftist dictators with eloquence and intelligence. Chavez apparently does not fit the bill, so Juanes doesn't like him all that much.
Thank you Juanes, now we know you just a wee bit better.
Apparently, Juanes hasn't seen Che's quotes about blacks and Mexicans.
Che spoke at the U.N?
Honey - Yes, on Dec 11 1964.
Here is a transcript of the speech. Forgive the source, but only they would archive such #$%* ...
http://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/1964/12/11.htm
I believe this is what they call a smoking gun, or close enough.
But of course, "it doesn't mean anything," or "it's not really relevant," or "it's being taken out of context," or some comparably lame and utterly unconvincing excuse. After all, if Juanes claims he's "apolitical," well, it can't possibly be otherwise, now can it? I mean, he's a celebrity, and he posed with Hillary Clinton, and all sorts of card-carrying leftist, er, "progressive" types will surely swear he's on the level, so who are we to doubt his sincerity or integrity? We're just "those people," the "rabid" anti-Castro crowd, the "ultraconservative intransigents." Besides, we're mere Cubans, so what the hell would we know about Cuba issues anyway?
Only, uh, "objective" outsiders like Juanes and the Spaniard also slated for the concert, Miguel Bose, can understand the Cuban situation, Cubans themselves be damned. Bose, of course, is that great humanitarian who expressed satisfaction over 9/11, and later had the supreme indecency to set foot in the US to perform for American money. But, presumably, Juanes considers him "clean" and "apolitical," or so it would appear. We clueless Cubans just need to spend more time studying Che's "beautiful" speeches and Fidel's "lucid" 5-hour BS marathons. Maybe then, just like school kids in Cuba are made to repeat "We will be like Che!", we can proudly proclaim "We will be like Juanes!"
If I ever call myself "Latin," just shoot me; it means I TRULY have rabies.
Juanes says he's neither left nor right wing. But he praises Che and Castro, honors Salvador Allende, accepts concert tour sponsorship from Castro, Inc. company Havana Club, and Castro, Inc. is delighted to have him perform in Cuba in a major media event that hinges on the blessing and active cooperation of Castro, Inc. What is wrong with this picture? Does anyone know ANYBODY with such a profile who is NOT leftist? I mean, if he's not leftist, then I suppose Donald Duck is really a beagle with birth defects, and Niurka Marcos is really a virgin that only talks a good game. What does that say about Juanes and his sincerity? I know what it says to me; you can do the math yourselves.
Mr. Mojito,
What a speech!
In schools they study "Friends, Romans, and countrymen..." to show how rhetoric can turn a crowd.
Lots of Che's speech, if Obama only knew how to obfuscate what his real agenda was and knew how to pull a Marc Antony to do it, is what Obama would like to say, or most of the Hollywood crowd, Sean Penn, Soderberg. There is a lot here that fits so well with the blame America first crowd.
What is stunning is Che's audacity: He tells them all to "end the philosophy of plunder" while Castro and Che were stealing everything in sight from their own citizens. He details one death at 7:07 P.M. on a particular day, it is so etched in his mind, of a Cuban soldier at the hands of Americans, while he was gleefully shooting his own citizens by the thousands. He talks of how we must end nuclear weapons shortly after the world knew that Cuba was stopped from trying to put them in place for use against America. He talks of those who discriminate because of skin color, when what else did Castro do, and asks how those who do this can consider themselves guardians of freedom. Did anyone laugh while he spoke? Do you remember how the speech was received? He promised that the oppressed would rise up and talked of Latin America ending "imperialists'" reign. Many in Latin America must have thought this might not be a bad idea. But then there's Honduras.
Goodness, this is getting to be as long as his speech.
There is a shocking speech that was made by Lindbergh that is placed at the end of Philip Roth's, The Plot Against America. It is an antisemitic screed. It says the only reason we are getting into the European war against Germany is because of the Jews. (implication right wingers are anti semites.)
My book group read it during Bush's difficulties trying to conduct the Iraq war. They were appalled at what Lindbergh had the nerve to say. I told my liberal book group to read the speech and in place of Germany read Iraq and in place of Roosevelt read Bush. Then this very speech against going into the war is one every person in my book group could stand on a soapbox and read, only now they would be on the side of the antisemites. Nobody did the exercise. But they should have because it is important to understand how words can be twisted. Newsspeak.
That is how I read Che's speech. He would be applauded by many Americans, even many members of congress. Sickening
Juanes has no excuse for what he is choosing to do. He is either brain dead or someone who idealizes communists. That's all there is to it.
Enough of Juanes already! Before this I'd never heard of him (I don't follow pop music) and by all accounts his star was rapidly waning. The person who has profited the most by all this "controversy" is Juanes himself. Publicity like this he could never have afforded to buy, but riding the Leftist bandwagon with Cuba is serving him well. I say we'd do much better ignoring this idiot.
Honey,
Good post.
Che's speech if taken just as a piece of literary composition is quite good *(if you forget the reality behind it).
This particular passage especially would give your average Obamabot a boner ...
This epic before us is going to be written by the hungry Indian masses, the peasants without land, the exploited workers. It is going to be written by the progressive masses, the honest and brilliant intellectuals, who so greatly abound in our suffering Latin American lands. Struggles of masses and ideas. An epic that will be carried forward by our peoples, mistreated and scorned by imperialism; our people, unreckoned with until today, who are now beginning to shake off their slumber. Imperialism considered us a weak and submissive flock; and now it begins to be terrified of that flock; a gigantic flock of 200 million Latin Americans in whom Yankee monopoly capitalism now sees its gravediggers ...
Then again if I was teaching political speech craft - Adolf Hitler would probably be a good person to learn from as well. Sometimes the best speakers carry the worst ideas (see the 2008 election for proof).
Thank you, Mr. Mojito. I like to take Che's words and turn them around.
Our tea parties represent an epic that is going to be written by the fed up masses who are sick and tired of the theft of the money they have earned as it is being stolen from them to be used for political favors and to destroy our system.
This epic is going to be written by the exploited wage earners, the honest and brilliant creators of wealth and progress, who refuse to suffer any longer under the thumb of Barney Frank and company. It will be an epic about struggles of masses and ideas, alright. It will be an epic carried forward by free American citizens who understand why we must preserve our freedom and it will be carried forward by our people. mistreated and scorned by socialism, our people unreckoned with until today. No more will we put up with the efforts of the left in this country to destroy our constitution and economy. We are shaking off our slumber. Obama has awakened a sleeping giant, by all means.
The left has considered us a weak and submissive flock. Now it begins to be terrified of that flock. (So far Obama can only get 43 votes in the Senate. for the health bill.)
Let's hope the Tea party movement remains as vital as it has been up until now. Let's hope, seeing how far the left in this country was ready to take us to destruction, they will lose big in 2010.
[...] Such events have always been a sore spot among Miami’s Cuban exile community, who fled the island’s totalitarian dictatorship. True to form, Juanes has been denounced on local TV and radio for his participation in what most Cuban-Americans see as an exercise in pro-dictatorship propaganda. For his part, Juanes claims to be apolitical — despite making on-the-record remarks praising Fidel Castro. [...]