Provocations and Cultural Exchange
Piggy-backing a little off Val's post below, I'd like to highlight a couple of telling quotes from the Herald article Val references (BTW, the Herald piece is about as balanced as we can hope for from the MSM).
Most of the article is made up of rather mundane accounts of Cuban musicians receiving under-the-table payments for performances and the now familiar U.S./Cuba regulations. However, towards the end, this quote appears that made fireballs shoot out of my eyes on a cloudy Sunday morning:
Alberto González, spokesman for the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington, said the island musicians' U.S. tours have the benefit of ``allowing Americans to learn the value of Cuba's culture, which in one way or another has been vetoed here.''
As for not allowing exile musicians to play in Cuba, González added, ``what we don't accept is that specific artists go to Cuba to stage a provocation.''
Thank the Lord that this disgusting comment was quickly followed by sanity:
``Provocation? I say it's a provocation to present these groups in a city full of people who have escaped that dictatorship,'' said (Paquito) D'Rivera.
As far as "people-to-people contacts" and cultural exchange is concerned, people can say all they want about the "intransigent, insufferable, loud-mouthed exiles" in Miami who live to harass those poor souls who's only heartfelt desire is to engage in a mutually respectful dialogue with the Cuban regime. What is obvious to anyone - at least anyone with a fair and objective mind - is that by allowing (really, stomaching) the presence of groups like Los Van Van in the heart of Cuban exile, it clearly shows who's the only party that's playing honest.
I'll let Omer Padrillo-Cid close this post with the plain truth taken straight from the article:
Omer Padrillo-Cid, vice presidente of Eventus Entertainment, added: ``We'll be able to talk about a `cultural exchange' when the music of Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan and Willy Chirino is heard on Cuban radio.''
"Alberto González, spokesman for the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington, said the island musicians' U.S. tours have the benefit of ``allowing Americans to learn the value of Cuba's culture, which in one way or another has been vetoed here.''"
Hmmmm... So, I guess that all of the Cuban artists that escaped from Cuba and now live in Miami don't count in terms of teaching Americans the value of Cuba's culture. The moment a Cuban artist is granted exile in the USA, he ceases having the ability to teach Americans about Cuban culture. His Cuban culture becomes instantly nullified/extinguished, disappears into thin air! Poof!
May I disrespectfully say to Mr. Gonzalez that the only reason REAL Cuban culture exists in the United States is precisely due to us intransigent hard-liners, keeping the memory of what really existed prior to the beast's takeover. Other than misery, poverty, oppression, terrorism, communism -- and exiles -- Cuba exports nothing.
Even the music sucks. Timba is nearly undanceable. Music produced by The State. If los Van Van were from, say, Puerto Rico, they'd be playing Holiday Inn lounges
I hope some protestors infilitrate their performance and interrupt it!