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CNS News. December
21, 2000
Western Rock Band To Perform In Cuba
By Jim Burns. CNS Senior Staff Writer.
(CNSNews.com) - Even though Cuban Leader Fidel Castro has frowned upon
Cubans listening to and buying Western type rock and roll music in the past,
Cuban officials are going to allow the British group "Manic Street
Preachers" to perform in Havana next February.
The group will become the first rock and roll band from the West to ever
perform in Cuba during the Castro regime.
The Manics, as fans call the group, will play cuts from their sixth album
entitled "Know Your Enemy" with a concert at the Karl Marx Theatre in
Havana next February.
The group's bass player Nicky Wire is looking forward to performing in the
communist nation, he told the British music magazine NME. "It's not like a
student Che Guevara sort of thing. It's just [that] Cuba for me is the last
symbol that really fights against the Americanization of the world."
The group's most recent hit single, "Masses Against The Classes"
had a Cuban flag on its cover.
Cuban officials are limiting the Havana concert to 5,000 people. The group's
manager, Martin Hall, is in Cuba to lay the groundwork for the concert, which is
tentatively set for February 17.The group will charge fans 25 cents in Cuban
currency to attend the concert.
Wire said performing in Cuba will be an "adventure."
"It could be a disaster. There might be no PA or whatever, but it's the
idea that it's a bit of an adventure. So many bands these days just come back in
the usual way and that's one thing that we're not going to do this time,"
Wire said.
The Manics are based in Wales. The group has done well on the musical charts
with its other hit songs called "A Design For Life" and "If You
Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next."
Cuba Blasts Bush's HUD Designee
By Jim Burns. CNS Senior Staff Writer. December 21, 2000
(CNSNews.com) - The Castro government reacted angrily to President-elect
George W. Bush's appointment of Mel Martinez as Secretary of the Housing and
Urban Development. Martinez still must be confirmed by the Senate.
The official Cuban news agency "Prensa Latina" said that
Martinez's nomination was a "payback" for "the help (Bush)
received from Cuban Americans in Florida, who helped him defeat his Democratic
rival, Albert Gore."
Prensa Latina described Martinez as "a rabidly anti-Cuban Republican"
and "an unconditional ally of the Bush family" who is "one of the
political hacks in Florida's Cuban communities."
The Cuban news agency also said Bush "stole the election, an act of
fraud that bore the fingerprints of the extreme right of Florida's Cuban
community."
Martinez's nomination, according to Prensa Latina, settles "Bush's debt
of gratitude toward (Florida Cubans), the only Hispanics who voted in bloc
against Gore because the Democratic administration authorized the return to Cuba
of the kidnapped boy Elian Gonzalez."
Martinez had demanded that the Clinton administration allow the boy to
remain in the United States.
Martinez arrived in the United States at the age of 15 as a Cuban exile and
lived in foster homes before being reunited with his family.
He currently serves as chairman of the Orange County, Florida Board of
Commissioners. He also served in top positions with the Orlando Utilities
Commission and the Orlando Housing Authority.
Bush said Martinez is a "perfect pick" to run HUD. Martinez said
the nomination fulfills his American dream.
Martinez vowed he will work hard to make sure all Americans have "affordable
housing."
While Martinez' nomination infuriated Cuba, it has pleased the National
Association of Home Builders.
NAHB President Robert Mitchell said Thursday, "Given his experience in
dealing with growth management issues and his inclusive approach to identifying
sound smart growth policies, Mel Martinez is well suited to lead the Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
Mitchell said the appointment of Mel Martinez sends a clear message that
President-elect Bush "is committed to pursuing a housing policy that will
promote affordable homeownership and rental opportunities for all Americans." | 