The Sun-Sentinel,
March 20, 2001.
Czechs say they met with Cuban dissidents to offer hope
By Madeline Baró Diaz Sun-Sentinel. Web-posted:
11:24 p.m. Mar. 19, 2001
MIAMI -- Two Czechs jailed in Cuba after meeting with dissidents on the
island said Monday that as citizens of a former communist country, they were
trying to spread hope to Cubans who favor a democratic Cuba.
"We wanted to give to these great people who are under lots of
stress, lots of persecution, hope that there is a chance and there is a way out,
that they are not the crazy ones," said Jan Bubenik.
Bubenik, a former anti-communist student leader, and Ivan Pilip, a member
of the Czech parliament, spent 25 days in jail after their arrest Jan. 12,
accused of acting as U.S. agents and pawns of Freedom House, a Washington-based
agency that promotes a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.
The men spoke to the media Monday at The Miami Herald. Pilip and Bubenik
said they also met with anti-communist Cuban groups in Miami and with American
politicians in Washington, D.C.
Bubenik and Pilip said they were delivering a laptop computer, 20 pens
and two bags of medicine to dissidents on their trip to Cuba.
After being detained, they drove their rental car to the Havana prison
themselves, accompanied by Cuban police, they said. In prison, they had running
water for 10 to 20 minutes nightly, Bubenik said.
Bubenik said they were not physically abused, but were under
psychological stress, not knowing how many people outside of Cuba knew of their
predicament. He said Cuba's state security also tried to convince them they
might have their families under surveillance and their power was far-reaching.
"You realize that anything can happen," Bubenik said. "They
use your imagination as their own best ally."
If they had been convicted, Pilip and Bubenik could have been imprisoned
for 20 years, but they never went on trial. They were sent home to the Czech
Republic after signing a statement and apologizing to the Cuban government.
Pilip said he did not think their experience would hurt the Cuban
dissident movement, but its impact would depend on how their case is portrayed
in Cuban media and elsewhere.
"I think it depends quite a lot on what is known internationally
about our case ... it shows many more people it's not just ... fairy tales or
exaggerated stories of Cuban refugees," Pilip said.
Madeline Baró Diaz can be reached at mbaro@sun-sentinel.com or
305-810-5007.
Tony Alvarez, singer in Cuban duo, dies at 83
By Madeline Baró Diaz Sun-Sentinel. Web-posted:
10:34 p.m. Mar. 19, 2001
MIAMI -- Singer Tony Alvarez, who performed alongside his wife as the
popular Cuban musical duo "Olga y Tony" for more than 50 years, died
Monday. He was 83.
The longtime Miami resident had been ill, but the cause of his death was
not released Monday.
Mr. Alvarez, who began his career as a singer and model, had a popular
Cuban TV show in the 1950s with wife Olga Chorens. The couple released several
albums and toured throughout Latin America.
After Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, Mr. Alvarez and his wife sent
daughters Olga and Lissette to the United States through Operation Pedro Pan, an
airlift of thousands of Cuban children fleeing communism.
The family reunited three years later and moved to Puerto Rico where Olga
y Tony starred in "El Show de Olga y Tony" and became a fixture on
Puerto Rican television. They later moved to New York and performed on WABC-TV,
WPIX-TV and WNJU-TV in New York from 1965 to 1972.
Daughter Lissette became a teen singing sensation in Puerto Rico, had her
own TV show and appeared in soap operas and films. She later married Cuban salsa
singer Willy Chirino. Their other daughter, Olguita Sanchez, is an anchor and
reporter for WXTV-Univision in New Jersey.
In recent years, Olga y Tony stayed active in Miami, with a radio show on
Radio Mambí and a TV program on cable channel TeleMiami. In 1999, the
couple was given a star on the Calle Ocho Walk of Fame in Miami.
A wake for Mr. Alvarez will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bernardo
Garcia funeral home in Miami, 8215 Bird Road. A Mass will be held at 11 a.m.
Wednesday at St. Brendan Catholic Church, 8725 SW 32nd St.
Sun-Sentinel wire services contributed to this report.
Madeline Baró Diaz can be reached at
mbaro@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5007.
Copyright 2000, Sun-Sentinel Co. & South Florida
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