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The Miami
Herald, May 21, 2002.
Lashing at Castro, Bush rouses exiles
President stirs raw emotions with a tough Miami speech
By Carol Rosenberg. Crosenberg@Herald.Com.
Decrying Fidel Castro as a dictator who hijacked Havana's democracy,
President Bush pledged Monday to hold fast to a hard-line anti-Castro policy in
a White House announcement and again in a visit here with Cuban Americans to
celebrate the island's 100th independence day.
''We are here today to declare loudly to the whole world -- todos -- that
the Cuban people's love of liberty cannot be denied,'' the president said at the
downtown James L. Knight Center, bringing virtually all 4,000 people to their
their feet at least a dozen times during the 31-minute speech.
''Libertad!, Libertad!'' the crowd chanted in reply, using the Spanish for
Freedom, Freedom.
Later came the mantra of exile: "Cuba sí, Castro no.''
Part pep rally, part foreign policy speech that taunted Castro, Bush
delivered the address at a carefully choreographed celebration hours after he
unveiled the latest U.S. Cuba policy in Washington.
The president promised no end to economic sanctions before Cuba moves toward
democracy and demanded that Cuba free its political prisoners and permit labor
groups to organize. He also said he would not lift restrictions on U.S. citizen
travel to Cuba until after far-reaching changes on the island.
But mostly, Bush appealed to the raw emotions of Cuban exiles 43 years after
Castro came to power.
''Nearly a half-century ago, Cuba's independence and the hopes for democracy
were hijacked by a brutal dictator who cares everything for his own power and
nada for the Cuban people,'' told the crowd.
All they have now, he said, is "isolation and misery.''
Introduced to the crowd by his brother, the event also had the air of a
reelection campaign rally for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Huge Cuban and U.S. flags
hung over the stage, filled with older exile activists and young children who
have become pen pals and sent aid to the kids of island dissidents.
CELEBRITIES
But it also had an air of celebrity.
Singers Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada opened the event with the Cuban and
American national anthems. Among those reaching out to shake the president's
hand at the end was Marisleysis González, whose cousin Elián
became the focus of a Cuba-U.S. custody battle.
Both Florida Democratic senators were there, as were the Republican
Cuban-American Congress members from Miami, Lincoln Díaz-Balart and
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and the first-ever Cuban member of a Cabinet, Housing
Secretary Mel Martinez.
The Cuban politicians accompanied the president on Air Force One, which
landed at Miami International Airport at 2:23 p.m.
The president departed nearly six hours later, after being the featured
guest at a closed-door Republican Party fundraiser expected to raise $2 million
in soft money contributions.
In between, thousands of people lined the streets -- Le Jeune Road, Brickell
Avenue, even the Dolphin Expressway -- to watch the 24-car, 45-motorcycle
presidential motorcade whiz past.
A few waved U.S. and Cuban flags. In Gables Estates, a woman stood by the
side of a villa holding a sign declaring, "We Love You W.''
SIGNS OF OPPOSITION
The only signs of opposition were a knot of people holding placards in
support of Democrat Janet Reno's run for governor, against the president's kid
brother, and about 100 people protesting a U.S. policy that holds Haitian asylum
seekers in detention.
But, from start to finish, it was an all-Cuba day marking 100 years since
the island's independence.
At the Knight Center, the president pointedly targeted Castro several times,
calling on the Cuban leader to hold free and competitive elections in 2003 and
to allow free enterprise and prosperity for his island people.
''Eventually, despite all of his tools of oppression, Castro will need to
answer to his people,'' the president said, bringing first Díaz-Balart,
then much of the audience to their feet.
Before the president arrived, the event evoked pre-Castro Cuba with
broadcast black-and-white images on huge video screens. Two warm-up bands also
played decades-old popular Cuban songs.
The visit even brought passing mention Monday in Havana, where the official
Communist Party daily Granma reported:
"Bush meets today with his friends in the anti-Cuban terrorist mafia to
announce new measures against Cuba and to celebrate the centenary of the
pseudo-republic imposed by Yankee neocolonialism in our homeland.''
Bush's visit, his ninth to Florida as president, came 19 years to the day
after Ronald Reagan spoke at the Dade County Auditorium and lunched at a Little
Havana restaurant -- a visit that older Cuban Americans fondly remember.
Unlike Reagan's approach, which sought to topple unfriendly Latin American
regimes, Bush called on Castro to change, declaring "This county has no
designs on Cuba's sovereignty.''
Bush closed with a reference to a José Martí poem, The White
Rose: "Every day we cultivate una rosa blanca for Cuba's freedom. Viva Cuba
Libre!''
Miriam de la Peña, whose son Mario was killed by Cuban MiGs during
the ill-fated 1996 Brothers to the Rescue mission, called the speech "inspiring
-- not because he said anything new, but because he knew what he was talking
about. He called the beast by its name.''
Carlos Barreiro, another Cuban exile, also applauded Bush. But he was a bit
skeptical, remembering past presidential visits that were long on rhetoric and
short on action.
''I hope he complies with his words,'' said Barreiro, who was one of the
35,000 who heard President John Kennedy promise a free Cuba at the Orange Bowl
in 1962. "I'm tired of words. I want action.''
CROWD CHARMED
Mostly, though, Bush charmed the crowd, even in attempts to speak Spanish
that tortured the language.
On the sidelines, Cuban American National Foundation chairman Jorge Mas
Santos watched the speech from a spot near the national media. He arrived late,
having returned from the president's announcement in Washington on his own
executive jet.
But on the stage sat Dr. Alberto Hernandez of CANF's rival Cuban Liberty
Council, which invited the president to the Centennial celebration in a White
House meeting on Feb. 4.
''We are delighted that the president is coming on a day like today -- a
century after Cuban freedom,'' said Hernandez, who greeted Bush at the airport.
Herald staff writers Tyler Bridges, Elaine De Valle and Jacqueline Charles
and staff translator Renato Perez contributed to this report
Bush brothers, exiles renew their support
By Peter Wallsten. Pwallsten@Herald.Com. Posted on Tue,
May. 21, 2002
As pressure builds in the nation to lift trade sanctions against Cuba, the
Bush brothers stood together Monday in the heart of Miami's exile community to
proclaim unwavering loyalty to a key political base.
Both men see South Florida's Cuban Americans as critical for their
reelections, in November for Gov. Jeb Bush and 2004 for President Bush.
While the pair enjoy great popularity in the Cuban-American community, the
symbolism of attacking Fidel Castro on Cuban Independence Day and supporting the
U.S. trade embargo solidified the Bushes' command of votes there.
''Support will never waver here,'' President Bush told the crowd of Cuban
Americans. "It's not going to waver in my heart either.''
Both Bushes also signaled another critical role the Cuban-American community
will play in their political futures with an Independence Day party that would
make any capitalist proud: a $25,000-per-couple, well-guarded fundraiser at the
Coral Gables mansion of Armando Codina, Jeb Bush's former real estate partner.
The event was expected to raise more than $2 million for the Republican
Party of Florida -- so-called soft money for TV ads and other expenses to
benefit Jeb Bush's campaign.
It marked the president's third major fundraiser this year for his younger
brother. A fourth is planned in Orlando next month and could cost donors up to
$100,000 each to dine at the president's table.
On Monday, the Bush brothers were greeted like favorite sons. Mel Martinez,
the former Orange County manager who now leads the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development as the first Cuban American to sit on a president's
Cabinet, referred to them as "los dos hermanos Bush,'' which drew a
standing ovation.
The governor gave his speech in Spanish to the crowd's delight, then
introduced his brother to the backdrop of "Cuba sí, Castro no.''
The president's speech was designed to appeal to an increasingly broad
spectrum of views in the exile community about U.S. policy toward Cuba.
''He said exactly what we wanted to hear,'' said Joe Garcia, executive
director of the Cuban American National Foundation, the leading exile lobbying
group in Washington.
That kind of response, experts say, positions the president to build on his
2000 performance, when more than eight of 10 Cuban Americans helped him narrowly
defeat Democrat Al Gore in Florida and win the White House.
Few politicians are as popular as the Bushes among Cuban Americans, who now
represent as much as 8 percent of the state's electorate.
The governor, who lived in Miami for 18 years before taking office, spent
much of Monday morning on Spanish-language television and radio.
''He's practically Cuban, just taller,'' said state Rep. Marco Rubio,
R-Miami. "He speaks Spanish better than some of us.''
Democrats said the Bushes used Cuban Independence Day for nothing more than
politics.
''It was a convenient excuse for [the President] to come down and visit the
Cuban ATM machine to collect for himself and his brother,'' said Bob Poe,
chairman of the state Democratic Party.
For Gov. Bush, the Cuban-American community is also important in his race.
His likely opponent this fall is former Attorney General Janet Reno, a
Miamian herself who is despised by many exile leaders for sending Elián
González back to Cuba with his father. Elián's Miami relatives sat
near the front row Monday.
Reno sounded a tone similar to the Bushes Monday.
Campaigning in the Tampa Bay area, she said Cuba needs to demonstrate a
commitment to democracy through explicit action before the U.S. should lift the
embargo.
''It's got to be a two-way process,'' she said.
Cuban-American leaders say the president's appearance sent a stirring signal
to the exile community that they are still important, even as their political
influence in Florida wanes a bit with the growth of other Hispanic immigrant
groups.
More than 400,000 Puerto Ricans, for example, now live in Florida, largely
near Orlando. They have become the largest Hispanic swing group, with leaders
from both parties recruiting candidates and courting voters there intensely.
Political experts say the president's appearance was part of a strategy to
woo the nation's Hispanic voters. He has tried to increase his profile during
key times, such as Cinco de Mayo celebrations for Mexican Americans, said
pollster Sergio Bendixen.
A new poll to be released today for the New Democrat Network shows Bush is
doing better than any previous GOP president in the battle for Hispanic support.
The poll shows he and Gore would be at a dead heat for the Hispanic vote.
''This kind of event gives him more time on Spanish-language TV and radio,''
said Bendixen. "He's playing this very well.''
Herald staff writer Lesley Clark contributed to this
report.
Bush visit today sign of exiles' influence
By Carol Rosenberg. Crosenberg@Herald.Com
When George W. Bush steps onto a stage in downtown Miami today to celebrate
100 years of Cuba's independence from Spain, he will be following in the
footsteps of Ronald Reagan's historic pilgrimage to this Cuban exile stronghold
in 1983.
And, to the delight of some here, Bush's message will be nearly identical to
that of Reagan, whose unwavering anti-communism demonized Fidel Castro as a
dictator.
'My message to the Cuban people is, 'Demand freedom, and you've got a
president who stands with you,' '' Bush declared in the Oval Office last week.
Yet, as the trappings of this trip illustrate, much has changed since Reagan
charmed Little Havana with Viva Cuba Libre and Cuba sí, Castro no.
For one thing, some Cuban Americans are now more willing to publicly
question the successes of the U.S. embargo against Cuba and forge ties with
island dissidents, both taboos at the time of Reagan's visit.
Bush will also be accompanied by a number of prominent Cuban-American
politicians who were not on the national stage when Reagan was in office. And
the president will address an exile community that has transformed its
anti-Castro fervor into enhanced political clout in Washington.
Cuban Americans may still represent 18 percent of South Florida's population
-- 701,512 in the 2000 Census, compared with 586,479 in 1980 -- but by economic,
civic and national political measures, the community today is far more
influential, diverse and confident than the one Reagan visited 19 years ago.
Despite dissent within the community, advocates of a tough line toward
Castro have persuaded the Bush administration to also take a tough stance. Bush
arrives fresh from making a strong statement of support for the embargo, days
after Jimmy Carter's trip to Havana.
Cuba will be the theme of the day, starting this morning with the unveiling
of the administration's new anti-Castro policy at an East Room event in the
White House.
Expected to be at Bush's side are some key Cuban-American Republicans:
Housing Secretary Mel Martinez of Orlando, Assistant Secretary of State Otto
Reich, and U.S. Reps. Lincoln Díaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both
of Miami.
The entourage then boards Air Force One for a star-studded celebration at
the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami, capped by an exclusive Republican
Party fundraiser at the home of real-estate developer Armando Codina.
The price of admission: a $25,000 soft-money donation to the Republican
Party of Florida for dinner with the 10th U.S. president to serve during
Castro's regime.
By contrast, Reagan ate the $3.75 chicken-and-moros lunch special at Little
Havana's La Esquina de Tejas and made a speech at the Dade County Auditorium in
a two-hour, 42-minute visit.
Back in 1983, Cuban Americans saw themselves on the margin of national
politics, still reeling from the 1980 Mariel boat crisis that brought more than
125,000 Cubans to South Florida. So it was Jorge Mas Canosa, founder of the
Cuban American National Foundation, who introduced the president to exiles at
the 2,429-seat Dade County Auditorium on Flagler Street.
GOVERNOR ON HAND
This time, Bush will be introduced by his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in
a campaign-style event at the 4,645-seat Knight Center.
Then, the music was Guantanamera and there were more than a few paramilitary
men in the crowd. No Cuban Americans served in key national roles. Today, Gloria
Estefan and Jon Secada are among those who have been asked to entertain, amid a
behind-the-scenes scramble for tickets from Spanish-language radio stations and
Cuban exile groups.
''In those days, it was all Jorge Mas Canosa,'' recalls former Miami Mayor
Maurice Ferré, a Democrat and Puerto Rican by background who was at the
Reagan visit. "Today it's much more sophisticated, a more Americanized and
much stronger community. You're also talking about dollars -- big-time
fundraising, big bucks.''
The group that Mas Canosa built has in fact splintered since his death in
1997. His son, Jorge Mas Santos, is at the helm, still a popular pundit for the
national press on Cuban policy questions, notably during the recent Carter trip.
But members of the rival Cuban Liberty Council offered first to host the
president, and initially reserved the Miami-Dade County Auditorium for today's
event. Former foundation spokeswoman Ninoska Pérez Castellón and
others created the council, considered more hard-line than the foundation, after
differences arose over whether Miami should welcome the Latin Grammies here,
among other issues.
The Secret Service moved the event downtown after inspecting the hall and
concluding that it could take control of the venue more quickly. In the end, the
White House is hosting the event -- not any specific local group -- although
representatives of various exile movements have been invited to sit on the
stage.
In a sense, the venue and the itinerary reflect the maturation and
institutionalization of Cuba policy and politics.
SINCE THE COLD WAR
''In the 1980s, the Cold War was still on. We were the fair-haired example
of anti-communism. Now we're part of the mix,'' said Joe Garcia, executive
director of the Cuban American National Foundation.
With claims by both Republicans and Democrats that it was the Cuban voting
bloc that made the difference for President Bush in Florida, South Florida's
Cubans now boast that they can make or break a national election.
''The perception of that power now is real,'' Garcia said. "Now Bush
and every presidential candidate is aware of the power that they represent.''
Miami City Commissioner Tomás Regalado added: "Who can dispute
that the Cuban vote elected President Bush?''
The fundraiser itself is not unusual. During his eight-year presidency, Bill
Clinton frequently visited South Florida for big-ticket events at private homes.
And, like the current president, he invested in the anti-Castro institutions
that have become a Miami cottage industry with aid to dissident activities in
Cuba.
A centerpiece is Radio and TV Martí, which beams anti-Castro
broadcasts to Cuba from South Florida. Reagan first raised the idea during his
1983 visit. Successive Republican and Democratic governments have poured tens of
millions of dollars into the venture, which moved to Miami from Washington in
1998, and have also spent millions of dollars to support dissident activities.
''Bush is going to say that he is not going to change the line, he wants to
reach out to the Cuban people. What else can you do?'' said University of Miami
Cuba expert Jaime Suchlicki.
Suchlicki is in charge of one project that benefited from Bush's largess.
His school received a $1 million federal grant recently to study post-Castro
models for transition to democracy.
The post-Castro vision has also changed through the two decades. When Reagan
visited, the focus was on ''the freedom fighters'' and the notion that their
activities could perhaps topple an unfriendly regime.
Today, said Suchlicki, there is no national consensus for covert operations
and Bush policymakers have been left with few ideas beyond keeping a lid on the
embargo and building on Clinton's ideas of people-to-people contacts with the
island.
''What else can you do?'' he said. "You're not going to send troops and
Cubans to invade Cuba.''
And in that regard, Regalado has detected a change of attitude on the
Cuban-American street. ''Spanish radio has not changed its tune'' since the
Reagan days, he said, and still offers a constant stream of anti-Castroism. But
there has been a softening toward the idea of trying to establish ties with an
authentic dissident movement on the island.
LESS SUSPICION
''People have become more open to the opposition in Cuba,'' he said. "Several
years ago, the people were more suspicious of the opposition.''
Another area of softening is a willingness to examine the four-decade
embargo of Cuba, which once served as the mantra and measure of success of Cuban
policy. ''In the 1980s, there were very few voices criticizing the embargo,''
Suchlicki said.
But it is no longer the main thrust of the anti-Castro movement because
Clinton codified it with the Helms-Burton Act.
A bittersweet celebration for Cuban exiles
By Luisa Yanez And Elaine De Valle. lyanez@herald.com
Although exiles throughout Miami observed Cuba's centennial with patriotic
tributes, emotional renderings of the national anthem and flag unfurlings, the
pomp and circumstance was carried out with heavy hearts.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the end of Spanish rule on the island
nation is bittersweet, many say, as long as Fidel Castro is celebrating his 43rd
year in power. Cuba, the exiles say, is again under oppression.
''We are really commemorating what was interrupted in 1959 and hope to
reclaim one day,'' said Rosa Leonor Whitmarsh, president of the centennial
organizing committee. A revolution that year swept Castro into power.
On Monday, the Cuban flag was even more visible than usual, cries of ¡Viva
Cuba Libre! rang through the city and freshly pressed guayaberas were the style
of the day.
''I love my country, that's why I'm here today,'' said Clara Mirabel, tears
slipping down her cheeks as she sang the Cuban national anthem at an event in
Little Havana. "Unfortunately, Cuba is not free.''
The most ambitious tribute -- the carrying on horseback of the Centennial
Torch from Key West to Miami -- wound through downtown Miami, headed for exile
strongholds such as the Freedom Tower, the Bay of Pigs monument and a Little
Havana cemetery where three former Cuban presidents are buried.
Carrying the torch on the lead horse was Wenceslao ''Lao'' Aguilera, the
great-grandson of Francisco Vicente Aguilera, a hero from one of Cuba's battles
with Spain. His face was once on the Cuban $100 bill.
'PROUD DAY'
''It's a proud day for me to take part in this celebration in the memory of
my great-grandfather,'' said Wenceslao Aguilera, who is also the head of
Caballeria Mambiza, a group of horseback riders who make appearances at
patriotic events.
The nine horsemen in Cuban cowboy attire carried a banner honoring Cuba's
six provinces in front of the Torch of Friendship along Biscayne Boulevard.
In opening remarks, Rafael Peñalver, another of the centennial
organizers, set the tone.
''We are really just commemorating the 100th anniversary; the real
celebration comes when Cuba is free again,'' Peñalver said.
The next stop was the Freedom Tower a block north on Biscayne Boulevard,
once a processing center for exiles who arrived here starting in the early
1960s.
On Monday, a giant Cuban flag was draped down the side of the building.
Attendees stood on the steps of the tower, hands of their hearts, singing
the Cuban national anthem.
Across from the tower, at the AmericanAirlines Arena, the horsemen were
greeted by a delegation from the Cuban American National Foundation, the
influential exile lobby group which is renovating the tower.
Among those accepting the passing of the torch was the widow of the late
Cuban exile leader Jorge Mas Canosa.
''For my husband, it would have been a special day to celebrate the republic
of Cuba's 100th anniversary. I'm here in his memory to mark that dark period in
Cuban history,'' said Irma Santos de Mas.
The horsemen's stops on Monday also included the Miami-Dade government
center, where Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas greeted the group, the Bay of Pigs
monument on Southwest Eighth Street and 13th Avenue, and Woodlawn Memorial
Cemetery at 3260 SW Eighth St.
Three former presidents are buried at Woodlawn: Gerardo Machado, who died in
1939 on a Miami Beach operating table after being deposed in 1933; Carlos Prio
Socarras, who led the country from 1948 to 1952, and shot himself in Miami Beach
in 1977; and Carlos Hevia, who spent one day as leader in 1933 before the ruling
junta changed its mind.
The next stop was in Coral Gables at the newly dedicated Liberty Park off
Ponce de Leon Boulevard, home to a bust of Cuban war patriot José Martí.
After winding through the city, arrived at La Ermita De Caridad -- the
shrine to Our Lady of Charity -- on Biscayne Bay at 8 p.m. for the closing of
the day's ceremonies.
NOSTALGIA
About 1,000 exiles came to the shrine of Cuba's patroness to mark the
centennial with a mixture of nostalgia, sadness and hope.
''I would like to have celebrated in Cuba,'' said Nicolas Alvarez, who left
his family behind on the island two decades ago, outside the shrine in Miami's
Coconut Grove. "I wish that the independence won in 1902 could be
celebrated by all Cubans.''
The ceremony at La Ermita, which featured a candlelit vigil near the waters
of Biscayne Bay, drew even those who have grown up with only the memories and
stories of Cuba.
Best friends Isabel Moreira and Iris Moreno, both 20, were among the young
faces at La Ermita on Monday.
''Our parents have brought us up with pride for their country that was taken
away from them,'' said Moreira. "So anything we can do to support them, we
do.''
Staff writer Tere Figueras contributed to this report.
Albita goes back to her roots with fifth album
By Lydia Martin. lmartin@herald.com. Posted on Tue, May.
21, 2002.
Cuban songstress Albita has another one of her migraines. She shows up for a
rehearsal at Miami Beach's Cafe Nostalgia reeking of Tiger Balm and looking like
she should be deep under bed covers.
But just a few hours later, when she takes the stage, she's on fire --
treating the crowd to that hip-grinding, high-octane performance that is her
trademark.
It's her love affair with making music that has always pulled Albita out of
her deepest funks. Last month, just a week after her brother, sports announcer
Tito Rodriguez, died of lung cancer, Albita threw herself into a powerful
performance at Cafe Nostalgia.
''I always feel best on the stage,'' she says. ``Making music is what gives
me life.''
Today she releases her fifth album since her defection from Cuba in 1993,
Hecho a Mano (Handmade). As the title suggests, this is her most personal work.
And one that brings her full circle -- from her fantastic and failed flirtations
with glitzy, big-label fame back to her organic, roots-revering beginnings.
She has even picked up the acoustic guitar again, a testament to her Cuban
trova (folk music) pedigree.
''This CD is different from the rest. It's more tranquil, more mature,''
says Albita, who wrote and produced it herself. She also plays several
instruments on the record and sings the chorus. ``Sometimes, when you have a lot
of information as an artist, you feel like you have to use it all at once. This
time, I used only what I needed. It's like when a dessert has too much sugar. I
wanted to do a record that was a little more subtle than that.''
Unlike CDs she recorded under Emilio Estefan's Crescent Moon label, Hecho a
Mano is less about high-gloss production that attempts to capture the mass
market and more about integrity.
''What I like about this record is that I rescued myself a little as a
trovadora [folk singer]. There's plenty of modern elements to it, but it is also
a return to something for me as an artist -- to something more acoustic, for
one,'' says Albita, who recently celebrated nine years of living in Miami.
Albita's wild ride under Crescent Moon came with all the hype and glitter
the Estefan machine could muster. She got into the glossies, traveled the globe,
played for the president. Madonna, Stallone and Versace cheered from the front
rows of her Miami shows. But, in the end, her CDs didn't get airplay and didn't
sell the kind of numbers Sony, the parent company, demanded.
The label dropped her in 1999, saying the last CD she presented didn't have
enough of a marketable concept. Albita's career crashed, and then her band
walked out on her.
Included on her new CD is her musical response to Sony, a song titled Son
sin concepto (Son Without a Concept), a playful swipe complete with some
nonsensical lyrics and a whacked-out beat.
Two years after her crash, she finally released Son, the record Sony balked
at, under Times Square Records, a small, New York-based world music label.
Critics praised the CD, but sales never climbed beyond 24,000, much lower than
the numbers she captured with Crescent Moon.
But neither Albita nor her new label is worried about massive record sales.
''I don't even think about radio play anymore,'' she says with a shrug.
``Radio is supposed to be a mechanism that informs, not just about the news, but
about culture. But instead of helping to open people's minds, commercial radio,
especially Latin radio, closes it by playing only one thing. There are lots of
people doing some amazing music. But most will never get to hear it because
radio doesn't consider it commercial.''
And Albita has resigned herself to the idea that her music will never be
deemed commercial.
``I don't know why, because it's not that complicated. But if my music is
not for the masses, that's fine. I'll just try to reach that crowd that is
looking for something beyond the obvious. I'm playing colleges, jazz club. And
I'll bring my new CD under my arm to sell to that audience.''
That's good enough for Yusuf Gandhi, president of Times Square Records.
''I am not at all surprised commercial radio won't play Albita. It's really
good music,'' he says. ``They are formula-oriented. And Albita is not formula.
She is a very sophisticated artist, and her audience is a world music audience,
not a pop music audience. I think she has a very big potential by sticking to
her rootsy sound.''
Stripped of the tailored Armani suits, the first-class travel and the
glamorous photo shoots, Albita says she's more determined than ever to stick to
making unadulterated Cuban music.
''It's great when you can make a living, and a good living, doing the thing
you love. And even without Sony, I have concert dates booked through 2003,''
Albita says. ``Every day I give thanks for being able to work at what I love. On
good days, it's very good. And on bad days, it's even better.''
Hecho
a Mano - Nuevo CD de Albita
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