Published in the Miami
Herald
'No sale,' Cuba tells visiting U.S. farmers
Published Saturday, November 11, 2000.
HAVANA -- (AP) -- The first American farmers to visit Cuba since passage of
a new U.S. law allowing them to sell food to the island said Friday they failed
to convince officials to buy their products.
"We need the Cuban government to take a more positive position on the
opportunity provided by the legislation,'' Jack Laurie, president of the
Michigan Farm Bureau, told a news conference.
"We would hope to persuade them to look more positively at what we have
accomplished than what we have not,'' said Laurie, who was flanked by other
officials of the farm bureau and the Michigan Dry Bean Commission.
The Cuban government insists it will not buy any U.S. food under the
legislation that would allow agricultural sales to the island for the first time
in about 40 years.
Because of pressures from Fidel Castro's foes in Congress, the law bars the
U.S. government and American banks from financing the purchases -- restrictions
the Cuban government says make such sales almost impossible. Those restrictions
would require Cuba to pay for food either in cash or through financing via third
countries.
Laurie and other members of the Michigan agricultural mission said they
would willingly finance sales of agricultural products to Cuba via third
countries.
"I think commercially it's possible -- clumsy, but possible,'' Laurie
said. "Unfortunately, trade between two countries cannot be void of
political concerns.''
Although the Cuban government expressed interest in buying dried beans and
other products from Michigan farmers, it refuses to back down on its insistence
that it will not do so under the law, Laurie said.
Cuban officials' apparent concern, Laurie said, is "if they do it, that
will say that this mechanism will work . . . And we concur that it will not work
long-term.''
Michigan farmers say the Cubans told them that if the law changes they have
an open invitation to export their beans to Cuba. Bob Green, of the Michigan Dry
Bean Commission, estimated his state could sell as much as $10 million worth of
dry beans to Cuba annually.
'Cuba for Kids' is lesson in history
By Elaine de Valle. edevalle@herald.com. Published Monday,
November 13, 2000.
An old man sits in a rocking chair with his grandson on his lap and talks
about life in Cuba: the War of Independence, the origin of the flag, Castro's
rise to power and the October Missile Crisis of 1962.
Scene from a Hialeah living room? Very likely. But it is also the premise of
a new illustrated Cuban history book geared toward children and available in
bookstores Friday.
Cuba For Kids is a journey from the 1492 discovery of the island by
Christopher Columbus to the 1980 Mariel exodus, with stops at important moments
in the island's history. Throughout the 62 pages, the reader is accompanied by a
guayabera-wearing grandfather and a young boy named Pepito.
In one scene, Pepito hides behind some rocks as the conquistadors enslave
and slaughter the island's natives. In another, the boy gives George Washington
bags of money raised by Cubans in 1771 to help the British colonies in their
independence war. A few pages later, Pepito wields a machete in Cuba's own
independence movement.
"We want this book to be a bridge that unites grandparents and their
grandchildren, parents and their children, something to cover the gap between
generations,'' said Coral Gables doctor Ismael Roque-Velasco, the author.
The book comes as a second generation of Cuban Americans is growing up in
exile. "I want them never to forget the trauma their parents and
grandparents went through to leave their country behind, leave everything
behind.''
Fidel Castro is one of several dictators identified in the list of the
island's presidents. A chapter titled "The End of Democracy in Cuba''
starts with Fulgencio Batista's coup d'etat in 1952. Another one: Gerardo
Machado (1925-1933).
Roque-Velasco left Cuba with his parents when he was 3 months old and grew
up in Spain. He learned Cuban history from his mother -- "But without a
book. Without any tools.'' Each night, she had him run through an exercise. "I
had to know all the rivers, the mountains, the capitals, the presidents.''
The idea for his book came as his children -- Gabriela, 10, and Javier, 7 --
began asking questions about Cuba. In libraries and bookstores, he found only
college-level books -- "great books,'' he said, but "no kid is going
to read those books.''
His book uses illustrations to reach a younger audience. Illustrator Gonzalo
Montes de Oca fashioned the living room after a typical setup in Miami.
"There's a map of Cuba on the wall and the radio on to listen to the
news,'' Roque-Velasco said. "There's a family picture and the rocking chair
-- that is a big part of our culture.''
It cost $100,000 to publish the first 15,000 copies -- $28,000 of his own
money. The balance came from the Cuba For Kids Foundation through corporate and
family sponsorships. Among the donors: TV talk show host Cristina Saralegui,
Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, Dr. Manuel Rico Perez, Ninoska Perez
Castellon and the Little Havana Kiwanis.
Said Jon Secada, one of the contributors: "This book is a great tool
for teaching our kids about the richness, strength and beauty of our culture.''
The book, which includes contributions from Jaime Suchlicki, director of the
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami and
writer Carlos Alberto Montaner, ends with essays about the origin of the Cuban
flag and National Anthem, its coat of arms and the island's patron saint.
In the final page, Pepito is falling asleep and reliving the newly learned
history lessons.
"He dreams that he is riding with his friends from Oriente to Pinar del
Río, and he is meeting the people he read about along the way,''
Roque-Velasco said.
When he wakes up to go to school, he tells his grandfather that Cuba soon
will be free.
Museum displays Cuban art
Published Sunday, November 12, 2000.
Newly-acquired works from the Cuban Collection at the Lowe Art Museum at the
University of Miami will be on display through the fall of 2001.
The one-year exhibition, which opens with an invitation-only cocktail
reception Thursday, will be a celebration of last year's gift from the Museo
Cubano de Las Americas (formerly Museo Cubano de Arte y Cultura).
The exhibition, entitled "From Modern to Contemporary: Cuban and
Cuban-American Art from the Permanent Collection,'' will be divided into two
parts.
Large canvases, sculptures and post-1960 works on paper -- including pieces
by Carlos Alfonzo, Maria Bencomo, Maria Britto, Humberto Calzada, Agustin
Fernandez and others -- will be featured in the Beaux Arts Gallery.
The Lowe's pre-1960 works on paper and smaller canvases will be exhibited in
the Judith and Michael Matus Hall and will include works by Enrique Riveron,
Wilfredo Lam, Fidelio Ponce, Carlos Enriquez and others.
The exhibition, funded by the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies, as well as Lucent Technologies, will be accompanied by a
variety of lectures and programs to be held at the Lowe.
Juan Martinez, guest curator of the exhibition, will speak on the strengths
of the Lowe's permanent collection of Cuban paints, sculptures and works on
paper at 8 p.m. Feb. 1. Cost is $5 for nonmembers, $3 for non-UM students, and
free for members and UM students.
In addition, the Lowe hosts weekend tours at the museum at 2 p.m. on
Saturdays and Sundays. The tours will focus on Cuban art, history and culture
and happen Saturday and Nov. 19, 25, 26, and Dec. 2, 3, and 9.
The tours are free with Lowe admission.
In January, the Lowe will host "Cuba: A Visual History,'' for teachers
of all grade levels. Teachers will explore the exhibition of Cuban and
Cuban-American art with Martinez, Robert Levine and Pablo Cano at 8:30 a.m. Jan.
6.
Teachers are awarded 10 Masterplan points, and the Lowe provides each
participant with free transportation and complimentary admission for their
students.
For more information call 305-284-3535.
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