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Letters / Walter Gonzalez. Posted on Thu, Nov. 07, 2002 in
in The Miami
Herald.
Re the Nov. 5 article Steven Spielberg meets with Fidel Castro for eight
hours: I was speechless as I contemplated the juxtaposition of a successful
Jewish businessman, maker of the movie Schindler's List, meeting Cuba's Hitler
and jovially discussing culture and movies.
Spielberg's visit was shameful and ignored the awful plight of 12 million
Cubans suffering on the island. Why doesn't Spielberg meet with Cuba's real
people? He could document the stories of tens of thousands of victims, from my
hairdresser in Miami whose two brothers were sent to the firing squad, to my
uncle who was arrested under false charges, put in jail and mentally and
physically abused for his political beliefs.
Castro also sent my grandfather to jail simply for reading the Bible. He
suppressed the Jewish minority and closed its synagogues for more than 30 years.
Couldn't Spielberg, rather than advocating removing the embargo, discuss these
issues?
I recently went to Cuba for a month-long visit. I saw firsthand that the
state has complete control of every citizen's economic and political life.
Hence, the term totalitarian dictatorship. Police officers are paid more than
doctors. Medicines are practically nonexistent. Tourists enjoy good food at
hotels that the Cuban people are forbidden to enter. Does this sound like South
Africa?
Spielberg said he wants to make a movie in Cuba. He should expose the
reality of Castro's "socialist paradise.''
There are many good Cubans to write his screenplay, including exiled
literary giants such Guillermo Cabrera Infante in London, Alberto Montaner in
Spain or Zoe Valdez in Paris. Others, such as Huber Matos, one of Castro's
revolutionary comrades who was imprisoned for 20 years, can provide detailed,
first-hand insights into the mind of a despot.
A critical movie about the Cuban dictatorship and failed revolution is long
overdue. | 
