Legisladores de California viajaron discretamente a Cuba

laopinion.com

Sen [D] Ron Calderón fue uno de los que viajó a Cuba

Araceli Martinez Ortega

SACRAMENTO.—Sin anunciarlo y en medio del sigilo, varios legisladores estatales partieron a Cuba en marzo pasado en un viaje al que describieron como "intercambio cultural" acompañados de uno de los más prominentes calbilderos del Capitolio Estatal.

Con el dinero que colectan para sus campañas electorales partieron a la isla caribeña los senadores demócratas Ron Calderón, de Montebello y Cathleen Galgiani, de Stockton. Las asambleístas demócratas Nancy Skinner, de Berkeley y Tony Atkins, de San Diego.

El único republicano en participar fue el asambleísta Katcho Achadjian, de San Luis Obispo.

El viaje despertó críticas porque llevaron como acompañante a Darius Anderson, líder del grupo no lucrativo Californianos Construyendo Puentes (Californians Building Bridges) que organiza viajes a Cuba y resulta ser también dueño de la firma de cabilderos Platinum Advisor que tiene clientes de la talla de AT&T, Anthem Blue Cross, DirectTV, Group and Pfizer. Se trata de grupos que dan dinero a las campañas políticas de los legisladores viajeros."Es un abuso usar el dinero de las campañas políticas para hacer viajes exóticos con uno de los más poderosos cabilderos del estado, quien constantemente les está pidiendo que voten a favor o en contra de proyectos de ley", señaló Phillip Ung, de Common Cause, una organización vigilante de las acciones del Gobierno."Si el país no tiene una relación establecida con Cuba, cuál es el propósito de los legisladores de hacer ese viaje con fines culturales. No fue más que una vacación", sentenció Ung.California Watch dio a conocer el viaje realizado en la primavera por los legisladores.Jason Kinney, de California Bulding Bridges, la organización que invitó a los legisladores a Cuba, dijo que por más de una década ellos han llevado delegaciones no gubernamentales a la isla. "Estas delegaciones están abiertas al público, algunas veces se incluye a un puñado de funcionarios electos, y cuando llegan a asistir , son tratados como cualquier otro ciudadano privado y pagan su pasaje", dijo.Agregó que no hay intercambios educativos con la gente de Cuba, lo que quiere decir que no se discuten asuntos públicos y nada relacionado con lo que sucede en Sacramento.Recordó que en 2002, la legislatura aprobó una resolución bipartidista que llama al Congreso a reducir las restricciones de viajes y comercio con Cuba. Kinney no proporcionó un itinerario de las actividades de los legisladores, pero dijo que incluyeron juntas y eventos que destacaron las creencias y prácticas culturales de Cuba, lo que incluye la religión, música y arte.La oficina de Skinner y Galgiani dijeron que no tenían comentarios sobre el viaje. La de Atkins respondió que se trató de un viaje educativo y cultural a Cuba que salió de su propio bolso y de fondos políticos.Mario Beltrán, de la oficina del senador Calderón, dijo que la ley permite que se usen fondos de campañas para viajes educativos, como fue el caso de esta travesía hacia el país comunista. "Le sirvió mucho para aprender cómo funciona la sociedad cubana", expuso.El asambleísta republicano Achadjian respondió que por mucho tiempo se preguntó acerca del impacto del embargo de EEUU a Cuba y si un acercamiento más pragmático como la política hacia China y Vietnam sería más efectivo."Mi interés en la política estadounidense hacia Cuba aumentó en septiembre pasado después de que una Cámara de Comercio local llevó a una delegación de negocios el año pasado. Conflictos con los horarios me impidieron participar en ese viaje, me dio gusto que el viaje de California Building Bridges coincidiera con mis planes y me permitiera ver de primera mano el impacto del embargo en las vidas de los cubanos", comentó.La ley no pone restricciones a los legisladores para el uso de los fondos de sus campañas, así que pueden gastarlos en viajes, regalos, autos, prácticamente en lo que quieran. A diferencia de California, el Congreso sí prohíbe los viajes con cabilderos.

Cruises to Cuba announced by U.S. tour company

San Jose Mercury News

By Beth J. Harpaz

covenantharbor.org

A U.S.-based tour company has announced it plans to launch new people-to-people trips to Cuba that would transport U.S. citizens there by ship.

Road Scholar, a Boston-based company, is offering the trips from Jamaica and Miami, with stops in Havana and other parts of Cuba.
Most travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba is outlawed, but tens of thousands of Americans now visit the island legally each year on people-to-people tours, which are licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department. People-to-people trips must have educational and cultural exchange itineraries in order to be approved by the U.S. government.
Typically, people-to-people tours fly from U.S. airports to Havana on chartered planes. But Road Scholar's director of international programs, Yves Marceau, said that "there's nothing in the regulations or guidelines" that preclude traveling by ship on a people-to-people tour.
The U.S. Treasury Department confirmed that transportation, "whether by bus, boat or taxi" in Cuba, is permitted as part of the people-to-people programs, as long as it does not detract from a "full-time schedule of educational activities that will result in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba."
Marceau said Road Scholar had "designed all the port programs to be consistent" with those regulations, including a visit to an agricultural cooperative and meetings with artists.
The Road Scholar trips are among several seaborne voyages planned by U.S.-based entities to Cuba. This fall, Semester at Sea plans its first stop in Cuba since 2004, according to Semester at Sea spokesman Andrew Centofante. Semester at Sea allows college students to earn credit on multicountry study abroad programs that take place on a ship, and Centofante said the Cuba stop was approved by the U.S. government as part of an itinerary in which students will visit various ports around the Atlantic.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had advertised a people-to-people cruise from Jamaica to Havana this past April, but it did not take place. A spokesman for Academic Arrangements Abroad, which was organizing the museum trip, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it's not unusual for tours sponsored by museums or universities to be canceled if they don't get enough participants.
The Road Scholar trip will use a cruise ship operated by a Canadian company, with Canadians and Europeans making up most of the other 1,000 passengers on the ship, Marceau said. The Road Scholar group has room for 24 participants and will adhere to its own itinerary in Cuban ports.
One of the Road Scholar tours is an 11-night trip beginning in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which heads to Punta Frances, on a small Cuban island south of Havana called Isla de la Juventud, and concludes with five nights in Havana. A second 10-night trip starts in Miami, then heads to Cuba, with stops including rural areas and the western part of the country, and a final stop in Montego Bay. The third Road Scholar voyage runs 12 nights, traveling from Miami to Havana and around the island before returning to Havana. The Road Scholar seaborne trips to Cuba have departure dates in December through March.
Road Scholar, formerly known as Elderhostel, is a nonprofit group that is broadening its focus after years of specializing in Baby Boomer travel and intergenerational programs for grandparents and grandchildren. The group now also offers family travel programs for multiple generations.
People-to-people cultural exchange licenses for trips to Cuba were reinstituted by the Obama administration in 2011, after being halted by the Bush administration. But requirements were tightened last year after criticism that many of the trips were masking recreational tourism to the Communist island. Cuban-American Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida criticized the government for approving licenses for groups that included activities like salsa dancing. 

Jay-Z: Boycott Florida, Vacation in Cuba

capitolhillcubans

Hip-hop artist Jay-Z has reportedly joined the boycott of Florida over the state's controversial "stand your ground" law.

We respect his concerns.

However, it seems particularly hypocritical for Jay-Z to promote a boycott of democratic Florida, but have no problem vacationing in totalitarian Cuba.

As we all know, Cuba's police-state practices a unilateral "stand your ground" on steroids -- meaning if you even think contrary to the Castro regime, they can beat you, imprison you and kill you.

But why let that impede a "salsa and mojito" tour -- courtesy of the Obama Administration's so called "people-to-people" trips.

Clearly, the deaths of Cuban democracy leaders Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Laura Pollan and Oswaldo Paya, mean nothing to Jay-Z.

Neither do the violent beatings and abuses against Cuba's Ladies in White and Afro-Cuban democracy activists.

And remember Angel Yunier Remon?

The Cuban rapper know as "El Critico," who was in a prison cell (for his critical lyrics) during Jay-Z's April vacation to Havana?

He's still there, no charges filed, no trial, nothing.

But why let any of this stop a good party in Havana (courtesy of the Castro regime).

Cuba: More Jedi Mind Tricks

capitolhillcubans

U.S. travel to Cuba hurts the Castro regime, say Castro regime advocates.

No really.

From Wall Street Journal:

There are no direct commercial flights between Russia and Ecuador. The whistleblower could conceivably travel through Venezuela or Cuba. But Cuba's Raúl Castro is hoping to increase tourism from the U.S. and may not be eager to have him pass through.

Meanwhile, AFP reports that the Spanish hotel company Meliá will open one of the biggest yacht marinas in the Caribbean, in partnership with the Cuban military's holding company Gaviota, in the beach resort of Varadero:

"The Meliá Marina Varadero will be built in partnership with the state tourism company Gaviota at tip of the Península de Icacos, one of the closest points on the island to Florida, United States."

Marco Rubio: La Ley de Ajuste cubano debe ser 'examinada'

Diario de Cuba

El senador cubanoamericano Marco Rubio opinó el martes ante un grupo de editores de periódicos que la Ley de Ajuste Cubano, que desde hace 47 años otorga a los inmigrantes de la Isla condiciones especiales para obtener la residencia en Estados Unidos, debe ser "reexaminada", informó el diario Tampa Bay Times.

No obstante, el proyecto de ley de inmigración, en cuya redacción ha participado Rubio y que probablemente sea aprobado por el Senado entre este jueves y el viernes, no incluye ninguna referencia a la Ley de Ajuste.

"Simplemente no se ha planteado en las conversaciones y en el conjunto de problemas que estamos enfrentando", ha dicho al respecto Rubio, republicano por Florida.

El tema resurgió el martes durante una sesión de preguntas y respuestas con integrantes de la Sociedad Americana de Editores de Noticias. Rubio consideró que algunos cubanos abusan del sistema.

"No critico a quien quiera ir a visitar a su madre, o su padre, o a un hermano o hermana que esté muriendo en Cuba", dijo. Pero "esto hace muy difícil justificar el estatus de exiliado o refugiado de alguien que un año y medio después de llegar a este país viaja a Cuba una y otra vez".

Más de un millón de cubanos han recibido la residencia estadounidense desde que la Ley de Ajuste fue aprobada, en 1966. Pero en los últimos años han crecido los cuestionamientos sobre si las razones por las cuales los cubanos abandonan la Isla son actualmente políticas o económicas y la Ley de Ajuste ha recibido críticas.

Grupos de derechos de los inmigrantes consideran injusto el estatus especial de los cubanos. Mientras, algunos cambios como la llamada "actualización" de la ley migratoria de la Isla, han facilitado que más cubanos viajen.

"No estoy seguro de que vayamos a ser capaces evitar, como parte de un enfoque global de la inmigración, una conversación sobre la Ley de Ajuste Cubano", dijo Rubio en enero pasado a reporteros, a medida que se calentaba el tema de la inmigración.

Este martes, no obstante, aseguró que no tienen ningún cambio específico en mente. "Es algo que tengo que estudiar con más cuidado", afirmó el senador.

Another U.S. Citizen Arrested in Cuba

capitolhillcubans

Cecilia Rojas, a U.S. citizen of Cuban descent, has been arrested by the Castro regime after visiting a prominent Cuban pro-democracy leader.

Rojas had traveled to the town of Placetas, where she visited the home of Cuban pro-democracy leader, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez "Antunez."

She was arrested upon leaving Antunez's home.

Her Florida drivers license has been confiscated.

Ironically, in her last tweet before departing to Cuba, she had taken a picture of a man who was asking for American hostage Alan Gross's release, in front of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.

So if you're an American traveling to Cuba on a Castro-hosted "people-to-people" tour, the regime welcomes you with open arms (and wallets).

But if you're an American traveling to Cuba to express solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people, the regime arrests you.

UPDATE: Rojas was released this morning.

SINA ofrece ayuda de emergencia a cubanoamericanos de visita en la isla

ofrecer ayuda y representatividad consular a sus ciudadanos  es una obligacion de cualquier representacion diplomatica, el asunto es que la sina aunque quisiera  esta atada de pies y brazos en tanto los "cubanoamericanos" viajan a cuba como "cubanos".

-------------------

martinoticias

Una nota de actualización de datos de la Sección de Intereses de los Estados Unidos en Cuba hace saber que si un ciudadano estadounidense de visita en la isla enfrenta una situación de emergencia como arresto, fallecimiento, desastre natural-desorden civil, emergencia y pérdida o robo de pasaporte, lo notifique a la sección consular.

Una de las portavoces de la SINA, Lynn Roshe, en entrevista con Radio Martí declaró que se trata de un procedimiento de rutina que ocurre en todos los consulados de Estados Unidos en el mundo y que en el caso de Cuba no tenía información de arrestos de cubanoamericanos que visitan la isla. "Lo que ha aumentado es el número de visitantes cubanoamericanos", dijo la funcionaria.

En el capítulo que se refiere al arresto, la nota expresa:

“La Oficina de Intereses no tiene la potestad de negociar la liberación de la prisión de los Ciudadanos Americanos (como son Ciudadanos Americanos en Cuba, se acogen a las leyes cubanas), pero el Departamento de Atención a Ciudadanos Americanos en Cuba puede ayudarle a proteger sus intereses y asegurarle que no son discriminados del todo.”

“La Unidad de Servicios a Ciudadanos Americanos puede facilitarle un listado de abogados locales, visitas a Ciudadanos Americanos encarcelados, así como contactar miembros de la familia en nombre del ciudadano encarcelado. Además podemos hacer transferencias bancarias, facilitar la entrega de ropa y comida a las autoridades cubanas enviadas por la familia.” 

Regime Official Pitches Golf Resorts as People-to-People Travel

capitolhillcubans
It is abundantly clear that the Castro regime is desperate for U.S. tourists to salvage its dictatorship.

This week, in pitching the Castro regime's new golf project, Jose Tova-Pineda, director-general of the Varadero golf course, stated:

"American may have a problem with us, but we have no problem with Americans, the more who visit us, the better."

Of course, U.S. tourism to Cuba is illegal (was codified into law as such in 2000) and the U.S. Congress is unlikely to unilaterally change that policy.

So Tova-Pineda aimed his pitch at the Obama Administration instead, hoping to package its new resorts as "cultural tours" for so-called "people-to-people" travelers:

"Our resorts will be at historic cross-centers across the country.  That way people get their suntan, enjoy our country and learn about the culture."

Any bets that a "golf itinerary" will soon find its way to OFAC for "people-to-people" approval

Castro Needs U.S. Tourists to Survive

capitolhillcubans

From The Economist's "Why is playing golf a revolutionary pursuit in Cuba?":

[T]he main reason for the sudden enthusiasm for pitching and putting is a need to attract more tourists. The island pulled in 2.8m visitors last year, far fewer than the 4.6m who flocked to the Dominican Republic, its smaller neighbour. Cuba faces the disadvantage that America, which lies only 100 miles away, makes it very difficult for its own citizens to holiday on the island (try searching for flights to Havana on an American website and you will have no luck, wherever you are from). Now, unstable regional politics make it more crucial than ever for Cuba to pep up income from tourism. Venezuela, whose petrodollars have propped up the Cuban economy for years, is ploughing into an economic crisis. Its new president, Nicolás Maduro, has pledged loyalty to the Castros but is far less popular at home than his predecessor, Hugo Chávez. Meanwhile, recent attempts to find oil in Cuban waters have drawn a blank.

The revolution therefore needs golfers.

Viajeros podrán llevar más equipos electrodomésticos a Cuba

cafefuerte

Cuba levantó una prohibición existente por casi una década y a partir de este lunes permitirá que los viajeros puedan entrar al país equipos electrodomésticos considerados de alto consumo.

En la lista de artículos permitidos figuran refrigeradores domésticos, freezers, aires acondicionados, cocinas, hornos microondas, duchas, planchas, tostadoras y hasta bicicletas eléctricas.

De acuerdo con una Resolución 143/2013 de la Aduana General de la República, se autoriza "la importación sin carácter comercial por personas naturales, de los equipos
electrodomésticos y ciclomotores eléctricos siempre que su valor y cantidad se correspondan con los límites establecidos en la legislación vigente".

El documento indica que los equipos electrodomésticos, así como sus partes y piezas fundamentales, podrán importarse si cumplen los siguientes requisitos:

• Acondicionadores de aire de cualquier tipo o modelo, si su capacidad no excede de una tonelada o 12,000 BTU (unidad de enfriamiento).

• Cocinas y hornillas eléctricas, las denominadas vitrocerámicas de inducción, de cualquier modelo y que su consumo eléctrico no exceda 1,500 Watt, por parrilla.

• Hornos eléctricos, los denominados microonda, de cualquier modelo y que su consumo eléctrico no exceda 2,000 Watt.

El documento indica que cada viajero podrá traer al país dos equipos en cada categoría establecida, aunque no se especifica si se determinará un límite de acuerdo a las entradas que haga durante un año, como establecen las reglas aduanales para otros artículos no comerciales.

Desde el 28 de marzo del 2005 había quedado prohibida la entrada a Cuba de artículos electrodomésticos con carácter no comercial, a raíz de la crisis energética que enfrentó el país durante el año precedente.

"Resulta necesario actualizar [la resolución del 2005], por ser de beneficio y ampliación de las posibilidades de los viajeros y demás personas naturales que importen mercancías", escribió el jefe de la Aduana, Pedro Miguel Pérez Betancourt.

La resolución especificó que los recursos de reclamación iniciados y no concluidos antes de la entrada en vigor de esta medida, se regirán por las nuevas regulaciones.

De acuerdo con las tablas publicadas como anexo a la resolución, los valores admitidos como precios de los equipos oscilarán entre $500 y $100 dólares para las cocinas eléctricas, $300 dólares para refrigeradores y congeladores, $200 dólares para los ciclomotores eléctricos, y entre $200 y 150 dólares para los aires acondicionados.

El resto de los artículos aparecen valorados en menos de $100 dólares.

Video: Barack Obama Is Questioned About Jay-Z’s Trip To Cuba & “Open Letter”

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Must Listen: Cuban-American Rappers Educate Jay-Z

capitolhillcubans

Problem Kids/ babalublog.com

From Miami New Times:

Problem Kids are Miami Cubans with a message for Jay-Z about his trip to Cuba. Their response to his "Open Letter" is a new track called "Useful Idiot."

"He looks like he's praising the Castro regime, and we wanna give him a history lesson," say MCs Mario Obregon and Christian Martinez of the local hip-hop group that Public Enemy's Chuck D has described as "Yeeeaaaaah."

They also have words for Pitbull, who they agree should have gone harder with his own response to Jay. "He should have told him that what he did is stupid and this is the reason," says Martinez.

What do you think of Jay Z going to Cuba?

He made it seem like it's not a big deal to go there when there are Cuban rappers thrown in jail right now just for their freedom of speech. For him to make it seem like it's just a place to go on vacation was wrong, and it's a big deal to us who feel it's important to tell the truth about Cuba for our family and our heritage.

What do you think of his response song?

When he 's like, "I went to Cuba, I love Cubans," and in the background you hear someone smoking a cigar, It's like he's saying that's all Cuba is to him. He's not saying anything about the people making the cigars, he didn't mention what people there are going through, like people are being persecuted everyday. It's not just a good time. I'm sure where he was staying it might have seemed like it was beautiful, but what the real Cuba looks like is not what he portrayed. I'm sure the government knew he was coming and made sure to show him the nice side.

What do you think of him being involved with the U.S. Government and friends with Obama?

He's pretty much saying that he can get away with everything.

What do you think of Pitbull's response?

I thought he would have gone harder. I don't know if they're friends or what, he kind of reps him at the end. His song is more about Cuba, there's nothing really aimed at Jay Z. Ours is not a diss track either, just a history lesson.

You have a line about "Women beaten in the streets after Sunday morning mass..."

That line is for the Ladies In White, they go to church every Sunday and march in the street and the govt beats em' and it's crazy like mothers, daughters, everybody, and they even snatch a few up and send them to prison like it's nothing. Dimelo mentions them in the first verse of the song.

You opened for Chuck D (from Public Enemy), what do you think about politics in hip hop?

It's necessary, of course, especially on human rights. If you have a voice you have to use it. Jay Z has a big voice and he should have shed light since he has that power. We don't have that power, but we do have a voice in our community and hopefully people hear it and get a better idea of what's going on in Cuba.

Any shout outs?

To the Cuban people. We did this for our grandparents and parents, and a free Cuba, one day, hopefully. And shout out Pepe Billete too. He repped us hard on the song.

Alexis Romay, Ted Henken sobre viajar o no a Cuba

Alexis Romay

New York News | NYC Breaking News

Pitbull responde a Jay Z con un rap

Punt de Vista

Escuchar aquí la respuesta de Pitbull a Jay Z en forma de rap. 

Must-Read: Hollywood Director's Letter to Jay-Z on Cuba Trip

capitolhillcubans

cjaronu

By Hollywood Director Phil Lord ("21 Jump Street," "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs") in Huffington Post:

An Open Letter to Jay-Z

Dear Mr. Z,

I just heard your new track, “Open Letter,” released today. It’s got everything I love about your music: looping internal rhymes, an infectious beat, and imagery that draws me into a kind of swaggering, defiant fantasy.

Speaking of defiant fantasies, I’ve been following news of your recent trip to the island nation of Cuba. As the son of a Cuban refugee, and cousin and nephew to many Cubans on the island, I cringe when Americans visit Cuba for a fun island vacation. For one thing it’s illegal (which nobody seems to care about), but more importantly, it's either ignorant of or calloused to the struggles of Cubans on the island. I actually encourage my friends to travel to Cuba, to bear witness to one of the great tragedies of our time, to learn about the real Cuba, to put a human face on the caricature of Americans that the Castros propagate. Exchange and travel between our two nations should be a catalyst for change, as it has been even in my own family. But for me, Cuba is not the place to have a fun, sexy, vacation. Because for Cubans on the island and living elsewhere, it’s not.

So when I heard of your visit, I thought to myself, Jay Z seems like a smart, thoughtful guy. He doesn't realize what he's walking into. He probably just thinks Cuba is a chic place to relax with the family. He probably just doesn’t know the things I know.

He likely doesn’t know that the Cuban tourism industry is run by the Cuban military, so when he spends money at an officially sanctioned hotel, or restaurant, he is directly funding the oppressors of the Cuban people.

He doesn’t know that most Cubans have poor access to independent news sources, the internet, books, and food.

He doesn’t know that Cuba has two health systems, one for the well-connected, and one for everyone else.

He doesn’t know that before Castro, the Cuban peso traded one-to-one with the dollar, and that since then, the Castros have raided the nation’s coffers and introduced widespread poverty to a once prosperous nation.

He doesn’t know that my ancestors fought to free Cuba from Spain, and to set up a democracy to ensure that they would always be free.

He doesn’t know that in spite of those dreams, my mother and her family fled for their lives from this regime way back in 1960, as did *two million* other Cubans.

He doesn’t know about the thousands of people executed by firing squads led by sexy t-shirt icon Che Guevara.

He doesn’t know about the dissidents, artists, and librarians that currently rot in Cuba’s prisons, and the thousands more who live in fear.

He doesn’t know about Orlando Zapata Tamayo, an Afro-Cuban dissident who died in a Cuban prison in 2010 after an 80-day hunger strike.

He doesn’t know that a U.S. Citizen, Alan Gross, is currently serving a 15-year sentence in a Cuban prison for providing phones and computers to the members of the Cuban Jewish community. He doesn't know that all attempts by our government and private citizens to secure his release have been scoffed at.

He has likely forgotten about all those who have died in the Florida Straits, trying to float on makeshift boats to freedom.

He doesn’t know that contrary to popular understanding, Amnesty International reports that repression of dissidents in Cuba is actually on the rise.

He doesn’t know that when an international music luminary shows up in Cuba, his presence is unwittingly used as propaganda to support the regime.

He doesn’t know that artists in Cuba, with whom he was supposedly having a cultural exchange, serve under the close supervision of the government, and don’t enjoy the freedom to defiantly name check the President, call out a few senators, threaten to buy a kilo of cocaine just to spite the government, or suggest that they will follow up their purchase with a shooting spree, as rapped about in "Open Letter."

He doesn’t know that just because our country applies a different, some say hypocritical policy to China, it doesn’t make either regime any less oppressive, or any more acceptable.

He doesn’t know that when people say “I’ve got to visit Cuba before it gets ruined,” I think to myself, “It’s already ruined. And by the way, ruined by what? freedom of speech? walls that don’t crumble? shoes? Do you mean ruin Cuba? Or ruin your fashionable vacation in Cuba?”

He doesn’t know that when I really start to think about all this, I get so mad I can’t sleep.

He doesn’t know that when he’s wearing that hat, smoking that coveted contraband cigar, he looks like a dupe.

He doesn't know how much good he could be doing in Cuba, for Cubans, instead. Bearing witness, supporting artistic freedom, listening.

He doesn't realize that as someone privileged to be born in a free society, one in which someone could come from nothing and become a celebrated music, sports, fashion, business and political mogul, it's not only his good luck to be able to bring to light the needs of the less fortunate, it's his obligation.

But then, Jay-Z, I heard your new song, and paid attention to the lyrics.

I heard you bragging about your “White House clearance.”

I heard you talk about how much you enjoy Cuban cigars.

And I heard you tell the President I voted for, “You don’t need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach.”

You reject the responsibility to speak up for an oppressed people, even while you take up your own cause with gusto.

Then I figured it out.

You actually know all of this stuff, you just don't care.

That's not just being a bad citizen, or a bad neighbor.

It's being a bad artist.

It's Nihilism with a beat.

-Phil Lord.

Must-Read: Open Letter to Jay-Z

capitolhillcubans

www.sodahead.com

By Chris Gueits:

Open Letter to Jay

When you turned that 250 into half a man,
Your words inspired me, I am a fan.
I do idolize my favorite rapper
And know all his songs.
But you’ve contradicted yourself,
So you need this now.

It’s not about politicians or my parents,
I don’t agree with either, neither.
But before you turn Havana into Atlanta
With Guayaberas and a Guantanamera,
Do your own research.
The truth might hurt.

But look, don’t take it from me,
go talk to Aldo and El B.
That’s Cuba’s Jay, and they don’t play.
Literally. They don’t play
On a stage cause their freedom was slain.

Black Cubans? Ask ‘em about expression.
Talk to Jorge Luis or Guillermo
AKA Cuba’s Y2K MLK.
Meet Berta Soler and see how it’d be
If Voletta were dragged through the streets.
Need one more Cubano? Ask about Zurbano.

See it ain’t about your bread or your fame.
I salute that, you earned it. No shame.
It ain’t about politicians making noise, either.
Look deeper.

You like Cubans? The people.
They’re beautiful and brilliant.
Full of potential, they’re hungry.
Something like a Young Hov in Marcy.

So before that revolution has you shootin’,
Open your eyes,
So you won’t miss history’s sheep in disguise.

Happy Anniversary to you and Bey.

A vueltas con el embargo y el viaje de Beyoncé, Jay-Z, etc.

El Tono de la Voz/ Jorge Ferrer » 

De interés el post de Achy Obejas sobre la visita de Jay-Z y Beyoncé a La Habana. Al menos tiene bastante más interés y ¡sobre todo ritmo! que la Open Letter que el primero echó a rodar esta mañana.

Léanlo.

AO esgrime ahí el argumento de la ineficacia del embargo. Es un argumento que permanece enhiesto, pero con la ropa hecha jirones, de viejo. (¿Girones?) «¡Levántenlo por inocuo!», claman quienes ven en él a un rey desnudo. Yo creo desde hace mucho tiempo que a estas alturas el embargo o es token o es oportunidad redundantemente perdida. Y siempre da mayores réditos una moneda de cambio que un cambio sin réditos.

Hay algo, sin embargo, que me parece todavía más siniestro en ese paisaje de la permisibilidad de los viajes a Cuba desde EE.UU. que describe AO. Díganle siniestro o risible o absurdo o wtfaquesco. A saber, la circunstancia de que todo norteamericano que desee viajar a Cuba ha de solicitar una licencia que eleve su viaje a la categoría de «intercambio cultural». O religioso…

Para recibir una de esas licencias, que parece ser se conceden con munificencia, los turistas (o las agencias que los llevan al parque temático) han de convertirse de repente en «activistas culturales» o antropólogos aficionados y mostrar un programa que incluya visitas a entidades gubernamentales cubanas: hospitales, escuelas, etc., donde sus guías les cantarán las bondades de la revolución a ritmo de rap-propaganda. De hecho, el gobierno de los EE.UU. prohíbe a sus ciudadanos que viajen a Cuba como turistas, salvo y solo salvo que se avengan a someterse a la propaganda castrista. Es una suerte de «si vas a broncearte a Varadero o a pasear por la Habana Vieja y Trinidad, no; pero si vas a que unos entrenados ñángaras te expliquen las bondades de la revolución, entonces aquí tienes tu licencia y dale a ser intoxicado».

No se veía situación más absurda desde que… No se me ocurre nada, no, de tan endemoniadamente absurda que es.

Casa Blanca desmiente haber conocido detalles del viaje a Cuba de Beyonce y Jay-Z

entonces??? la promocion no pagada del regimen de la'bana por parte de la famosa pareja sera objeto de cargos legales como estipulan las leyes estadounidenses? o todo sencillamente forma parte de la puesta en escena entre la casa blanca y la rinconada.

Senator Rubio on Bey and Jay's Cuba Trip

capitolhillcubans

Statement from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) on American pop and hip-hop stars Beyonce and Jay-Z's trip to Cuba:

“U.S. law clearly bans tourism to Cuba by American citizens because it provides money to a cruel, repressive and murderous regime.  Since their inception, the Obama Administration’s 'people to people' cultural exchange programs have been abused by tourists who have no interest in the Cuban people’s freedom and either don’t realize or don’t care that they’re essentially funding the regime’s systematic trampling of people’s human rights.

According to recent news reports, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Cuba trip, which the regime seized on for propaganda purposes, was fully licensed by the Treasury Department.  If true, the Obama Administration should explain exactly how trips like these comply with U.S. law and regulations governing travel to Cuba and it should disclose how many more of these trips they have licensed.”

Earlier today, Senator Rubio tweeted:

If interested in what life really like in #Cuba @s_c_should have visited persecuted rapper #AngelYunierRemon #99problems&dictatorsareone
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 8, 2013

For more information on Angel Yunier Remon, click here >>

La carta de juego del castrismo

Cubanet

Darsi Ferrer Ramírez 

MIAMI, Florida,  5 de abril de 2013. En Cuba ningún suceso de connotación política es casual, mucho menos inocente, ni puede hablarse de cabos sueltos por pura espontaneidad. Eso es para los bobos. Detrás de cada acción de ese tipo está la mano del aparato de inteligencia moviendo fichas con precisión milimétrica, en función de alcanzar objetivos estratégicos planificados con total rigor. ¿De qué les hablo específicamente?

Por ejemplo, de la inesperada presencia en la isla del pitcher de grandes ligas José Ariel Contreras , la salida al exterior de prominentes opositores (Yoani Sánchez, Berta Soler…), la reciente visita de una delegación de ocho congresistas americanos, que incluyó entrevistas con Raúl Castro y otros dirigentes del régimen, el concierto en un barrio habanero del cantante exiliado Issac Delgado, junto al confesado castrista Silvio Rodríguez y, por último, el viaje de “paseo” a la Perla de las Antillas de la prestigiosa cantante y compositora estadounidense, ganadora de 17 Grammys, Beyoncé, acompañada de su esposo, el también famoso rapero Jay-Z. Si se fijan, todos estos eventos tienen una supuesta razón de ser declarada que enmascara el verdadero motivo responsable, que queda oculto o pretenden esconder.

Revisemos lo expuesto ante la opinión pública: Contreras viajó por razones familiares, los opositores han salido a cuenta de la apertura o las reformas migratorias implementadas por el castrismo, los congresistas americanos fueron a la isla interesados en la situación de Alan Gross, Issac respondió a una invitación personal de Silvio y Beyoncé y su esposo están celebrando su quinto aniversario de bodas… ¿Qué nice, verdad? Pero la motivación escondida detrás de todos estos eventos concatenados, y no desperdigados, comienza en las solapadas operaciones estratégicas asumidas por el aparato de la Seguridad del Estado, preparándose a toda carrera para afrontar el futuro luego de conocer la gravedad de la salud del gobernante subvencionador, Hugo Chávez, y que su desenlace sería la muerte.

Los Castro no tienen opción ni alternativa de reactivar la quebrada economía totalitaria. Sobreviven de modo parásito, del subsidio multimillonario que aún le sacan a Venezuela. Pero sin Chávez esa regalía va a desaparecer en el corto plazo. Ellos son los mejores informados de esa situación inmodificable, y solo les queda la pretensión de agarrarse de otra ubre. La tabla salvadora a la que le han echado el ojo, y luchan hasta con las uñas por clavarle los colmillos, es el exilio de Miami, para que le sirva de puerta de entrada al bolsillo de Estados Unidos.

No tienen otra opción, repito. Ese interés les exige la adopción de medidas que mejoren su imagen y calcen la propaganda de que están cambiando el rumbo de la dictadura hacia reformas liberalizadoras. Esas acciones implican que deben tragarse algunos buches amargos, como la salida al exterior de los opositores, pues es de los males el menor. De lo contrario, discriminando a sus adversarios políticos, pondrían en peligro la credibilidad de las medidas migratorias. Tales medidas les garantizan un incremento del flujo de divisas por concepto de remesas, y además la posibilidad de resquebrajar la política del embargo y, ya de paso, la oportunidad de que la administración Obama tenga justificación a mano para ir desmontando el vetusto, y criticado globalmente, conflicto bilateral.

Por detrás también juegan con el chantaje a Estados Unidos, dejándoles saber que si el régimen se desploma de golpe ello los empujaría a la temida realidad de tener que entrar con los marines y obligatoriamente intervenir militarmente Cuba, para controlar el éxodo desestabilizador de la Florida y evitar que la isla se convierta en refugio y base operativa del narcotráfico y el terrorismo internacional, que aprovecharían el problemático litoral que comparten ambas naciones para atacar o introducir sus mercancías en territorio americano. Nada, que no podemos caer de ilusos. Toda acción dentro del castrismo tiene una cínica y manipuladora explicación no reconocida públicamente por sus artífices de Villa Marista.