There's always going to be ray of hope... for as tiny as it seems to be, hope is a powerful weapon. No tyrant has ever been confortably in place when his subjects are able to hold any hope.
See graphic tribute at www.songuacassal.blogspot.com

The BIGGEST problem we have ALWAYS faced is that of "internal disagreements”. We (Cubans) have swallowed the first axiom of strategic warfare propaganda hook line and sinker "Divide and Conquer".
It is inconceivable to me that whether is Paya or Menoyo or Burundanga that there are ANY issues more important that GETTING RID OF THE BEAST.
But here we are 46 years of total bullshit. What POSSIBLE differences can separate us to a point where we rather see KaSStro maintain his stronghold on Cuba than to shake hands and move forward.

We have history to teach valuable lessons, that we as Cubans (and let’s face it WE think we ALWAYS know better) .
WWII was full of compromises geared to a common goal. GET HITLER!
Now after 60 years we begin to see the internal struggles of the “allied” troops which technically as far as “allied” it was only by name.
Why there should be 6 or 7 or 10 dissident parties in Cuba? in fact why should there be more than ONE in the USA ?
Why, cause you feel that former property owners should be compensated and the other guys feel otherwise , now aint THAT a bitch ?!
We Cubans suffer from what I called the curse of the high intellect. WE ALWAYS KNOW BETTER, MY PLAN IS SURELY BETTER THAN YOUR PLAN!
The same passion that made us successful in the USA has made us incapable of getting rid of Castro. We are unyielding, determined, focused and most of all we do suffer from a superiority complex. I just can NOT be more honest as far as the way I see OUR race. We are descendants of people who had chrome plated cojones and we all carry that DNA . Whether it was the Spaniard who at 6 years old jumped on a ship as a stowaway (like my dad) and in 1959 was a wealthy businessman without having ONE day of formal schooling or the Chinese who left China in 1949 with NOTHING but the clothes they wore and, or the black slave who had the strength and intelligence to survive as a slave we , ALL of US have that gene of the determined the self assured the survivor and unfortunately that makes for TREMENDOUS leadership but very a very poor ability t be a “follower” .
TOO many chiefs, too many cooks... Whatever the allegory you want to adopt, that is US. And that my friends, has FUCKED US UP TO NO END!
Last year I was sitting at Versalles in Miami with a few friends all OLD buddies from Cuba there were 5 of us, and we could not agree on ONE god damn thing as to how Cuba was going to be managed after The Beast is gone.
There was the abolsute patriot who did not want ANY YANK help AT ALL “ Yo no quiero una bandera Americana flotando en La Habana”, well you know what FUCK YOU ! neither do I but I DO want American troops making sure that whatever little is left in La Habana doesn’t succumb to 46 years of pent up passions. and I trust a UN force as much as I trust Kasstro
“Cuba must be led by a Cuban-American.” Again yes there’s much validity to it, for the simple reason that a Cuban American has been exposed to a lot more has had a better education and probably has accomplished a lot more in life than one of the ones that stayed behind. But.. How are you gonna sell that to a man who’s been in jail in Cuba for 15 years ?
And belive it or not “THAT” is a profound fear in the consciousness of the Cuban people in the island; that we will arrive as conquerors that will impose our will. A will, of which they know nothing about. And as the old saying goes
“Mas vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer”
Cubans in the USA must put aside ALL differences act as ONE family and make the rest of the family in Cuba BELIVE with all their hearts that we have no desire for vengeance nor dominance.
There should NOT be a HEAD of Cuban politics after Castro there should be a transional commission a parliamentary group. Cuba is NOT ready for a democratic election. Cuba is not ready for political parties and we will not be ready for that for YEARS to come.
We need to heal, it is OUR (the ones on THIS side) absolute duty to help those THERE to function under a capitalist system. We should care enough to avoid profiteering and abuses during the transition .. And I am sorry to say something of that magnitude can only be accomplished under the eye of a transional body most probably supported by a USA military force.
We have suffered 46 years of absolute tyranny. 2 / 3 years of decompression , of LEARNING how to be free and democratic can NOT be considered as a capitulation to USA imperialism. It should be looked at as (they say in Chess) the FORCED move. And right there just by saying that *I* become guilty of my own criticism against Cubans.
*I* KNOW WHAT IS BEST!.. See ? we are FUCKED!

Can you believe the weather we're having today?

Why aren't we ManCamping?

KillCastro, you've got me weeping here. I pray for Cuba Libre con paz.

I can almost no longer read these stories. I pray. That's all that's left, for someone who feels as helpless over the present as I do. This man is twice, no ten times, the man of any fidelista.

KillCastro: It is not hopeless. The Venezuelans can tell you all about this. But more than them, the US founding fathers can tell you all about this. What kind of a republic did we have that the vice president shot the most brilliant treasury secretary in history in a duel over some cheap little girl? Didn't Patrick Henry consider (name your patriot) a scoundrel? Didn't John Adams fight fiercely with Thomas Jefferson? Only when the two were old men did they become friends. This kind of thing happens. It's democracy. So long as people are committed to democracy, these details work themselves out. The Irish and the Spanish and the Singaporeans have done a tremendous job of turning themselves into a democracy. So can Cuba.

THE TRUTH: CUBANS MUST FIRST UNITE TO STAMP OUT THE COCKROACHES, THEN YOU FIGHT TOGETHER ALL YOU WANT

There are no political fights between Cubans that should take precedence over a united front to get rid of La Grand Cucarache and all the little cockroaches who follow him.

These Blogs are exposing the evils of the regime in power in Havana, and they must be stronger and there must be more of them. You have to destroy the myths of Castroism and the lies before the s.o.b. dies!

If you do not, he will die a hero, a hero instead of an exposed and discredited tyrant and liar, and Redford will concoct another story about fidel to be spread around the world as truth!

There must be but a single purpose in mind between all Cubans, exposing the lies and deceit, destroying his credibility, and getting the World's leaders to acknowledge it.

The Blog: therealcuba.com has to make it to Newsweek, Time or some other national magazine, in order to gain both readers and both publicity and acceptability. Once the campaign begins to bear fruit, it will sweel across the nation and put the castro-bootlickers, including the Hollywood crowd, on the defensive. It must be done before he dies or he will die an International Hero for the common man and the Cubans arouind the world, who left Cuba, will be seen as nothing more than discontents who are simply bent upon stirring up trouble.

Those who are trying, like Val, to expose the myth, need all the help they can get at this point.

Send links to others, everyone you can and let them read the truth and understand that they've been lied to for many years by our Liberal press.

Actually Mora - I am NOT hopeless - I am a realist. And in *MY* reality CUBA WILL BE FREE!
But we need FIRST of ALL is HONESTY in our abilities and shortcomings

I am one of those who want to GO back and rebuild and I DO know we will GO BACK. I gave UP in my first 20 years in the USA. Going back to Cuba gave me a sense of duty I didn’t know I had.
A sense of utter responsibility for the fate of that land that I love BEYOND words. I have "tierra colora'" in my veins and ripe Mangos in my palate. And I feel SO responsible for the misery of those who ARE there and I just can not explain it. I feel *WE* owe them so much I feel *I* owe them so much and our internal disagreements and struggles are so fucking petty when you realize that as we discuss THEIR future over beer and lechon they are lucky drinking dirty sugared/water and stale bread. I feel so humble by those there who take action there in their little acts of anti-castrism and at the same time I feel an incredible sense of despair because they act as fragmented pieces of a gigantic puzzle a million ants all running in different directions. "NO ES FACIL” that is the most defeatists phrase Cubans could have ever come up with. TOTAL CAPITULATION! They have given up even as they play the game.

It is NOT despair I feel, it is frustration , I feel I should had accomplished more, I wish my voice was louder, my reach farther, my intelligence superior . Since it is NOT, I want A voice, a FIGURE that will unite us that will expurgate 46 years of mistrust pain and suffering and HEAL us . I REALLY look at Cuba even in religious terms. We need SOMEONE who is NOT around yet, we need OUR Christ. We need the man or woman who will unselfishly, unbiasedly and unemotionally unite us and make us LOVE each other. I know this sounds strange for someone who so adamantly advocates violence against Kasstro but isn’t that our whole universe? Collection os extremes? The Ying and Yang the black the white. I have had has so many conversations with ABSOLUTE raging Communists in Cuba, and my opening line is "let's not talk politics lets be CUBANS first. It is amazing how much gets discussed. The difference is they DO have a FIGURE, yes a treacherous assassin but it is a FOCUS "SOMETHING" as evil as Lucifer itself has united them, but THAT makes them strong. A flash light spreads a LOT of light while it is lit. When it is OFF you forget it was ever there a Laser's light is infinitesimal almost invisible but after it is OFF the MARK is still there. Kasstro is their laser; we on the other hand are full of flashlights.
We need a LASER beam. And it is NOT the Cubans that have become politicians in the USA - I personally do not trust them. Can NOT serve two masters And we DO NOT HAVE THE MASTER to guide us. Guide us BEYOND political speeches and demagogy , that is HOW we got where we are now, but guide us by example by humility by a sense of duty. When that person appears Mora, CUBA WILL BE FREE!

In my opinion, only a transitional committee can do it...
Cubans have to have all sort of referendums and everything to guarantee the return of democracy and only that.
It's like the defeated Nazi Germany, so Cuba has to have an independence but with a strong reminder that things cannot get back to what it has been for almost half a century. The best part is that Cuba will not be partitioned as Germany was.
I agree with KillCastro, and we have discussed this privately, that Cuba has to return to democratic ways gradually, by teaching people how to live in freedom and how to function in a capitalistic and democratic society. They have to overcome all the fears and limitations impossed by an iron rule in all of these years.
The morals of the country have to return to the values that defend family, women, children, and that cagastro has supressed. The society have to heal, and I also agree that the healing will be a lenghty process... I have discussed my own feelings as somebody who recently came to the States with Val and KillCastro, and all of us have different perspectives. I am not a believer in nationalism, it can breed a militaristic society, very chauvinistic (as it did in Cuba with cagastro) and we need to be able to cooperate with the people in the island with no trappings or attached wires. They need help, but need to agree in being helped too...
I do not plan to go back. I have an American life, and I firmly belief that we need to allow them to take care of their own future. I would love to see that the professionals in the islands take charge and do whatever they have been prevented from doing by "virtue" of a tyranny. And like the Germans, they need to be cleansed of all the horrible present (when it becomes a past)
I can discuss my own views privately with whomever is interested.
In another practical order of things, and American presence is needed to impose order in a rather chaotic society. A bloodshed needs to be avoided at all cost and also a migratory stampede. It's complicated. Very complicated.
Specially when we take into account that Cubans have been living in "the dark ages" for half a century and that they do not have a functioning society. I am sorry if I offended anyone with my opinions, and I sincerely apologize to whomever might have taken offense, but I have a pretty good first hand knowledge of how Cubans born after the historical accident feel and what do they expect, which will have to be taken into account in order to rebuilt that country.

Del carajo! KillCastro said it all! Bien hecho!

I feel that NO politician from the US whether Cuban blooded or not should be allowed to hold a position in Cuba's government,sorry if that offends anyone, but I believe in Cuba and it's people,I believe that there are those in Cuba who can point Cuba in the right direction and if anything allow the Cubans to decide their future,I am sorry but WE cannot be so selfish when it comes to the future of Cuba and it's placement of a new government body,they are the ones who have lived their lives in those conditions,it is up to them,not us.

What a wonderful place is OUR Cuba,the unfortunate has happened,but a wonderful island it will always be,no matter what,therefore I do not feel Cuba needs any US support when the time comes and Castro has been laid to rest,up to now the US has done nothing to rid "La perla Del Caribe" of the iron fist hold of Castro,I am sorry if that upsets anyone,but it's the damn truth,the US had liberated Panama (which I was a part of) from Noriega who did a helluva lot less then Castro (a baby next to Castro) and got rid of his ass in one quick swoop,I hate to say it but I feel WE Cubans have been used as puppets by the US and even by some of our political Cuban brothers,WE Cubans like KillCastro has said,MUST unite and forget our differences in opinions as in the end WE ALL are looking for the same thing,whether you support the embargo or not,there is one thing I feel WE ALL AGREE on,A better future for Cuba!

I just hope that in the sake of unity, we do not put our hopes in one person, as many Cubans did in the 50's. It was that very need for unity to enforce the Constitution that gave fidel the advantage and rise in power.

Let our unity be found in Marti's ideal: una patria para todos y para el bien de todos.

CB -
I never suffered on my flesh what YOU suffered and you know that I feel your position is as valid (if not more) than mine. Again , the only insult we should react upon is that of ANYONE, ANYPLACE , ANYTIME defending ANYTHING the BEAST has ever done. The rest should be left to the old axiom to walk a mile in the other's man shoes. You know my buddy's story how his 6 month baby arrived to the USA medically dead during the Mariel genocide (and THAT is what THAT was)
Can *I* criticize him for not wanting to know ANYTHING about Cuba, hell no. BUT that is the KEY! FOCUS on the COMMON ENEMY . I tell you something , I truly thought that the Elian incident was going to be the miracle we needed I DID think , this is an act of GOD! "and a little child will lead them.." thought I . I had such hope for this miracle to become THE miracle and we faced an unsympathetic USA government a media with a leftist agenda and a very disorganized and fragmented Cuban community that DID NOT sit well in the consciousness of Middle America.
Christ himself without his prophets could not have done his job on earth , we have no Christ and we have NO prophets. We ALL want to heard at once "por que YO si se de esto mi socio, yo soy LA CATEDRA" You’re an asshole shut up and be humble.
It blew me AWAY when I read that the 200+ delegates to the May 20 assembly represented over 300+ Cuban groups ?!
Uh? 300+????, ARE WE OUTTA OUR FUCKING MINDS? What the fuck happened to the Cuban Lech Walesa a Solzhenitsyn what happened to a LEADER? ONE voice a CLEAR voice, not white noise. WE have, as Cubans a LOT of volume man, but we lack clarity. Fortunately we do have men like Humberto Fontova but we make a damn poor job of getting his word across.”Takes time" someone told me.. You know 46 years is PLENTY of TIME!
We have made an ass poor job of delivering our story to the world stage. "Motorcycle diaries" makes it to the Oscars, “Balseros”… I can not find in Amazon ? WHY IS THAT!?
I have gotten a few emails regarding the Punto y Coma MP3s and everyone has an idea on how to make money with them .. NO SHIT Sherlock?! But was THAT EVER the point? The point was that KaSStro FAILED miserably. That his "new man" is the same man that has been since Adam walked the earth (yes I don’t think a monkey had a fuck to do with ME being here)
How wonderful and how terrifying it would be for The Beast if 300+ anti-Castro organization unified as one! Get together VOTE for a leader. Forget the individual agendas. Only ONE agenda is of any importance GET RID OF THE BEAST at all cost. Yes boycott the cultists, the useful idiots, boycott the Cubans who have forgotten they are Cuban but do it with a clear and defined sense of direction and purpose. It is really amazing that at this point in the game the MOST prominent anti-Castro voices in the world are NOT Cuban. We have Aznar, Walesa the whole Checkoslovaquian parliament standing BY US and we are pissing about the embargo or the next USA election.
We get full of hope one day about a full advert on the NT Times , but the follow through SUCKS. Yes , you are RIGHT in thinking “why don’t YOU do it, ya prick”. Well I am as guilty as anyone else and I am fucking waiting for a better man than ME to take control of this. Tell me where to send the $$$, what embassy or TV station should I boycott. But from ONE man not 300+ associations and certainly NOT from any Cuban-American in congress!
And THAT is my diatribe. I Do NOT apologize if I insult anyone because the CORE sentiment is the same so I can NOT insult anyone regardless of all the bullshit I may be spewing forth, because the main significance of MY message is LET US GET RID OF CASTRO!

Killcastro, as always you have said a mouthfull and I agree wholeheartedly with you. We do need to disgress our opinions as to how and why and who , but unite in a "we will" attitude if we ever hope to see the land that gave us bith free, normal and prosperous again. The time to bury the hatchet as come and we should all bury it in castro's heart.

"Again , the only insult we should react upon is that of ANYONE, ANYPLACE , ANYTIME defending ANYTHING the BEAST has ever done."

"The time to bury the hatchet has come and we should all bury it in castro's heart."

Music to my ears...

SINCE 1959
As a reader of what's going on in Cuba since the 30's, and Castro since 1959 (well, yes, earlier as the reporters visited him in the mountains), this is the first time I've read dialogue between Cubans, such as have been on Babalu. It's time, high time for it.

We must unite. But we must unite around policies and principles that are mature and democratic. If we say that EVERYTHING in Cuba is terrible, nobody will believe us because they know it isn't true. We need to reflect. We need to accept that everthing we have done since the 60's gone wrong. We lost. We were defeated. And now Castro is stronger than ever - don't fool yourselves. And we have ended up being even more unpopular than him. Imagine that! Who is responsible for this disaster.? Answer - all of us, because we let a rotten leadership lead us to oblivion. STOP and THINK before it's too late.

If we say that SOME things in Cuba are OK and SOME things not OK, but we need democracy and the right to choose for ourselves, people will understand that because it's the truth. Honesty works. Lying doesn't, at least not in the long term. And boy, have we suffered under this failed CANF leadership in the long term! After 45 years of failure, it's time for a change. For a new generation of leaders not associated with Batista and the past and failure and corruption. Is that too much to ask? Do we Cubans not deserve better?

Do you realise how much damage our association with terrorism is doing us? Do you know what ordinary Americans think of blowing up airliners? C'mon guys, it's OBVIOUS. Or have you dforgotton what the evil Bin Laden did on 9.11?

We MUST dissacociate ourselves from the fanatics and the extremists if we are to appeal to world opinion. If not, all we are doing is playing into Castro's hands, just like we have been doing for the past 45 years.

I keep going back in my mind to the dignified Cuban gentleman I was interviewing in "my" (actually the US taxpayers') office 3-4 years ago. Unlike fortunate me, he was forced to live in kagaSStro's wonderland many years. He had suffered persecution there because he "would not adapt." Yet he was calm, seemed to harbor no resentments about what had happened to him...we started talking about Cuba, and soon the conversation gravitated to "how the hell did this happen?" I think his answer, in its elegance and simplicity, hit the nail on the head:

"El pueblo de Cuba se olvido de Dios. Y Dios se olvido del pueblo de Cuba."

The people of Cuba forgot about God. And God forgot the people of Cuba. I can't put it any better and do not have a better answer for "how the hell did it happen?"

Now, understand this is not coming from a bible-thumpin' "gimme that ol' time religion" type. In fact, am not sure, when my time comes, St. Pete ain't just gonna take one quick look, say "Whaaat?!!" and kick my culo downstairs quickly. But perhaps a start towards freeing Cuba from its satanic grip would be for Cubans everywhere to adopt a common platform centered on God, the Golden Rule, and the Ten Commandments. It's worked before in other places, folks, and it can work again and help defuse these passions which have divided us and turned us against each other for so long. Perhaps we can all start by asking the Master to intercede and come back into the heart of Cubans, everywhere. Perhaps, and I am borrowing this from the wonderful book by Carlos Eire, "Waiting for Snow in Havana," we should start our prayers towards this end thus:

"Forgive me Lord, for I am Cuban."

"I just hope that in the sake of unity, we do not put our hopes in one person, as many Cubans did in the 50's. It was that very need for unity to enforce the Constitution that gave fidel the advantage and rise in power.

Let our unity be found in Marti's ideal: una patria para todos y para el bien de todos."

Agree wholeheartedly with Songuacassal. Cuba's already had one "messiah" too many. Also, Cuban-Americans can and should play a role in a new democratic government, but we need to yield the power to the people in Cuba.

Val,
It was a pleasure meeting you, your wife and family at the Tamiami park festival. I agree with the comments posted here about the way (we) Cubans are. I have had long arguments with other Cubans, including my father about Cuba post Castro and how it should be governed. While it would obviously be preferable to be a totally sovereign nation, I am not necessarily opposed to U.S. statehood. This would at least be a path to stability and guaranteed freedom in a free enterprise system. Unfortunately self-governance has not been one of our strong points. We have created extraordinary documents such as the constitution of 1940, but our history is riddled with caudillos and strife, with the exception of some brief periods of calm, relative peace and freedom. But when you look at the USA's relative stability over several hundred years with the exception of the civil war, it sure seems like an option to me. I know some of us would call this being a U.S. colony and servitude of sorts. When we can PROVE we are capable of governing ourselves in a consistent, stable manner over many years, if I live that long, I may change my mind. The main thing is the removal of the beast and true democracy where rights, property and freedom are respected. Your thoughts?

Let our unity be found in Marti's ideal: una patria para todos y para el bien de todos."
I AGREE, a thought full of idealism. I wholeheartedly agree that the GOAL of what Cuba should be was defined long ago by Marti but how do we get there with 300+ anti-Castro institutions ?
My analogy to a Christ did in no way mean a NEW messiah or a new course. But a SINGLE voice delivering what had already been defined by Marti.
Yes we have had plenty of Messiahs in Cuba, so what do we do, leave Lucifer in charge cause we do not trust a GOOD sincere man will emerge as a honest leader of our nation?. Rather defitist attitude, don’t you think ? Not trusting your fellow Cubans to be able to run the country? Why would then anyone bother to listen to us?.
This very SIMPLE exchange illustrates btter than anything I could've written the problem that we face. Then at this point there's not more to say, because we do NOT deserve to bitch & moan while we accept the status quo or suspect the future will bring more of the same.
yes we did place our faith & fate in ONE man, so that precludes us from trusting any other man or woman again ?

It is not a NEW Christ that we need (whom by the way was expressing the words of HIS father and not disseminating any new ideas) it is an honest representative of the words of Marti. Just like there is a Pope. Someone who will not only carry the torch but set ablaze a million other torches.
If we as Cubans have given up on our ability to have an honest, decent, moral leader then, let's just capitulate. We don’t need blogs. Let’s sit and wait for Kasstro to die, for a civil war to break out and let the USA come in bomb the fuck of whatever is left in Cuba and annex it.
And as far as “recognizing the good things Castro has done” I will NOT even comment on that cause I personally find that AN INSULT to MY intelligence.