« Faustian Bargain - UPDATED | Babalu Blog - Main Page | Ironbeer history »

Thanks for the update whoever it was. Paxety was one blog I forgot to check this morning.

Today, February 24th, also marks the 112th anniversary of the "Grito de Baire, the beginning of Cuba's definitive War of Independence (1895), also known as "Marti's Revolution." This epic war, the consummation of 75 years of struggle, would cost the lives of one-quarter of the island's population and lay waste to the whole of it, from one end to the other. Spain, resolved to fight to the last man and the last peseta to keep the last and greatest remnant of its colonial empire, imprisoned the entire non-combatant population of the countryside, women, children and the elderly, in an attempt to break the will of the Cuban rebels by starving their wives, children, sisters and parents. 300,000 died of famine and disease in these campos de reconcentración, whose denizens were not even allowed to bury their dead in order to encourage epidemics in the camps. But still, under the military genius of Máximo Gómez and the unconquerable sword of Antonio Maceo, who fought in a 1000 battles and never lost one, the Cuban rebels were in control of 90 percent of the island by 1898 and Spain on the brink of surrender when the U.S. opportunistically intervened in our War of Independence. The U.S. did not defeat Spain, but it did wrest from us our hard-fought independence and sovereignty. But it is better not to remember that on this day, but the courage and resolve of those 19th century Cubans, led by José Martí, the first martyr in that struggle, who bequeathed to us the powerful lesson that "It is better to die on our feet than to live on our knees."

Thanks Manuel; that's why I reference a bitter sweet day. At my post at La Ventanita, I mention that and there is a link to an excellent article en el Diario de Las America.

The date is twice as sad now that Mario Chanes passed away.
The Herald's fleeting obit
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/16779694.htm
correctly stated that Chanes was imprisoned 30 years, "longer than any other Cuban political prisoner," in fact, he was the world's longest serving political prisoner, surpassing Nelson Mandela by six years!
Chanes is a hero to Cuban exiles and freedom advocates at large. Once again, the Herald has done a disservice to the Cuban community with
such superficial reporting. If you check through previous Herald obits, you will see that there are longer and more in-depth pieces dedicated
to Miami Anglos and obscure activists, who the Herald holds in higher esteem.
During the past few months, it was publicly known in the Cuban community that Chanes did not have long to live. Yet, the Herald did not readily prepare an obit for his demise.
This is yet another example of why Cuban exiles have little respect for the Herald.

Indeed, the lack of any real reaction by the Clinton administration raises more than a few eyebrows. The subsequent signing of Helm's-Bruton really didn't address the shootdown at all. By the way, in the final phases of production is an interesting documentary regarding the event, titled simply "Shootdown." It was produced by the niece of one of those who lost their lives. I saw a preliminary rough cut of the film and was fortunate enough to have spoken with the producers. The trailer can be found here:

www.theshootdown.com

Best to all,

-Gabriel

PS: haven't had time to reply to all the thought-provoking responses to my post re: the journalists being kicked out of Havana. Hopefully will get to do that tomorrow.
Take care!

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

URL:
Remember me? YesNo

Comments: