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Can anybody help me with a Spanish idiom? "Pintarle un cuatro a uno" I'm sure this expression is not to be taken literally. My dictionaries are no help.

Whoops, I should have given a context. It's from a song lyric: "Le pinte'un cuatro al coyote, y me fui para la sierra."

Val, exactly. I´ve had it with Cubans ¨having¨to put up with what is essentially a hate crime. Jews don´t have to listen to or to look at Hitler, Blacks are not expected to tolerate the klan, Cubans should not have to ¨deal¨with the image or voice of the one responsible for murdering and enslaving their people. NO MAS!

I think the point being missed here is the fact that the album in question is part of a larger collection that was donated and accepted by Smithsonian Global Sound. It was surely accepted by the guidelines and requirements of all archives at the Smithsonian.

In this case, the history of Paredon Records is relevant and to be considered. This is a collection of 50 albums that span many artists, speeches and music of a politically radical nature from the American culture of the seventies.

Global Sounds does not have a position on the political nature of these albums, but rather provides access to its archive by its internet users. The 50 albums by Paredon Records are available to us all. To purchase or not.

Global Sounds and the Smithsonian produce many activities for the community that are shown on their website and do not promote any political position.

I don't see where Global Sounds or the Smithsonian has made an intentional affront to any person by providing open access to their archives.

Excuse me GlobalSoundSupporter, but Global Sounds DOES have a position on the political nature of these albums. That position is this, from their own website, in their own words:

"unapologetically partisan, radical, and passionate recordings of singers, activists, and visionaries who dared to dream of a better world."

A better world, indeed. If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is.

As far as your comment that these items are available for all to purchase or not, well, it's not that simple. The Smithsonian Institution is a taxpayer funded organization, and it keeps the Paredon Records collection afloat, with our tax money. When Paredon Records was a private entity, people chose NOT to purchase its records, and it went under. Paredon Records is on government life support, and we don't appreciate being compelled to fund it and keep it in print.

By the way, this is about more than Cuba. I wonder how former Vietnam POWs and their children, and Vietnamese Americans would feel about seeing their tax dollars fund Paredon Records' "Vietnam Will Win!" or how Israeli-Americans would feel about the U.S. government funding such gems as "Palestine Lives!: Songs from the Struggle of the People of Palestine." If they knew about it, they would object. We are going to let them know.

Unlike in Cuba, here in the United States we have a voice in how our government conducts itself. We will use that voice.

Global Sound Supporter,

lets say I offered SGS a collection of albums including recordings of the KKK's Grand Dragon on the That's Your Tree Right There, Nigger label. You think that would be offensive enough to have someone from SGS deem it may be a bit overly offensive?

Would photos of El Paredon drenched in the blood of the very same people che guevara had executed perhaps help you realize just what an affront this album and moreso the record label are? Maybe if I get my father in law to give you an acount of his time in La Cabaña and how "PAREDON! PAREDON!" was used to psychologically abuse him and his fellow prisoners? You think that might help put things into perspective for you?

My response to the response;

Sir with all due respect, you did not address my concerns. The fact that Che Guevara was a mass murdering tyrant is not a matter of opinion, but of fact. That he personally executed men, women, and children at el Paredon, is a historical fact. That he personally was responsible for the death of thousands is a fact. Cuba is listed as stage 4 at Genocide Watch, you can thank Che for that. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other international human rights organizations all condemn Cuba's denial of any Human Rights to her citizens. You can thank Che for that. I know you do not endorse the marketing of Hitler speeches, why would you therefore endorse the speeches of Che Guevarra? Either you wish to dismiss the suffering of Cubans, or you are ignorant of the facts. Which is it?

Historical societies such as the Smithsonian have an obligation to record all aspects of history, regardless of the source of funding.

Actually, I would say that, because it is funded by the govermment, in a pluralistic and open society such as ours, where freedom of expression is enshrined in the Constitution, it is even more important for them to fulfill their mission protected from censorship by anyone.

I don't want to learn about history through a prism or be limited in the sources or records which are available because one group or another objected to the inclusion of material they deemed objectionable or disagreed with.

For if I did, I would have to, for example, limit my criticism of a certain dictator's approach to how artists, historians, poets, etc. were expected to work.... "dentro de la revolución todo, contra la revolución nada".

And I certainly don't want to do that.

Frankenstein,

The quote you have posted is a descriptor of the Paredon Record Collection based on the work and history of Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber. I don't see how this applies to the political position of the Global Sound website, or Smithsonian in general.

You can also read the mission statement of Global Sound and see their purposes for having the Paredon collection in the archives. From my reading they are supportive of "grassroots cultures", which the Paredon history belongs to.

I also encourage readers to read about the history behind Paredon Records on the Global Sound website, and the lengthy interview with the co-founders.

The assertion of Global Sound being used as new revenue for Paredon Records is unfounded. According to the website, Global Sound uses their revenue to fund other archives and cultural activities. You are suggesting that Global Sound is subsidizing Paredon for the enrichment of its original co-founders, and I think that's false.

Yet, I encourage you to find out where the funds of Global Sound goes, if you are not satisfied with the several cultural activities they organize.

About conduct, Global Sounds seems to be following their stated mission as an archive. I don't see any reason to accuse them of any misconduct.

Val Prieto,

Your concerns are very serious and should be considered.

Yet, if your concern is about hate speech found on the album in question, then I encourage you to notify Global Sound and describe the exact verses where such language occurs. In this case, I see where you might have reason.

I also encourage you to read the history behind the Paredon Record label, and its co-founders. The interview on the Global Sound website of the Paredon founders preaches no hate speech. But rather interprets the history of another era where such views of radical social movements were an integral part of American history.

The measure of insult you attribute to Paredon Records (or its name) seems to me unwarranted. Global Sounds, through its archival efforts, provides no intentional insult.

Global Sound Supporter,

Once again, you ignore the obvious: for a non-profit organization to provide access to certain recordings and documentaries is one thing, but for that organization to provide same without questioning the source, especially a source named after a specific place where people were systematically murdered, is, for alck of a better non-profane word, callous.

Im sure Ms bane and Mr Silber decided to name their label "Paredon" because to them it was catchy and cutesy. But for any Cuban, that word and its meaning are egregiously insulting and dehumanizing.

i challenge you to look up that word - Paredon - in any spanish dictionary and find that it means, in a Cuban context, anything but an execution wall.

As I mentioned in my response, I think that SGS is doing a good thing overall, but in this case, the organization has crossed the line into what amounts to hate speech.

Look, I think there is a tremendous HISTORICAL value to the recordings of ches speeches, same for fifo. I even have a book with many of ches speeches. im a history buff, i love it, so I see the value in it. I think there is tremendous (again) HISTORICAL value to hitlers speeches. but if i put them on zyclon b records you can bet bnai brith and the anti defamation league and art teitelbaum and the southern poverty law center are going to come after me with pitchforks and torches, and thats if they are in a good mood

by the way, my personal opinion, is GSS is winding you guys up.. look at the way he writes.. text, LENGTH of his replies, grammar usage, sentence structure.. hes no stranger who happened to wander in.. you know who it is..

Daniel's right.
To Global: there are no conflicting voices, so selectively the "Paredon" perspective is given authority. Further, as a Cuban American, I'm tired of academia and the media giving themselves free rein to trample my sensibilies.
For my part, I just contacted my senator.

Recordings of "Che" speeches on the "Paredon" label are equivalent to recordings of anti-Semitic rants on the "Gas Chamber" label. The word paredon means firing squad, a mode of execution indelibly associated with "Che," who was behind MANY such executions carried out after sham trials or no trials. I do NOT believe the choice of "Paredon Records" as a label name was innocent or coincidental, let alone "cute." Can't these Smithsonian people put two and two together?

Well let me put my two cents in - and as a life long New Yorker from the CITY I certainly know when someone is bull-shitting me, and that "doctor" from the Smithsonian was certainly pulling my chain (to me he was like a Doctor Vinnie Boombats from Rodney Dangerfield fame rather than an intellectual) - it was more like this "how dare you, you right wing Republican brown skinned spic tell me, a PHD, an a NPR, New Yorker, Washington Post reader what to do or think! Shouldn't you be playing dominos and making babies out of wedlock, Hector..." Lets all face the reality of it all - The Smithsonian like other "esteemed" American institutions such as the American Library Association, The Peace Corps, The Ford Foundation, The State Department, The National Council of Churches, The NAACP, The Episcopal Church USA, National Geographic, the universities, teachers unions...all have been infiltrated by members of the Left, socialists, or communists. I am not being a witch hunter here, this is a well known fact. The reason why the Che speeches exist, and not Hitler ones is because in these organizations at the very top and at all levels they are staffed by left wing employees who have a soft spot for the idiotic side of Latin America, such as Venceremos Brigades, Hugo Chavez, Sandinistas, the Cuban Revolution, Che, Fidel, and all that is retarded and stupid in the Americas. The least these people can do is put a disclaimer stating who Che was.

Val I appreciate your civility when addressing the idiot publishers of the murderous guevara neo-marxist rants. On the other hand, my e-mail to the same group was not a good example of civility. I am glad that you write from a well thought out and intelligent point of view, it lets these guevara worshipers know that all Cubans are not hot heads like me. De un Cubano en California, muchas gracias. Victor

"Radical social movements." This whole exercise on the part of the label and SGS and its disingenuous supporters sounds more like a bowel movement to me. It's always funny how these miserable, miscreant, murderous communists are excused, implicitly or explicitly, because they belonged to "social movements" that wanted to impove mankind, or some other rot. The Smithsonian, by the very act of promoting the record with the language they use, are giving it legitimacy. If they had offered the record, simply as an historical document with no glowing commentary, I may have given them a pass. After all, they have the right to sell whatever they want, with or without our tax dollars. But they didn't do that. They placed specific editorial comments on the page that only reflect one side of the issue. That, dear SGS, is why we are pissed. The example of "Hitler Speaks" on Auschwitz Records, or "Mao Lays Down The Law" on Long March Records are not flippant; they demonstrate the utter insensitivity of SGS to the victims of che guevara.

Yep, George, that's exactly my beef with it -- one-sided exclusive propaganda piece with no opposing/divergent views to counteract it. They wouldn't dare do the same with hate recordings by the Reichstag without an Anti-Defamation League uproar.

Plus, and what's more insulting, it's subsidized by the taxpayers, as the Smithosonian is. Sheehy calls it "... documenting cultural expression" - the politically correct way of sticking it to us without examination or debate. He only allows favorable commentary to describe the recording, and THAT is totally ludicrous.

The ivory tower troll who's been posting here is hiding behind the PC jargon to defend the indefensible. By his/her own admission, "I don't see ....." That's right.

Also from the Smithsonian:
But, check out these on Cuba:

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2003/may/cuba.php?page=3

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/1999/1/ecotourismincuba.cfm

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2001/october/cuban_cars.php

Val:

Well done. Let me draw your attention to a response to another idiot similar to Daniel Sheehy of the Smithsonian, who writing in the New Yorker and proclaimed that Finland went to war against the Soviet Union in 1941 for "fascist" reasons. The New Yorker was forced to publish a letter from the Ambassador of Finland. This is an example of rebuttal that we Cuban-Americans can appreciate:

I do not seem able to get it on line but it is in the "New Yorker" July 23 2007 issue in "The Mail" section page 5

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