Chronicle on Cuba - July 2007
Exile Community
July 10: Cuban singer and actress Xiomara Laugart is the one selected to play the late salsa queen Celia Cruz in the musical about her life that will hit the New York stage in September. It was also confirmed that Puerto Rican choreographer and actor Modesto Lacen will play Pedro Knight, the inseparable "cotton-head," as Cruz called him lovingly, to whom she was married for 41 years, the Creative Link public relations agency announced. Considered a living legend in her native Cuba, where she has filmed more than 15 musical productions, Laugart for several years was the main vocalist in the New York group Yerba Buena, which distinguished itself with its mix of rhythms arising from its African and Caribbean heritage. (EFE, 10/7/07)
July 10: Sting, the front man of the legendary rock band The Police, was reminded by Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty of his previous humanitarianism with a banner hired to fly over Dolphin Stadium during the opening act of the group's July 10th Miami concert. The banner read "S.O.S. They Dance Alone in Cuba Too”, a reference to Sting's song about human rights abuses in Pinochet's Chile. Sting, who worked with Amnesty International in the 1980s and that group's efforts in denouncing human rights abuses in South Africa and Chile, is reported to have accepted an invitation from the Castro regime for The Police to play a concert in Havana, Cuba in December. (Business Wire, 11/7/07)
July 14: Cuban-born actor and film director Andy García received the Order "Heroes of Freedom" for his support to the struggle for a "Cuba with democracy." The Order was bestowed upon him by the Cuban exiles' organization Council for the Freedom of Cuba (CLC), with headquarters in Miami. The CLC awards the order annually in recognition of those who have served the cause of "freedom and democracy" and have carried out outstanding "efforts in defense of human dignity." (EER, 16/7/07)
July 31: One year ago, an illness forced Cuban leader Fidel Castro to hand over power to his brother, Raul, ending his 47-year hold on the presidency. For pro-democracy activists, like Ramon Saul Sanchez of the Miami-based Democracy Movement, the status quo in Cuba is a disappointment. He says Raul Castro has shown no signs of reform or the will to open a national dialogue about the country's problems. Sanchez adds that repression against dissidents has worsened under Raul. Sanchez says that while Cuba's government remains intact, he has noted changes in US rhetoric toward the island. A US State Department spokesman rejected a call from Raul Castro for possible dialogue between the two nations, and said Cuba first must open talks with opposition groups on the island. Sanchez said the comment marks a change from the past, when US officials sought to lead the debate with Cuba's government, and he says the move is a boost to democracy efforts on the island. He said hearing the United States tell Castro that he should hold talks with his own people and not with Washington is the start of a new era of mutual respect between the two nations. (VOA News, 31/7/07) |
