Cuba

Posted on August 12, 2009

Alice Walker Speaks at Opening of Original Paintings by Antonio Guerrero in Berkeley, California

International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five

In a great display of solidarity, the La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley California was filled to capacity on August 6 to hear about the case of the Cuban 5. The moving meeting was a blend of the political injustice surrounding the case and cultural presentations that paid tribute to the struggle and the endurance of the Cuban 5 who are considered heroes to the Cuban people and a growing number of people here in the U.S.

The event was the opening of the national touring exhibit entitled “From My Altitude” featuring the paintings of Antonio Guerrero. Twenty-five images that he created covered the walls of the main theater of the popular cultural center created as a social gathering spot for political refugees in the 1970’s who were escaping from U.S. backed dictatorships in Latin America. It was clear to the audience that the paintings of Antonio revealed the human possibilities of what a human being can create even in the most difficult of circumstances. His paintings of Che and Fidel, all the mothers of the Five, Adriana Perez -- wife of Gerardo Hernandez, Juan Miguel and Elian Gonzalez and others showed his continual growth in mastering many different techniques inherent in his paintings. All of Antonio’s work has been produced from his cell in the Florence Colorado Penitentiary during the past 11 years.

Carlos Cartagena, a local artist from El Salvador, read a solidarity letter sent by Antonio specifically for the event thanking everyone for their support. In the letter Antonio asked people to view his work as that of a beginner who is expressing his positive view of humanity through painting. A segment of the video “Against the Silence” was played featuring a portion where Adriana explained what it was like to be denied over and over again the right to visit her husband for constantly changing and irrational reasons.

Gayle McLaughlin, the Mayor of Richmond, CA, welcomed the audience. McLaughlin spearheaded a campaign to pass a resolution in her city calling for the release of the Cuban 5 and for visitation rights for Olga and Adriana that passed Richmond’s City Council unanimously. The mayor explained how important it was to make the connection between working at the local level and at the international level. [emphasis added]

The world renowned poet and writer Alice Walker was the keynote speaker. Walker who is a long time friend of the Cuban people talked about Cuba’s achievements against all odds. Many people in the audience were brought to tears as she detailed just how inhumane the government can be using the case of the Cuban 5 as her primary example.

Walker said that the United States is punishing the Five as a way of making the whole country of Cuba suffer. “How can we live in a country that allows this to happen?” she asked the audience. While reading from the book of correspondence from the families of the Cuban 5 called “Letters of Love and Hope,” Walker would interrupt herself to make comments such as, “Don’t these men sound like the type of fathers and husbands that we need more of here?” After looking at the paintings of Antonio, Walker mentioned that the one that impressed her the most was the painting of the door of his cell, “Of course he would paint that door, it is what he sees every waking hour.” She added, “What the U.S. is doing to the Cuban 5 is an abuse of the human spirit.”

Alicia Jrapko from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five chaired the meeting and talked about the additional punishment inflicted on Rene Gonzalez and Gerardo Hernandez by the U.S. government for not allowing the visits of their respective wives. “Even Nelson Mandela who endured 27 years of hard labor in prison on Robben Island under apartheid South Africa, was still allowed to see his wife,” she said. She then went on to pose a question to the audience, “How is it that the U.S., that promotes itself as the champion of human rights, can be more punitive and cruel than apartheid South Africa when it comes to visitation rights for Gerardo and Adriana?”

Youth activist Melanie Langlois let people now about future projects of the International Committee, including a gathering of Nobel Prize winners and intellectuals in three U.S. cities, which brought strong applause from the participants.

Along with Alice Walker and Gayle McLaughlin, progressive political writer Michael Parenti was present at the event, all three are members of the International Commission for the Rights of Family Visits. [emphasis added]

This solidarity event at La Peña in Berkeley that brought together intellectuals, human rights activists, singers, artists, and people from many Bay Area communities is another step forward in the struggle for the truth, justice and freedom of the Cuban Five.