|
|
AfroCubaWeb
|
|
|
Film Screening and Forum
-- see full poster
From Cuba to Kuba: Che Guevara and the Awakening of an Internationalist Movement
De Cuba a Kuba: Che Guevara y el Despertar de un Movimiento Internacionalista
Time: 7:30-9:30PM, 5/24/13
Venue: Reeves Center, Cromwell Room Second Floor
2000 14th Street, NW (14th and V Streets, NW)
Washington, DC 20009
From the Caribbean Island of Cuba to the Kongo Kingdom of Kuba in the heart of
Africa. Join us to commemorate (or reflect on) the birth of Cuba’s
Internationalism through remembering Che Guevara’s work in the Congo. Motivated
by the (CIA-induced) assassination of democratically-elected Congolese Prime
Minister Patrice Lumumba in 1961, Che Guevara led a secret Cuban expedition to
the Congo in April of 1965 under heavy disguise, to assist in the fight for
liberation.
Through art, dance, drumming, documentaries, discussions and recollections, we
will recount Cuba’s involvement in the Congo under Che’s leadership, discuss
Cuba’s international solidarity efforts with African liberation movements, and
explore how to carry Che’s torch in promoting solidarity between Africa and
Latin America today.
We will be showing clips from Jihan El-Tahri’s documentary Cuba: An African
Odyssey and Freddy Ilunga: Che’s Swahili Translator. Pan-Latin hors d’oeuvres
will be provided by Café Arte followed by a discussion led by Ofunshi Oba Koso,
President of MN Yoruba Cuba Association and protégé of the late Freddy Ilanga
(Che’s personal interpreter in the Congo) and Kambale Musavuli, Spokesperson of
Friends of the Congo. Ofunshi will share his experience of growing up in Cuba as
a young Afri-Cuban revolutionary under the tutelage of Freddy Ilunga,
Victor Dreke (Second-in-Command of Che’s guerilla unit
in Congo) and other members of the historical mission. Kambale will give a brief
overview of Congo’s current situation and discuss current solidarity efforts
between young Congolese and young visionaries in Latin America as well as share
opportunities for involvement.
Performing artists include Ancestral Master Drummer Baba Joseph Ngwa and local
DC Afro-Cuban percussionists. Visual artists will be doing live paintings
inspired by the evening’s music, dance and discussion and donate the paintings
to be auctioned in our after-party celebration held at Café Arte. All proceeds
from the auction will go to support Friends of the Congo. All attendees to this
event will receive a special discount for the From Congo to Conga after party at
Café Arte in collaboration with the Afro-Caribbean Festival, presenting a myriad
of Caribbean music inspired by their African heritage.
For more information call us at 202-584-6512 or send email to:
events@friendsofthecongo.org. If you are not in New York and would
like to make a financial contribution to the Lumumba Commemoration event,
click here to make a
contribution.
http://www.congoweek.org/events#Forum
http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/events/upcoming-events.html
After the screening and forum:
Friends of the Congo (FOTC) in collaboration with Cafe Arte, the Afro-Caribbean Festival and the Afro-Latino community of Washington, DC present a night of music, drinks and dance at Cafe Arte. Enjoy a festive night of Afro-Caribbean music, Zouk, Reggae, Dancehall, Kizomba, Timba, Salsa and lots more, all for a good cause - Congo Connect Youth Initiative. A special auction of paintings to be held. Proceeds from the auction and party will go to the - Congo Connect Youth Initiative.
Cost: $10 includes free drink
Click here to purchase Tickets!
Everyone can lend their skills, talents and expertise to the global movement in support of the Congo - activists, socialites, musicians, community leaders and organizers are welcomed to join-in. View highlights from previous events.
Florida’s
Republican Governor Awards Medal of Freedom to Che Guevara’s Assassin 10/6/2021 Covert
Action Magazine: "On September 16, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis awarded
the Governor’s Medal of Freedom to Félix Rodríguez, the Cuban anti-communist
counter-revolutionary who lives in Florida. As a contract agent for the CIA
Rodríguez helped locate and assassinate Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967.
Assassination is a political murder. The Governor’s medal allowed DeSantis to
recognize Rodríguez as a “person who has made an especially meritorious
contribution to the interests and citizens of the state, (and) its culture.”"
Exploring Cuba beyond stereotypes 8/12/2020 Guardian: "How unfortunate,
then, that your review reproduces some of those stereotypes and inaccuracies.
For example, despite Barack Obama’s thawing of relations after 2014, the US
embargo was never lifted by him and, as the programme said, is still very much
in place. Equally, the assumption behind the idea that Raúl Castro was
“anointed” as Fidel’s successor suggests a dynastic structure. However, despite
the documentary’s emphasis on the revolution’s two leaders (Fidel and Che
Guevara), Raúl Castro in fact played a central role in shaping the revolution,
making his 2008 election (rather than anointing) perfectly logical. "
Tato Quiñones, una leyenda abacuá 7/9/2020 Medium: "Un profesor de la
Facultad de Comunicación contó que un historiador renombrado por poco infarta
cuando vio Inocencia. La razón era su oposición (según el profe es de toda la
vida) al hecho de la participación ñáñiga en el intento de rescate a los
estudiantes. El historiador es un científico, su deber es investigar el hecho y
no negarlo como un capricho. Pero bueno Tato hizo el trabajo por él. No le dio
una prueba, le dio cuatro y el fragmento de un discurso del Che diciendo que
figuraban en las actas el hallazgo de cinco cadáveres de negros muertos a
bayonetazos y a tiros ese día. En el libro también figuran testimonios de la
época, investigaciones posteriores en el Diario de la Marina y una tradición
oral ñáñiga que hace perdurar una leyenda en camino a ser historia comprobable."
Trump in Palm Beach: With Bay of Pigs veterans’ support, president scraps Obama
Cuba policy 11/29/2019 Palm Beach Daily News: "Trump came to know the
veterans’ stories firsthand and was visibly moved, said López de la Cruz and
Felix Rodriguez, another veteran who later served the CIA in operations across
the hemisphere, including one in Bolivia that captured and executed Cuban
revolutionary leader Che Guevara. “He was very moved by the stories of brutality
that he heard from inside Cuba. He heard firsthand from the people who suffered
there,” Rodriguez said of Trump. “He had that information way back there and I
think it did weigh on him strongly, and he still remembers.”"
Afro-Cuban Director Melina Matsoukas on ‘Queen & Slim’: “This Film Is to Speak
to the African Diaspora” 11/22/2019 Remezcla: "In a conversation with
Remezcla ahead of the release of her debut feature Queen & Slim, the Afro-Latina
director – who gained prominence creating emblematic music videos for pop
artists of great stature like Rihanna (“We Found Love”) and Beyoncé
(“Formation”) – explains that her mother was born in Cuba and grew up a child of
communism until she migrated to New York at age 10. Through her mother, the
island and the ideologies that have defined its modern history were part of
Matsoukas’ childhood even if from afar. “I was brought up to honor the icons of
the Cuban revolution. Che Guevara is one of my heroes in life, and has so many
of the values that I aspire to have, to uphold and maintain,” she shares."
Cold War Navy SEAL Tells Story Of Clandestine Op Which Nearly Defeated Che’ In
The Congo 6/21/2018 CBS: "The CIA backed Cuban Congo Navy put a big dent in
the supply lines that crisscrossed Lake Tanganyika. In the process, the Cuban
Navy almost took out Che Guevara during a firefight in the middle of the lake.
Guevara was said to be making a dash across the lake to safety as the Castro
backed operation was eventually abandoned." [The Cuban operation continued for
years afterwards.]
Che: An assassin or a revolutionary? 10/9/2017 Al Jazeera: "In a final
letter Guevara wrote to his children, to be given to them in the event he was
killed, he advised: "Remember that the Revolution is what is important and that
each one of us, on our own, is worthless." And while his executioners certainly
weren't under the impression that Guevara on his own was "worthless", the real
danger he posed to the capitalist order, in fact, lay in his example of
interhuman solidarity. In the end, Che wasn't superhuman, but he was more than
himself - which is perhaps why they've never really been able to kill him."
Fernando Martínez Heredia, hijo de Yaguajay 8/22/2017 Jiribilla: "Buscando
las fotos y libros para el programa recordé que en el año 2009 especialistas del
Instituto de Investigación Cultural Juan Marinello me pidieron un texto
investigativo y yo les entregué mi libro Che entre la literatura y la vida.
Fernando, que era el director de la institución, lo leyó y me llamó por teléfono
muy entusiasmado con el texto sobre Guevara. Le pedí hiciera el prólogo que
generosamente escribió. Desde entonces lo tengo como un aval y recuerdo
valioso."
Che Guevara in the Congo 4/1/2017 Jacobin: "Che Guevara's expedition in the
Congo, though ill-fated, stands as a crucial example of anti-imperialist
solidarity."
¡Carajo, este es el comandante Guevara…! 7/1/2016 UNEAC: "En la mañana del
10 de octubre, el cadáver fue expuesto en la lavandería del hospital. La monja
María Muñoz, testigo presencial del drama, relató: «El Che estaba como si no
hubiera muerto. Había un silencio único, no escuché que nadie hablara, ni lo
creo; él con sus ojos mirándonos a todos, que parecía vivo». Muchas personas
lloraron."
Fernando Barral: El psiquiatra que fue amigo del Che 4/1/2016 Cubadebate: "En
1969, Fernando Barral fue el primer extranjero en ser autorizado a entrevistarse
en Vietnam con un prisionero norteamericano. Don Fernando quien, tras volver a
Cuba, informó a la familia del prisionero. La versión que Barral da sobre la
situación en la que estaba McCain en Vietnam difiere en mucho de la leyenda de
héroe que el senador norteamericano se construyó."
Proyecto Tik: coincidencia espiritual en la Che Guevara 9/9/2015 La
Ventana: "Del proyecto Tik poco habíamos escuchado en la Casa. Venían de
Argentina convocados por el festival Habanarte, combinaban géneros musicales y
estaban honrados de tocar aquí, pero seguían siendo desconocidos totales. A
Mariana Aguilar y Carlos Tendler los hicimos familiares cuando los vimos llorar
en la sala Che Guevara. Esa sublime sensación la tuvimos aún sin escucharles
interpretar un instrumento o cantar una canción."
« “Al Che lo mataron con las manos atadas », cuenta descubridor de los restos 7/7/2015 Contrainjerencia: "El
rector de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana (Cuba), Jorge
González, descubridor de los restos mortales de Ernesto Guevara (Che Guevara) en
Bolivia, ha explicado este martes en los Cursos de Verano de la Universidad del
País Vasco (UPV/EHU) en San Sebastián, que “lo más difícil” no fue
identificarlos sino encontrarlos, debido a que tanto él como sus guerrilleros
estaban enterrados en lugares “apartados” a “unos 300 kilómetros” de distancia
entre ellos, en “una geografía muy difícil”."
Fifty years later; tracing revolutionary Che Guevara's 'failure' in DR Congo 4/22/2015 Mail
& Guardian, Africa: "“I was a simple soldier” in 1965, General Lwendema Dunia,
now in his 80s, says in a hut in South Kivu’s capital Bukavu, recalling how Che
“taught us how to make a revolution. He gave us military training and taught us
politics.” But “once we started to take from the people and trample on
revolutionary ideals… they left,” he said."
“El Gato” Rodríguez, el agente CIA que mató al CHE 4/10/2015 Granma: "En
1988, una comisión del Senado, dirigida por el senador John Kerry, investiga la
escandalosa operación de tráfico de drogas y de armas involucrando a Oliver
North, Donald Gregg, John Poindexter, Elliott Abrams, Otto Reich, Richard
Armitage, John Negroponte, Mitch Daniels y Félix Rodríguez. Félix Rodríguez,
entretanto, anda por Miami, mafiando con su red de ex agentes, matones,
conspiradores… Así viven los asesinos, esbirros, torturadores y criminales de
cualquier calaña en su santuario estadounidense de South Florida."
“América desde el balcón afroasiático”, un artículo del Che poco divulgado 1/27/2014 Cubadebate
Che Guevara's 'betrayer' tells his side of the story after 40 years 7/3/2013 Guardian: "A
few months later, on the day he and Debray were sentenced to 30 years in prison
by a Bolivian military tribunal, Bustos learned that Guevara had been captured
and executed. Hearing the news, he felt "as though the bullets that killed him
had hit me, too … it was like losing a leader, a brother and a friend all at the
same time"."
Did Ché Guevara write 'extensively' about the superiority of white Europeans?
Rubio says yes 4/17/2013 Politifacts: "At least a couple of our experts
pointed to a famous speech Guevara made at the University of Santa Clara in 1959
in which he called for greater representation in all parts of Cuban society. At
workers rallies around that time, Guevara and Raul Castro talked about the need
to "advance the revolution’s anti-discrimination program," wrote Alejandro de la
Fuente, a University of Pittsburgh history professor in his book A Nation for
All: Race, Inequality and Politics in 20th Century Cuba. In the speech at Santa
Clara, Guevara called for the university to "paint itself with black, paint
itself with mulatto" students and teachers, Fuente wrote."
Ros-Lehtinen se pone histérica con imagen del “Che” 9/15/2012 CubaDebate: "La
Agencia Federal de Protección Ambiental (EPA) de EEUU envió un correo
electrónico interno con una imagen del Che Guevara para celebrar el Mes de la
Cultura Hispana, lo que generó una crisis de histeria de la congresista del sur
de la Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen."
Viva la gaffe... Mercedes-Benz apologises for using image of Che Guevara to
promote 'revolutionary' car sharing programme 1/13/2012 Daily Mail: "During
the pitch, the famous Alberto Korda photo of Guevara was proximately displayed –
but on his beret was the logo of the luxury car brand, msnbc.com reports."
New Film About Che Guevera Shown at the Havana Film Festival 12/7/2008 International
Trade Law News: "In case you are wondering, the films were legally exported from
the United States to Cuba pursuant to the "informational materials exemption" to
the Trading with the Enemy Act, commonly known as the "Berman Amendment." Thc
"informational materials exemption" is found in section 2502(a) of the Omnibus
Trade and Competitiveness Act, Pub. L. No. 100-418, 102 Stat. 1107 (1988), and
section 525 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and
1995, Pub. L. No. 103-236, 108 Stat. 382 (1994). These amendments to section
5(b)(a) of the Trading with the Enemy Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 66 1-44, restrict the
President's authority to regulate, directly or indirectly, the importation or
exportation of information or informational materials, regardless of the format
or medium of transmission or whether the information or informational materials
are for personal or commercial use."
Los ñáñigos y los sucesos del 27 de noviembre de 1871: memoria histórica,
dinámicas populares y proyecto socialista en Cuba 1/1/2008 Caminos: "La
conspiración impersonal del silencio fue la respuesta a aquel texto de Tato
Quiñones desde 1998 hasta hoy. Ocho años que se suman a los casi treintisiete
que separan el texto de Tato de aquel discurso del Che –pronunciado con la
vocación indomablemente transgresora que siempre caracterizaría al argentino, el
27 de noviembre de 1961–2 en que él recordó aquellos sucesos, evocados por
primera y única vez en un acto público dentro de la Revolución."
Barbie 'boasted of hunting down Che' 12/23/2007 Observer: "The evidence
appears inconclusive, but Macdonald, who won an Academy Award for One Day in
September, about the killing of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian group Black
September at the 1972 Munich Olympics, told The Observer: 'The Che claim came
from several sources. I think it makes total sense when you understand what
Barbie was doing and who he was working for in the Bolivian military, and how
they admired him as a Nazi officer and what he had done in the war. Jean Moulin
was an infamous episode, and he would trade on it and use that as part of his
calling card.' Macdonald, whose film will be broadcast on More4 on Thursday at
9pm, added: 'Guevara arrived in Bolivia in disguise - very much like the French
Resistance, constantly in disguise, travelling around the country unspotted by
the Germans. I suspect Barbie's involvement was more on a theoretical level and,
if you think about it, it makes sense from the point of view of the Bolivian
government and the Americans. He had hands-on expertise in exactly this type of
situation, exactly this field. He was strongly anti-communist. Neither the
Americans nor the Bolivians had anything like this kind of experience.'"
Che lives -- by Pepe Escobar 10/10/2007 Asian Times: "Former soldier Mario
Teran, the man who killed Che, lives in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, anonymous and
dirt poor. He used to be blind because he was unable to finance a cataract
operation. Cuban doctors have operated on 600,000 people in 28 countries, free
of charge. Including 110,000 Bolivians and Teran. The full story of how he was
cured by doctors sent by Fidel Castro was revealed to a Bolivian newspaper over
a year ago by Teran's son."
'We could have saved Che' from execution, says ex-CIA operative 10/9/2007 Independent: "It
was also the job of Rodriguez at the time to ensure that Che was kept alive and
transported to Panama, where he would face interrogation by his American
colleagues. In the interview, he explains how he was overruled during a phone
call to the jungle encampment from Bolivia's military high command."
Subcomandante Marcos Pays Homage to Che Guevara and Praises Cuba 10/11/2006 NarcoNews
Aristide's slumland army of enforcers prepares to defend 'people's revolution' 2/17/2004 Independent,
UK: "The likeness of his hero, Che Guevara, is plastered all over the territory
he controls in Cité Soleil, Haiti's largest slum."
Redford shows Che Guevara film in Cuba 1/26/2004 Reuters
Revolution Guided by Feelings of Great Love - Learning from Che Guevara 1/3/2004 CounterPunch
Félix Rodríguez Mendigutía: El hombre que asesinó al Che 10/7/2003 Cubadebate: "En
diciembre 1985, George Bush recibe abierta y desvergonzadamente a su amigo Félix
Rodríguez, torturador, asesino, ladrón y narcotraficante en la Casa Blanca.
Rodríguez participa ahí en la celebración de Navidad. En octubre del año
siguiente, el General Singlaub se queja de los "contactos diarios" de Rodríguez
con la oficina de Bush, temiendo "daños para el presidente Reagan y el Partido
Republicano"."
Victor Dreke, Che's second in command in the Congo, on US Tour 11/13/2002 AfroCubaWeb: "Dreke
was also one of the commanders of the fight against the counterrevolutionary
bands, backed by the CIA, in the Escambray mountains of central Cuba from
1960-1965. In 1965, Dreke served as second in command under Ernesto Che Guevara
in the Congo. More than 100 Cuban volunteers went to the Congo at the request of
leaders of the national liberation movement there who were followers of Patrice
Lumumba, the assassinated leader of the Congo's fight for independence. This
experience laid the basis for the Cubans to aid other liberation struggles -- in
Angola, Guinea-Bissau and elsewhere in Africa."
Che Café Collective 10/15/2002 UCSD: the site that UC California is trying
to shut down.
Invasor front page with History of Che in the Congo. 8/26/2002 Invasor: scroll
down to the end to look over the stories of the Che in the Congo - " Los hombres
de Tatu - Desde la mirada de una joven - La traductora - El Che era capaz de
hacer lo que pedía a otros que hicieran - Pombo, el escolta del Che - El Che
educaba con el ejemplo - Como caído del cielo - "Teté, no traiciones" - De la
mano del Che - Un hombre extraordinario."
Los hombres de Tatu 8/26/2002 Invasor: "Víctor Dreke, uno de los
combatientes que acompañó al Che al Congo, narra algunos de los momentos de
aquella histórica gesta. Este trabajo fue extraído de la revista Somos Jóvenes
digital."
The Real Che Guevara 6/25/2002 NewsMax: classic psyops mix of gems and BS.
Victor Dreke (Second-in-Command of Che’s guerilla unit in Congo)
Supressing a Public Pilgrimage: Day of the 5 Abakwá - 27th of November, by Andy Petit, 12/2/12: "The first to point out this neglect after the Revolution was Che Guevara, who declared in 1961 at a commemoration of the 90th anniversary of these events that “the students who were shot that day were not the only ones to shed their blood.” He added that “the records mention in passing, as a trivial detail that still goes unnoticed in our day, that the corpses of five Negroes were found, and that they had been shot and stabbed to death with bayonets.”
Che Guevara Speaks. "Tribute to Antonio Maceo." Ernesto Che Guevara. Recorded in Havana, December 7, 1962. Produced by Barbara Dane, released by Paredon Records in 1973 (P-1017). Released by Smithsonian CD, 2000-07-28. open.spotify.com/track/5CNBBvVTKDM8JK85ufPjIN
Che Guevara Song (Hasta Siempre Comandante) - Traditional Version
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr_g23qi9hg
[AfroCubaWeb] [Site Map] [Music] [Arts] [Authors] [News] [Search this site]
Ernesto Ché Guevara