Pope Francis and Raul Castro

I was disturbed by the welcoming treatment from Pope Francis to Raul Castro.  The Cuban regime has been in power for more than half century and has killed and jailed thousands, and is still in control of Cuba.  Opening the doors to a murder is insulting to the Cuban people that has suffered and continue suffering the brutality of this dictatorship.

The world is trying to forget that the Cuban regime under Fidel Castro and now under his brother has caused a lot of damages not only to Cuba but their neighboring countries as well.

I had the opportunity to meet a group of Cuban former political prisoners from the 60's, for my recent documentary entitled Celebrating Life in Union.  Their stories of abuses tortures, imprisonment, and death are heartbreaking. Somebody like the Pope should be more sensitive toward the Cuban people. They are the real heroes of this tragic Cuban story.

Why Cuban Americans are Angry Right Now

I've had multiple conversations recently about Cuban American reaction to all the news about Cuba. There is a lot of anger among folks in Miami and in cities like Union City, New Jersey, where the Cuban-American population is extremely high.

I understand why they are mad.

In my work interviewing Cuban former political prisoners, I've heard nightmarish stories, horrible stories of killing and torture and where people lost their families and everything that was important to them. They are angry because they are afraid that there will be no accountability for the atrocities committed by the Castro regime against the Cuban people.

Now, more than ever, as we try to understand the Cuban American tragedy, it important to hear what people went through in a communist Cuba.

In Celebrating Life in Union, narrated by Andy Garcia, we follow a group of former Cuban political prisoners through their memory of imprisonment and their half century fight with the aging Castro regime. See trailer and information below:



Celebrating Life in Union - narrated  by actor Andy Garcia - is about the resilience and brotherhood of a group of former Cuban political prisoners from the Escambray Movement in the 1960's. They were 17, 18 and 19 year old boys who fought with Fidel Castro against the dictator Fulgencio Batista in Cuba .  Later, they fought against Fidel Castro after the resignation of Huber Matos, the third highest-ranking officer of the Fidel Castro revolution. These men received 20 and in some cases 30 years in jail. They are now in their 70's and 80's having kept their brotherhood alive in Union City , New Jersey The documentary premiered at the New York City International Film Festival, and was nominated as "Most Inspirational" by Doc Miami International Film. 

Purchase the full documentary here: http://tinyurl.com/pt5uqro 

Repost: "Facts and Subterfuge regarding the U.S. and Cuba Proposals"

My friend Jerry Brewer has an excellent site about Mexican and Latin American politics. He was nice enough to mention me and my work in a recent post about Cuba: "Facts and Subterfuge regarding the U.S. and Cuba Proposal."

"Communist ideology by the Castro regime has graphically meant death, destruction and misery to the island. Ask the Cubans who have lived it, and those now residing in the U.S."

Read the entire post here.