Happy Birthday Fidel
A Note From Havana
As I surf the internet each day and read the “news,” I grow more astonished at the distance between what I read and reality. Press coverage of Fidel’s illness does not, in the slightest, represent reality here.
Two weeks ago I was with some friends watching CNN in Spanish when the news came that Fidel had gone into an emergency surgery. We immediately changed the channel to local news where we heard Fidel’s message to the people. We were all instantly in tears. Everyone called their neighbors and friends to share the news and assure one another that he would be all right.
I didn’t sleep well. I surfed the internet until 2 am reading all the news coverage. I was terrified after reading Miami Herald and such. I thought that I would wake up the next day to soldiers in the street… US and Cuban….
When I woke up and turned on radio reloj, the news had not changed….about once every 15 minutes they re-read Fidel’s message…. The message ended with “Hay que luchar y trabajar.” Which means “We must struggle and work.” And on my way to work, it looked like any other day. People making their way to their wok places. No extra police. No guys in green to be seen. Normal. With total confidence the people woke up and carried on with their lives, just like Fidel asked them to.
And that is what we all have been doing since.
Today is Fidel’s birthday. Last night there was a free public concert at the anti-imperialist amphitheater next to the US interest section building. It started at 8pm. I watched on TV because the place was so packed I thought it better not to go. I fell asleep at 4 am, the party was still going strong…. And Ricardo Alarcon, no young man, was still there in the front row!! Every performer sent Fidel their love and declared their commitment to the Revolution. Some wrote songs/poems for the occasion. Music ranged from Boleros to Rap.
This morning there were people in all neighborhoods holding acts of “reaffirmation.” In some places this was just a group of neighbors gathering on the corner to share a kiss and say a few “Viva La Revolution”’s and bear witness to each others declarations of support for Raul and/or to pray for Fidel’s health. In my neighborhood, several people decided to do sweep the sidewalks and the street. A group of 80 people climbed the island’s highest peak where the Rebel army fought. People all around the country did voluntary service doing agricultural, construction, and community improvement work.
There is NO sign of unrest of any kind. Even though the US interest section electronic billboard continues to display Bush and Rice’s messages calling on the Cubans to rise up.
Of course they played these messages on the Round Table TV program here so that the US couldn’t say that the Cuban people were not being reached and so that the commentators could demonstrate to the people the interventionist attitude of the US.
And unlike someone from the states would expect, people are not whispering, gossiping, or speculating on Fidel’s health. Everyone is calmly awaiting news. With total faith. It is incredible to see. I on the other hand, being a product of the US, cannot stop checking the internet “news” everyday and the manipulations, gossip mongering, and instigations are just astounding. For example, they keep on about why we haven’t seen Raul in public. They have made up the most far-fetched stories… but the simple truth is that it is a matter of security. No one here thinks it strange.
Raul appeared today at the airport greeting Hugo Chavez who came to visit Fidel. Fidel also appeared today on the front page of the newspaper. He is just fine. And we are all relieved and I hope that the US will just leave us in peace down here.
Long Live Fidel!
Long Live the Cuban Revolution!!!! Which it is obvious to me will continue on long after the body of Fidel has been laid to rest.
As I surf the internet each day and read the “news,” I grow more astonished at the distance between what I read and reality. Press coverage of Fidel’s illness does not, in the slightest, represent reality here.
Two weeks ago I was with some friends watching CNN in Spanish when the news came that Fidel had gone into an emergency surgery. We immediately changed the channel to local news where we heard Fidel’s message to the people. We were all instantly in tears. Everyone called their neighbors and friends to share the news and assure one another that he would be all right.
I didn’t sleep well. I surfed the internet until 2 am reading all the news coverage. I was terrified after reading Miami Herald and such. I thought that I would wake up the next day to soldiers in the street… US and Cuban….
When I woke up and turned on radio reloj, the news had not changed….about once every 15 minutes they re-read Fidel’s message…. The message ended with “Hay que luchar y trabajar.” Which means “We must struggle and work.” And on my way to work, it looked like any other day. People making their way to their wok places. No extra police. No guys in green to be seen. Normal. With total confidence the people woke up and carried on with their lives, just like Fidel asked them to.
And that is what we all have been doing since.
Today is Fidel’s birthday. Last night there was a free public concert at the anti-imperialist amphitheater next to the US interest section building. It started at 8pm. I watched on TV because the place was so packed I thought it better not to go. I fell asleep at 4 am, the party was still going strong…. And Ricardo Alarcon, no young man, was still there in the front row!! Every performer sent Fidel their love and declared their commitment to the Revolution. Some wrote songs/poems for the occasion. Music ranged from Boleros to Rap.
This morning there were people in all neighborhoods holding acts of “reaffirmation.” In some places this was just a group of neighbors gathering on the corner to share a kiss and say a few “Viva La Revolution”’s and bear witness to each others declarations of support for Raul and/or to pray for Fidel’s health. In my neighborhood, several people decided to do sweep the sidewalks and the street. A group of 80 people climbed the island’s highest peak where the Rebel army fought. People all around the country did voluntary service doing agricultural, construction, and community improvement work.
There is NO sign of unrest of any kind. Even though the US interest section electronic billboard continues to display Bush and Rice’s messages calling on the Cubans to rise up.
Of course they played these messages on the Round Table TV program here so that the US couldn’t say that the Cuban people were not being reached and so that the commentators could demonstrate to the people the interventionist attitude of the US.
And unlike someone from the states would expect, people are not whispering, gossiping, or speculating on Fidel’s health. Everyone is calmly awaiting news. With total faith. It is incredible to see. I on the other hand, being a product of the US, cannot stop checking the internet “news” everyday and the manipulations, gossip mongering, and instigations are just astounding. For example, they keep on about why we haven’t seen Raul in public. They have made up the most far-fetched stories… but the simple truth is that it is a matter of security. No one here thinks it strange.
Raul appeared today at the airport greeting Hugo Chavez who came to visit Fidel. Fidel also appeared today on the front page of the newspaper. He is just fine. And we are all relieved and I hope that the US will just leave us in peace down here.
Long Live Fidel!
Long Live the Cuban Revolution!!!! Which it is obvious to me will continue on long after the body of Fidel has been laid to rest.
posted by alba at 8:54 PM
