Solidarity with the Cuban 5 through Music and Politics on the 14th Year of their Incarceration

9/26/2012

"As love is my greatest asset, to put my song as a little grain of sand on behalf of the struggle for the freedom of the Five has become one of my commitments for the last 14 years; wherever I go and wherever I am."

-Vicente Feliú, September 2012

Photos: Bill Hackwell, Brava Theater, San Francisco 9/20/2012

From September 12-20, Vicente Feliú, a leading voice of the Cuban Nueva Trova Movement, reached out to hundreds of people throughout the United States. In all the presentations Feliú was accompanied by Cuban Latin-Grammy Award winning guitarist Alejandro Valdés. The tour coincided with the 14th anniversary of the unjust imprisonment of the Cuban 5 and brought a solidarity message to audiences in Wahington DC, New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. At the last concert in San Francisco, alongside Feliú and Valdés, was Rafael Manriquez, a well known Chilean musician and singer from the San Francisco Bay Area.

WASHINGTON DC

NEW YORK CITY

BERKELEY Reception

SAN FRANCISCO

MEDIA COVERAGE

Interviews were conducted in a number of radio and TV stations. Vicente Feliú and members of the International Committee participated in these interviews informing thousands of listeners about the concert and about the case of the Cuban 5. These stations included:

Telesur (DC)
WPWC 1480 AM We Act Radio
WPFW 89.3 FM Voices with Vision
WPFW 89.3 FM latino Media Collective
Block Talk Radio African on the Move
WBAI 99.5 FM Cuba in Focus (NY)
La Grande 1010AM, Marcos Gutierrez (SF)
KPFA 94.1 FM La Raza Chronicles, Nina Serrano (Berkeley)
KPFA 94.1 FM Radio 2050, Darren de Leon (Berkeley)
Radio Bilingue 91.5 FM Linea Abierta, Chelis Lopez (Oakland)
KPFA 94.1 FM Morning Mix, Andres Soto
KTNC 42 Estrella TV, Leticia Mendoza (San Francisco)
KPOO 89.5 Pajaro Latinoamerica, Andanzas, Chelis Lopez
The Tecolote, a newspaper serving the Latino Community in the Mission District of San Francisco published two ads about the concert.
Tom Hayden's article: Obama's Cuban 5 Dilemma

In all the venues, the International Committee set up informational tables and distributed a great deal of information about the case of the Cuban 5 and asked people to join this struggle for justice.

PUBLIC EVENT IN WASHINGTON DC

On September 14, in Washington DC, a well attended event took place to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Cuban 5. Speakers included Puerto Rican freedom fighter Rafael Cancel Miranda, Tom Hayden, Michele Tingling-Clemmons, Liz Derius and Jose Pertierra.

Netfa Freeman from the Institute for Policy Studies and Alicia Jrapko from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5 facilitated the two panel discussion.