Jauretsi: Word On The Street

Miami is a very pivotal city to determine the temperature of Cuban exile culture. I took these pics of the FIU campus on my visit to the University when they invited me to screen East of Havana to their students. Promptly after, there was a Q&A discussion of the film where I expected to get stoned to death due to my opinions of the embargo, and my loving trips to Cuba. It turns out, the room was refreshingly full of very open minded, curious Cuban-Americans who were genuinely fascinated by the youth culture down in the island, and were asking all the right questions towards a positive change in Cuba. Times have changed indeed.

Miami can sometimes tend to be overcritical in the debate of “Cuban dialogue”. Hey, we’re passionate people! But sometimes to our own damage. Thus my next thought…

In 2 weeks, FIU will be hosting another forum to open discussion on the future of Cuba. Their program reads:

To what extent is Cuban critical thinking contributing to the formation of a new public debate culture in Cuba? What gains have been made and what challenges remain with regards to the genuine exchange of ideas on the island? Join LACC’s Cuban Research Institute on October 22, 2009 for the lecture, “Debate or Catharsis? Critical Thinking in the Public Sphere in Cuba Today,”

Hosted by:
Rafael Hernandez, Editor, Temas, Cuba
Mellon Visiting Professor, Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas-Austin.

To attend or learn more, contact CRI (Cuban Research Institute) at 305-348-1991.