By Mark Friedman, Contributor
With an overflow crowd at the Downtown Los Angeles Mercado Paloma Center, more than 50 people attended a panel discussion on “Art and Activism” this past Saturday, April 6, featuring artists and their work. The crowd spanned multiple generations of Cuba supporters but were mostly young Latinos, many of whom were preparing to go to Cuba to celebrate May Day upon the invitation of the Federation of Cuban Workers (CTC) and The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) as part of the “Labor and Youth Activist delegation” of 60.
Diana Cervantes, leader and co-founder of the LA Hands-Off Cuba Committee or LAHOC opened the meeting with a discussion about the origin and history of the committee. Founded in 2019 by a group of young Latino Angelenos who returned home inspired by their attendance at an environmental conference in Cuba, the committee organized around the aims of ending the blockade and international sanctions against Cuba and removing the Caribean nation from Washington’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list. More than 60 unions and scores of prominent individuals, and organizations support the committee and since its founding, the committee has organized monthly public events, including caravans, demonstrations, film showings, and educational.
Julio Rodriquez, a conga-playing spoken word artist who wraps political awareness around his music performed followed by Palestinian poet Amanee Izhaq conducting a reading in defense of Palestine.
Lincoln Cushing, a printer, artist, archivist, author, and U.C. Berkeley librarian delivered a special presentation on the history of Cuban political poster art from the 1960s. Cushing helped organize the massive collection housed by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Culver City.
In his presentation, Cushing highlighted the decades-long political poster art of Cuba in defense of Liberation struggles around the world, including International Women’s Day; Black, Chicano, and Native American struggles in the US, and the defense of the Cuban Revolution against US imperialism. Samantha Ceja, an archivist at the Center for Political Graphics described the collection, preservation, and public showings of Cuban political posters and other political propaganda in defense of peoples’ struggles worldwide.
Cuban artist Rosa Naday was the featured speaker for the meeting. Known for exhibitions on display in Miami and Havana, Naday’s work touching on such themes as ending the US blockade, police brutality, and most recently the banning of more than 2,000 books in Florida. She is also active in the Cuban solidarity movement in Miami and uses her political art to raise consciousness and motivate action against the blockade.
The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee delivered a special message with the unveiling of their first people’s art demanding freedom for this US political prisoner.
Clips of the 2005 film, Kordavision, were screened during the meeting. The film tells the story of One of Cuba’s greatest photographers, Korda who along with other official photographers captured the Cuban revolution with images of Fidel, Che, Vilma, and the masses of Cubans in action. LAHOC is planning a future meeting featuring the f film’s director, Hector Sandoval.
The meeting served as a send-off rally to the Labor-and-Youth-Activistdelegation from nine cities across the United States featuring union officials and activists, environmentalists, students, and others who want to visit Cuba firsthand and bring back solidarity in defense of Cuban sovereignty.
The leaders of the garment and hotel workers union, UNITE-HERE Local 11, the Inland Boatman’s Union, Teamsters, California State Employees Association, United Teachers of LA, Machinists, and other organizations, reflect the scope of the delegations.
Solidarity messages were given by Maureen Cruise, a nurse activist who compared the horrendous medical system in the US versus that of Cuba and efforts by the California Nurses Association union and other unions in California to pass a single-payer healthcare bill.
IFCO/Pastors for Peace’s Rev. Kelvin Sauls and a Sanctuary of Hope representative delivered messages of solidarity.
Scott Volz, leader of the Democratic Socialists of America in Long Beach, which has been coordinating a successful electronics drive, reported that the delegation will be bringing more than $10,000 worth of laptops, cell phones, routers and translation equipment to mass organizations newspapers Granma and Trabajadores.
Delegation members with help from Not Just Tourists will carry $100,000 worth of new critical medical equipment, several hundred pounds of powdered milk, and a donation from an agricultural organization of hundreds of packages of vegetable seeds for the Cuban people. All of these efforts are important to counter the US blockade and to help alleviate the shortages of food and fuel caused by the blockade.
The delegation has a full program participating in the CTC Pasantia as well as meetings at the University of Havana, with medical students from the Latin American School of Medicine, Belly of the Beast, Fidel Museum, and special union events.
The LAHOC already has several report-back meetings planned at the Sanctuary of Hope offices. LA Strategy Center, and International Association of Machinists union hall.