Cuba was also famous for its many genres of music [Mambo, Guaracha, Son Montuno, Rumba, Latin Jazz, Danzones] as well as artists such as Beny More, Orquesta Aragon, Barbarito Diez, Paquito D Rivera, Bebo Valdes, Irakere, Gonzalo Roig,Roberto Faz. There were also other artists such as Rosita Fornes, Esther Borja, Luis Carbonell who were of a more classical style.

After Castro took power in 1959, these traditional forms of music were marginalized by Cuba [who wanted the ballads of Pablo Milanes and Silvio Rodriguez] and the Cubans in the USA [who wanted the sounds of Hollywood and USA Pop Music].

I myself [as a child in USA] was criticized for sticking to my Traditional Cuban Music throughout the years. I even supported the attempts of artists like Chirino, Celia Cruz, Marilyn Romero, Ana Carballosa, Alina Interian, Mario Ernesto Sanchez, Conjunto Universal to maintain Cuban Music.

This was during the time that the Cuban Community in USA started to imitate to utter ridiculousness the customs of the USA [while all other groups in USA were breaking away from such monopoly].

[Remember Castro or the Estebans do not enjoy a Monopoly on Cuban Music].

In Cuba, people like Barbarito Diez, Orquesta Aragon, even Irakere attempted to maintain the musical spirit of Cuba or even fuse it with jazz [in spite of the influences of the day in Cuba which includes censorship].

It must be remembered that many people were influenced by the Russian Ballads of the day, Gonzalo Roig was semi-retired in Cuba, Beny More and Roberto Faz were assassinated by Castro's People for singing Anti Castro Songs and for attempting to leave Cuba [Someone who witnessed this in Cuba told me in Miami Florida].

There was one composer called Sindo Garay [1867-1968] whose songs were popular in Cuba and were interpreted by stars such as Compay Segundo.

His last years in Cuba were spent in Castro's Cuba trying to fight the attempts by the Russians in Cuba to steal his music.

Rosita Fornes is a US Latin who was born in New York in 1923 to Spanish Parents. In 1931, Spain becomes a Republic and the Fornes Family move from New York to Spain because the family [Rosita included] detested the USA.

In 1931, Rosita Fornes starts her singing career at the tender age of 8 and becomes the rave of the Republic. In 1936, The Fornes Family leaves Spain for Cuba and Rosita Fornes positions herself as the Sex Symbol of the Day [although there were artists of better caliber such as Olga Guillot, Celia Cruz].

In 1959, Rosita Fornes announces to Cuba that she was a Communist and as a reward has her own TV Show [in which stars such as Pablo Milanes, Silvio Rodriguez, Luisa Maria Guell, Meme Solis are the stars. Of course, Rosita Fornes had a section for mass repudiation of artists who did not agree with Castro].

Luis Carbonell was a reciter of poems. He has been in show business since the late 1920's and he is still alive and well in Cuba. His art [unfortunately] is a dying art. It has been kept somewhat alive in Cuba [by him] and by artists in Miami [Marilyn Romero, Ana Carballosa, Lourdes Simon] who would recite his poems [or the poems he made famous].

He also fell foul [with certain people] after expressing his sympathies for Castro [A Sympathy that has kept to this day even though he was briefly marginalized and sent to the UMAP Concentration Camp for Religious and Homosexual People]. This also contributed to the downfall of his art.

I think a film that he participated in about Agostino Neto [Angola's First President] may have also contributed to his decline.

Of course, there was a Cuban Comedy Duo called Los Fonomemecos in Miami Florida that called him [on their TV program] and impersonated an Argentine Businessman. Luis Carbonell told the Fonomemecos unkonowingly that he was "more Marxist than Castro". Los Fonomemecos imitating the Argentine Businessman offered Luis Carbonell a sum of $50,000 to appear in a film. Luis Carbonell accepted the bait and then received the surprise from Los Fonomemecos.

Esther Borja was also one of the classics who has sung with singers such as Marta Perez [currently living in Miami], the late America Crespo, and has given tours in Spain and the USA under the guidance of Gonzalo Roig and Ernesto Lecuona.

Her career started in the 1920's and I still have some of her early recordings. She also stated that in 1959, she experienced a "religious conversion and started hanging photos of Castro" which she still does in her 95 years of age. She also started giving tours of Soviet Bloc Countries and Angola.

Everything went OK until her voice gave out in 1983 and then she retired to dedicate time to writing, giving singing lessons.

Of course, Cuba has had great artists [in spite of censorship] such as Irakere [founded in 1970], Orquesta Aragon [started in 1939] , Barbarito Diez [started in 1925], Vocal Sampling [1990's], y Los Cuatro de Belen [1990's]. Vocal Sampling is the only group that mimics Musical Instruments with their Voices [I would like to add that I have been condemned for listening to Vocal Sampling not because of politics but because people refuse to understand why I like hearing people mimic Musical Instruments.]

In Miami Florida, there was a bustling Cuban Scene with stars like Celia Cruz, La Lupe, Lissette, Chirino, Natacha Amador, Isisa [with one of the singers Regina Melchor], Maria Conchita Alonso, Oscar de Fontana, Enrique Chia, Jorge Ovies [an Actor who has his own Barber Shop]. [On an aside, I was one of Jorge Ovie's First Customers]. Other singers such as Adita Linares has tried to keep the flames of Cuban Culture flowing.

Last but not least, Paquito D Rivera with his jazz, Bebo Valdes even recorded a song of Classical Cuban Music with Diego El Cigala [The Spanish Flamenco Singer].

I once took the liberty to call the office of Congressman Diaz-Balart [nephew of Fidel Castro and Republican Congressman] about the possibility that maybe the Diaz-Balart Family may have used their influence on the employment of Alina Fernandez-Revuelta [Castro's Daughter] as a volunteer in a Veterans Hospital in Miami Florida.

The Secretary [at Diaz-Balart's Office] tersely stated: "I am sorry I cannot reply to that question, goodbye" and hung the phone. First thing in this pact of silence.

Juanita Castro [Raul and Fidel Castro's Sister] called for clemency, In response, The ideal thing would be reconciliation but both sides would have to admit wrongs and the fact there is a possible pact of silence between the Republicans, Democrats, Communists in the American Continent.

In 1966, Castro founded a Concentration Camp called UMAP for those who were not in agreement with Castro. Catholics, Christians, Homosexuals, Lesbians, Rock Fans went to this camp to be "educated on the errors of their ways". One of the famous victims was the Father Jaime Ortega [the presnet Cardinal of La Habana].

In 1967, 4 teenagers between the age 15 to 17 years of age formed a group called Los Pacificos [The Pacifics] and did a rock concert in a Havana Neighborhood. They recorded nine songs in two hours.

Their purpose was to bring peace, love, and harmony. For this, the group was sent to prison and the youngest member of the group Carlos Davila was sent to die in Angola during the 1970's. Luckily, the tape was rescued and was released as a CD here in Miami. Unfortunatly, the group did not receive a rescue or a mention secondary to the pact of silence.

Another artist called Meme Solis [who started his career in the 1950's] was sentenced to 20 years anonymity [1969] for his desire to leave Cuba and for writing "degenerate music". He was set free in 1989 after a little help from Felipe Gonzalez [Socialist Prime Minister of Spain 1982-1996].

I would also like to expose a law approved by Bush in 2001. This law allows people to study Medicine in Cuba and be able to practice as if they were US Graduates without examinations and hospital training programmes.

This has been a slap in the face for International Medical Graduates [including those born in USA] and US Medical Graduates who have to take elaborate medical examinations and undergo medical training. No one mentions it because of the pact of silence.

Independent of the fact that Castro may have some popularity, I still think that the reason why Cuba has not moved toward democracy is that in Cuba, the only propaganda allowed has been Castro.

In Miami Florida, many talked about Democracy in Cuba and in reality have made deals with Castro.

Even the US Politicians have made deals and Castro's Next Door Neighbor is a Representative of the US Interest Section in Cuba.

We should also remember that Washington collaborated with the Castros in destroying a Ship leaving Cuba [1994] and shooting down a plane [1996].

On further information about Cuba, I talked with an individual who was an employee of the US Embassy in Cuba who was present at the time of 1958-1959.

This has also been corroborated by declassified documents.

Here was the story of this individual:

December 31, 1958:

Batista receives a call from the US Embassy. Eisenhower sent a message to Batista via the US Embassy that it was time for him to go and that Castro must be installed. Batista leaves.

When news about Batista Departure spreads through La Habana, the Congress designates a Provisional President [who according to the 1940 Constitution is the President of the Congress]. Eisenhower via the US Embassy telephones the President of Congress with these words: "Castro and his people must be installed as Head of Cuba".

January 1 1959: The Cuban Congress was forced to accept Castro. Batista left for the Dominican Republic [where according to declassified documents of the Trujillo Years in the DR, he was humiliated, briefly imprisoned and then expelled to Spain].

In other conversations with a former Cuban Politician [who I interviewed on condition of anonymity], he stated that in 1957, a group of Cuban Politicians offered Batista a way out via elections.

These Politicians presented as their candidate an individual not affected by the internal conflicts of Cuban Politics called Carlos Marquez Sterling. [This was the same Carlos Marquez Sterling who condemned Batista's 1952 Coup and predicted that with the coup Cuba would go from bad to worse].

The response of Batista and Eisenhower to Sterling was "No".

These stories has also been told as an example of this pact of silence.

It has been a story that is repeating itself in Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and the USA.

The same way that Communism must be phased out in Cuba, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela; Republicans and Democrats must be phased out by peaceful means in America.

Oscar Haza in his nightly TV Show broadcast on America Teve dedicated his segment on the subject of a Post Castro Cuba imitating the Asian Model of Communism [as practiced in Vietnam and China]. There was one economist who stated that it is possible. There was another who stated that it could not happen.

Personally, it would be impossible to import a model for Cuba. The reasons are based on what I have heard in China Radio International [Radio Peking] and the Voice of Vietnam [on my shortwave radio] in the years 1978-1979.

As an avid reader in my time of adolescence, I also read the Far Eastern Economic Review on the subject in this time frame

China after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 was undergoing a painful transition from the Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping was rehabilitated into the Chinese Communist Party in 1977 and he started the Four Modernizations.

Deng Xiaoping discovered a quote from "Mao's Book" on Reform [Mao apparently encouraged continuous renewal] and added: "Who Cares If A Cat Is Black or White, as Long as it catches mice". With this, the Chinese Form of Socialism underwent a radical transformation.

The people of China were allowed economic freedom but were not allowed to interfere with politics. Businesses were allowed to thrive but there was an arrangement in which the businesses were partly owned by the Govenrment and partly owned by a Communist Party Member.

China started to be run in the way a corporation was run. Bonuses and Surpluses were the order of the day. There were Contunual Evaluation of Businesses and State Employees. What did not function was closed off.

This was something that took time [almost one generation]. There have been some resistance from places such as North Korea and Laos to these reforms for fear of the Communist Authorities in those countries losing control.

Vietnam was another story. After the Vietnam War in 1975, The Communists in North Vietnam got to the business of communizing the former South Vietnam without success. Vietnam's economy was in a shambles with High Inflation, Unemployment, and Cambodia's Khmer Rouge taking pot shots at Vietnamese Border Guards in the border with Cambodia.

1979: Vietnam invades Cambodia to rid it of the Khmer Rouge and as a response for the border skirmishes. Vietnam [at the same time] was applying to become a member of ASEAN and was condemned for its invasion. It was then that Vietnam decided to begin its process of liberalizing its economy. Cambodia was declared a free trade zone. Ho Chi Minh City [former Saigon] was another Free Trade Zone. Diplomatic Relations were established with Spain and Venezuela [and ties with France were reinforced].

[I could remember when I was living in Venezuela in 1979, there was an International Symposium of Culture and Business. I myself spoke with the Vietnamese Representatives and they explained to me how they had a "Twenty Year Plan for Economic Growth and Modernization"].[Sweden even started providing aid to Vietnam. Sweden built a freeway which united Cambodia with Vietnam for transportation of goods].

1986: After the death of Le Duan, the reforms in Vietnam went on a fast forward. Vietnam had to make sure that political stability [Communist Party Monopoly] remained while economic freedom was the norm. The Vietnamese were told to "stay in the economy and leave the governing to Hanoi".

2006: China and Vietnam [as well as Cambodia] are now forces to be reckoned with in the world economy. But this was a process that took its time.

If Cuba [or the United States] wants to find an example for economic liberalization, it would have to be in the context of a multiparty democracy and a mixed economy gradually shifting to a freer market [this has happened in Angola and Mozambique and it was a process that in ten years has Angola and Mozambique competing in the world wide market].

Before leaving, this was NOT a criticism of China, Vietnam, Angola, and Mozambique. This was a study of how their models of development could help Cuba [and maybe United States].

China and Vietnam are models that work but were gradual and in contunual renewal. This attitude of gradual with continuous renewal does not work in the mindset of an American Continent [especially North America] that wants everything on a fast pace without renovation.

Angola and Mozambique are other models that work. They are fast track for an American Continent [especially North America] that wants everything on a fast pace. It also includes a Multi Party Democracy Option that the West wants but does not exist in Cuba or USA.

Yet, Angola and Mozambique are still working at continual improvement. [Remember that contunual renewal does not bode well in the American Continent especially North America].

It has come to the attention of Roberto about the death of Gift Leremi [1984-2007] secondary to an auto accident.

This tragedy for South Africa occurred as Leremi returned home from Cameroun to play in the African Confederation Cup Match representing the Mamelodi Sundowns [a Team in South Africa].

His Career with the Mamelodi Sundowns and the Oralndo Pirates in South Africa was marked with sixteen goals in seventy one appearances. He also made four appearances with the South African National Football Team from 2004 to 2005.

He also played in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA.

According to a spokesperson for the police in South Africa, “He was driving on the fast lane and then lost control of his car. The car went over an embankment and started overturning, he was then flung out in the process and his body was found a few metres away from the wreckage."

His death leaves a void in South African Football which could be difficult to fill. Meanwhile, Roberto extends his condolences to Gift Leremi’s Family and the Nation of South Africa.

On the clarifications of the 2001 articles about a royal wedding in Cuba and Constantine II [former King Of Greece]. The articles were from a Spanish Speaking Magazine.

One article from El Nuevo Herald dated 24 of August 2001 states "Aristocratic Wedding surprises La Habana" [Boda De La Noblesa Sorprede La Habana] when the Count of Albemarle married an English Macedonian in an Classic Temple in La Habana.

I checked the visit to Cuba [on the webiste of greekroyalfamily.org] by the former King of Greece Constantine II. This was for the innauguration of th St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in La Habana on the 6th of January 2004.

In the year 2000, Constantine II proposed to Castro to renovate the Orthodox Church of St. Constantine. Castro replied that the Church was being replaced by a Cultural Center but that he was willing to authorize construction of a new Orthodox Church in Cuba.

In 2004, the Orthodoc Church of St. Nicholas was dedicated and there is a photo of the same website. The Patriarch Bartholomew with a Full Suited Castro, Former King Constantine II and Former Queen Anne Marie.

This is surreal because Castro closed Churches and banned religion. The other rare part was that Constantine II [according to Greek History] had supported the 1967 Coup because of a Communist Threat in Greece.

I also E Mailed The Former King of Greece Constantine II at his website greekroyalfamily.org. I asked hom the question of the dedication of an Orthodox Church in Cuba with Castro. He never replied

Tomando en cuenta los aconteceres en Cuba, considero necesario publicar informacion basada en la historia actual. Son historias que apenas reciben la publicidad pero es necesario contarlo.

La Multitud querra preguntar la razon del titulo: "Castro y El Rey de Grecia". Otros murmuran: "Grecia ya no tiene rey y Castro es Comunista" y/o "El Rey de Grecia lucho contra el comunismo en su pais". Alguien en las calles de Miami querian pruebas. Para mis lectores, he aqui las pruebas despues de visitar las paginas ciberneticas de la familia real griega [www.greekroyalfamily.org] y Cubanet.

El 6 de Enero de 2,004; Castro [Fidel] y Constantino II [Rey de Grecia entre 1964-1973] inauguraron la Iglesia Ortodoxa San Nicolas en la Habana. La inauguracion fue el resultado de tiempos de comversacion entre Castro [Fidel] y Constantino II.

En el 2000, Constantino II visito a Cuba y vio la Iglesia Ortodoxa en un estado de deterioro. Constantino II pidio una "audiencia" con Castro para discutir el tema de la Iglesia. La respuesta de Castro es que la "Iglesia sera reeemplazada por un Centro Cultural pero estara dispuesto formarse parte de la autorizacion para construir una Iglesia en Cuba".

Es un descaro que Castro abolio la Navidad y Dias Religiosos para una Ideologia de Europeos y Norteamericanos y ahora construyo y dedico una Iglesia Ortodoxa. Es un descaro de un Rey que lucho contra el comunismo en su pais y ahora logro un trato con otro dictador. Tampoco estoy sorprendido pues la clase gobernante en Washington y otros paises han tratado con Castro.

Solamente para dar un reporte historico de los acontecimientos.

REFERENCIA:

http://www.greekroyalfamily.org/index.cfm?get=archive&show=search&ItemID=152

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y04/jan04/26e5.htm.