First Hand Report of a Discussion of the Draft Constitution

Impressions of a Meeting of Consultation on the Draft Constitution held on October 23, 2018, in Nuevo Vedado*

Undoubtedly, the current process of "consultation" with the people on the Draft Constitution has aroused great interest and broad and conscious participation by the citizens.

The meeting to which we were summoned by our CDR and attended by citizens belonging to three CDRs, all from one of the constituencies of the Consejo Popular Colón-Nuevo Vedado of the Plaza Municipality, was proof of this broad participation. Of the meetings of all kinds convened by any of these CDRs, this was the one that attracted a larger and by far more active participation of citizens.
The organization of the meeting was adequate. The room where it was held had enough seats. It began at the time for which it was convened, the two citizens who chaired the meeting conducted it with efficiency and full respect for the opinions and suggestions of the participants and proceeded with proper order.

Overall it was a very satisfying experience.

A large number of the Titles and Chapters included in the Draft Constitution were the subject of the proposals, which focused more on those that refer to the Political Foundations; the Economic Foundations; Rights, Duties and Guarantees, and the chapter on the President and Vice President of the Republic.

Because of the seriousness with which the proposals were presented, their content and number, in a meeting attended by plain and common Cubans, it is possible to appreciate a great willingness to introduce substantive changes in the current political, economic and social system in our country, respecting its fundamental bases of unity sustained in the role of the Communist Party and the social justice that the construction of socialism entails.

The proposals were concentrated in the following aspects:

- Expressly include that the Party, its organs, leaders, officials and employees act in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic.

- Establish, promote and guarantee the right of Cuban citizens to invest in the national economy.

- That the concept of private property includes, in addition to non-fundamental means of production, also housing and means of transport.

- The possibility of handing over lands on property for the construction of houses by private citizens, with their own efforts.

- Guarantee transparency in the administration and economic management of state enterprises and of budgeted institutions and companies.

- Greater transparency and public information on political and administrative management.

- To control and prevent the accumulation of wealth and the emergence of inequalities in society.

- That the State assists in the adoption of orphans and homeless children and assisted motherhood.

- That adoption is allowed by mothers or fathers who do not have partners.

- That the State recognizes and protect unpaid workers.

- What is the meaning "dignified" housing and "dignified" salary

- That the election of the President and Vice President of the Republic be by direct and secret vote of citizens.

- That the election of the Presidents of the Municipal Assemblies of the Popular Power be by the direct and secret vote of the citizens.

Further,

Two participants made divergent proposals about the freedom of artistic creation: One sought to reinforce the freedom of artistic creation and the other limited its content to the respect of the values and principles of socialist society.

One participant proposed the legalization of euthanasia.

The desire for changes in the system is manifested especially in the proposals for direct election by the citizens of the President of the Republic; those that limit the concept of the Party as "superior force" and subordinate it to the legality established by the Constitution; those that seek to guarantee the right of Cubans to invest in the national economy, and the greater information transparency throughout the political and economic system.

Two concerns expressed at the end are also of great interest and came from two citizens among the youngest who attended, both ladies.

They want to know what is going to happen with the proposals, how will be informed what happened with them, how were analyzed and the basis of whatever decision is made about them. To achieve a true consensus they ask for the greatest transparency and argumentation.

One of the two citizens who led the meeting said that until that night, only in the meetings held in the Plaza Municipality, more than 17,000 amendments proposals had been collected.

The experience of our own meeting, plus the comments and observations we have heard from other meetings, shows that, without doubts, this consultation process, whatever its formal outcome, is an important additional step in getting the classic genie out of the bottle and it will be very difficult to get him inside again, in this case the genie has a popular character and he is wishing to express his ideas and criticize with freedom.

Observations by Jose Viera, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for nine years in the 1990s 


 *  Nuevo Vedado is in Cuban terms a middle class area.  Many of the residents are professionals and higher level administrators.

Official observation from a plenum meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee

Granma, December 13

Raúl stated that the report on opinions expressed by all sectors of society serves as a valuable working document, which should be preserved and further utilized, adding that the population's approach to the assemblies was impressive, arriving well prepared and offering ideas to enrich the debate.
 
Homero Acosta Álvarez, Council of State secretary, presented a detailed report on fundamental aspects of the popular consultation and the latest version of the draft Constitution.

He commented that, throughout the process, the democratic nature of the consultation was praised, and satisfaction expressed that importance was given to the population's opinions. He emphasized the people's active participation, reiterating that the consultation had been a veritable constituent process.

More than 8.9 million persons attended the meetings, during which 1.7 million commentaries were made. He reported that all of the opinions expressed had been carefully analyzed and had a significant impact on the new draft.

[Personal note: the proof will be in the pudding!]

Published accounts

See also https://www.apnews.com/9f2a3d8f9f7c495fb1234c62898f35f4

The debate from a Cuban perspective over same sex marriage

https://nacla.org/news/2018/10/18/apple-discord-cuban-constitution

Interview with Conner Gorry on Living in Havana

INTERVIEW WITH CONNER- 
AN AMERICAN EXPAT IN CUBA

Updated 27 Nov 2018
Conner Gorry is a writer and journalist from New York who has called Havana home since 2002, where she works as Senior Editor for MEDICC Review, the only peer-reviewed journal in English dedicated to Cuban health and medicine. In addition to contributing to many newspapers, magazines and anthologies, her recent books include 100 Places in Cuba Every Woman Should Go; Cuban Harlistas: Mi Amor; and Havana Street Style.

Her blog, Here is Havana, has been called some of the best writing that is available about day-to-day life in Cuba. In 2018, she published TWATC, a collection of poetry and prose, available at Cuba Libro, the English-language bookstore and café she founded in 2013. Follow her adventures on Twitter, @ConnerGo.


Q: Where are you originally from?

A: New York, NY

Q: Where are you currently living?

A: Havana, Cuba

Q: When did you move to Cuba?

A: April 2002

Q: Is this your first expat experience?

A: Yes

Q: Did you move here alone or with a spouse/family?

A: Alone

Q: Why did you move; what do you do?

A: I had been to Cuba as a volunteer almost a decade before I moved and was immediately smitten. I kept trying to return but it was too expensive and difficult given the hostile relations between the USA and Cuba. After September 11th, I was eager to leave New York and was offered a job as a journalist covering the health system for an international peer-reviewed journal. Fortune shined on me and I jumped at the chance.

Living in Havana
Q: What do you enjoy most about Havana? How would you rate the quality of life compared to the USA?

A: Having grown up in violent, drug-riddled New York (this was pre-Giuliani) and travelled extensively around Latin America, Havana is wonderfully safe. I can walk home alone at 3am, children play freely in the streets and around their neighbourhoods, and there are few homeless people, no intravenous drug users and few guns. Cubans, on the whole, have a wicked sense of humour which also makes it much easier and fun to face all the challenges of living here.

Q: Any negative experiences? What do you miss most about home?

A: I’ve had tons of negative experiences but I always tell people: no matter where you live, you have to take the good with the bad. Utopia doesn’t exist – you have to find somewhere and make your home in a place that fits your personal philosophy, needs and desires.

Having said that, the scarcity of internet is a big negative for me professionally. Things have improved in recent years – we now have public WIFI in parks for example, but it’s not practical for me to take my laptop to a park to upload manuscripts, file stories and have virtual meetings. I miss my family and friends mightily and the lack of internet and price of a phone call makes this even more difficult.

Lastly, there are innumerable types of food I miss terribly – cheese, bagels, granola, Indian and Thai food, tofu – the list goes on and on. My luggage coming back to Cuba is always packed with all kinds of foodstuffs. On my most recent trip, I brought back tortillas, pounds of dried cranberries and apricots, sunflower seeds and trail mix, Hershey’s syrup and tons of other food that is not available at any price in Cuba.

This is a key difference between Cuba and almost any other expat destination. There are some things here that no amount of money can buy. You can’t go into the fanciest store or ethnic part of town and find mushrooms or brie or flatbread.

Q: What are the biggest adjustments you had to make when settling into expat life in Cuba? Did you experience any particular elements of culture shock?

A: I had been to Cuba before, for a month only, but what a month! This was during the economic crash of the 90s known as the “Special Period” typified by 16-hour daily blackouts, no transportation and severe food scarcity. I come from a resource-scarce background, so it wasn’t too difficult adjusting to the lack of things but it was very tough – and still is – getting used to how gossipy and extroverted Cubans are. They’re all up in everyone’s business and I’m from New York where you don’t know your neighbours’ names and life is very private. You can be anonymous in New York. Not in Havana!

Language can be a major issue. Even native Spanish speakers can have trouble with Cuban Spanish, so don’t assume that since you speak Spanish that you’ll understand what your neighbours are saying about you.

There’s also a certain lack of logic to many aspects of life in Cuba. I’ve had my fair share of this since I opened Cuba Libro, the island’s only English-language bookstore and café. The bureaucracy can be maddening but I’ve learned from Cubans to persevere.

Q: What’s the cost of living compared to the USA? Is there anything particularly expensive or particularly cheap in Cuba?

A: This is a tricky question because many foreigners don’t live like most Cubans – taking public transportation, in extraordinarily affordable or free housing, without internet at home, shopping at the market closest to their home etc. So, it can be extraordinarily cheap but few full-time foreigners live this way.

Buying a car is unbelievably expensive – even for the most basic hatchback. Then there’s the very robust black market where you can buy just about anything. However, it usually takes foreigners a while to figure out how this works.

Housing can be cheap – you can get a two-bedroom apartment close to the water in Havana’s hippest neighbourhood for very little. But only permanent residents (a difficult immigration status to procure) are permitted to buy property so as I mentioned above, sometimes it’s not a question of money but access and permission.

Then there’s the “foreigner tax”. It is nearly impossible to pass for Cuban if you are not, and the cost of anything – whether it’s a plumber or an ornamental plant – will carry additional cost just for being from somewhere else.

Q: How would you rate the public transport in Cuba? What is your most memorable experience of using Havana’s transport system?

A: Public transportation is one of the city’s and country’s most pressing problems. There just isn’t enough. It’s heavily subsidized by the government, so the inner-city bus system costs a fraction of a cent – but you might have to wait an hour or more for a bus to come by.

There are other options. Shared taxis and cooperative buses are also affordable, but these operate on fixed routes and so might not be useful depending on where you’re going. Also, the average monthly salary of the majority of the population is incredibly low, so taking a collective taxi to and from work every day just isn’t fiscally possible for most people. For these reasons, hitchhiking, even in the heart of Havana, is a common occurrence.

One of my favourite forms of transport is the lanchita that goes across Havana Bay. One route goes to Regla, the other to Casablanca. This little ferry is used by all kinds of Cubans shuttling themselves between home, work and fun. Very few visitors even consider hopping on the boat to the other side of the Bay.

You can bring bikes on the lanchita and visiting Regla is like stepping back in time: more pedestrians than cars, wooden houses listing downhill, and home to the Virgin of Regla, a major player in Afro-Cuban religions.

Those who hop on the boat to Casablanca usually go visit the giant Christ statue at the top of the hill from the ferry dock, but shouldn’t miss the nearby Finca Agroecológica El Rincón del Cristo, a reforestation programme ribboned with trails through endemic flora and medicinal plants, where you can sip cold coconut water straight from the nut, opened with a machete by folks who are part of the work training programme there.

Q: How would you rate the healthcare in Havana? Have you had any particularly good/bad experiences with regards to doctors and hospitals? Are there any hospitals you would recommend?

A: Cuba is renowned for its national universal health system and care. Although the basic facilities might be a bit shocking to people from the developed north, the statistics (verified by various UN agencies including WHO and PAHO) bear out the success of the Cuban approach. Life expectancy, infant mortality, under five mortality and other major indicators are on par or surpass most industrialised countries.

Add to this the fact that Cuba has a robust biotech and pharmacological capacity, with unique vaccines and therapies that are sold all over the world, where nearly 70% of the medications approved for use in the health system are produced domestically, and there’s one doctor for every 150 patients. Take all these factors into consideration and you start to see a very different health picture from other developing nations.

Cuban healthcare is so good and affordable that many foreigners come to Cuba specifically for medical tourism – although US citizens and residents are prohibited from doing so by US restrictions imposed by the State Department. The general hospital for foreigners is the Cira García hospital in Playa, but there are specialist hospitals for neurological conditions, for drug rehabilitation, and more, plus centres for specific conditions and diseases which foreigners can also access.

Q: What are the biggest safety issues facing expats living in Cuba? Are there any areas expats should avoid?

A: Cuba is an extraordinarily safe country and Havana a safe capital – as I mentioned above, safety is one of the things I love about my adopted home. Sure, there are some super shady neighbourhoods, you wouldn’t want to wander around El Fanguito or Los Pozitos unaccompanied, but in general, the most dangerous threats here are dengue and giardia – neither of which are life-threatening.

Q: How do you rate the standard of housing in Havana? What different options are available for expats?

A: You have to understand that Cuba is very different from almost any other country: not just anyone can live here. You need permanent residency to buy a home or temporary residency to rent long-term. These are not easy to resolve, so unless you are posted here for a job which will provide housing, living in Cuba for any length of time is a dream most foreigners will never realize.

Canadians have the best and most practical possibilities because they can be here on a tourist visa for six months – this is the longest permissible stay for citizens from any source country as far as I know. In this case, they must rent a legally licensed house which runs a high minimum charge per month for a small apartment. 

Q: Any areas or suburbs you’d recommend for expats to live in?

A: Popular areas for expats include Vedado, Miramar and farther afield, Siboney. 

Meeting people and making friends
Q: How tolerant are the locals of foreigners? Is there obvious discrimination against any particular groups? Have you ever experienced discrimination in Havana?

A: Foreigners are almost universally viewed as “ATMs with legs.” This type of economic discrimination happens every single day with foreigners, whether they’ve lived here 17 years like me or just arrived yesterday. Prices are higher, bills are padded, and similar financial shenanigans are happening all the time.

Because Cuba is so complex, foreigners are often viewed as dummies just off the turnip truck and lacking in any kind of knowledge of the ‘Cuban mecanica’. That being said, one of the things that has kept me here for so long is that I’m constantly learning. Each and every day I learn something new here. It’s so confusing in fact, that my Cuban friends and family are often hard-pressed to explain certain things to me.

This can be very trying for successful, smart expats, particularly spouses who are accompanying their family on a job posting but don’t have employment of their own in Havana. It is very, very difficult to obtain a job as a foreigner here unless it is a previously arranged international posting. Being treated as dumb or at the very least naive day in and day out can be difficult.

Q: Was meeting people and making friends easy? How did you go about meeting new people?

A: There is really no cohesive expat community here – many people are isolated for one reason or another. The embassies host parties once in a while, the Canadian embassy is famous for this, and there are all sorts of cultural events hosted by the British, Dutch and Norwegian embassies. But you’re usually meeting people from your own backyard at these events, in which case: why did you move to Cuba?!

Expat bars and clubs like those that exist elsewhere are just not part of the fabric here. While there are a handful of fancy restaurants, cafés and shops frequented by comparatively moneyed foreigners, it takes some doing to ferret these out and there’s no guarantee that you’ll meet anyone over that eggs benedict.

Meeting Cubans is easy, they’re so incredibly social, but beware: foreigners are often seen as easy targets for resolving material and financial issues. If you don’t speak Spanish, your circle of friends will contract accordingly since English is still gaining momentum here and it’s astonishing how many people don't speak English in Havana.

Q: Have you made friends with locals or do you mix mainly with other expats? What advice would you give to new expats looking to make friends with Cubans?

A: My circle is almost entirely Cuban. I have a few good friends from elsewhere, and each of them has lived in Havana for decades. Good tips/places for meeting Cubans in addition to Cuba Libro include: taking the bus or collective taxis, joining a Tai Chi or yoga class (these are extremely popular with Cubans), enrolling in a class at the University of Havana and taking every opportunity offered to accompany on a visita, this is a cultural must do for all Cubans where they stop in at homes of friends or family to share coffee and gossip.

Working in Havana
Q: Was getting a work permit or visa a relatively easy process? Did you tackle the visa process yourself, or did you enlist the services of an immigration consultant?

A: It is nearly impossible to get a work visa – usually folks who are posted here have that taken care of by their employer. Cuba has very strict immigration requisites and if you’re from the United States, you can basically forget about it. If you’re offered a posting in Cuba, be sure to specifically ask about the visa process and who is responsible for securing it.

Q: What is the economic climate in Havana like? Do you have any tips for expats looking to find a job? Which resources did you find most useful?

A: Once on the ground, it is nearly impossible to find a job in Havana. Opportunities are limited, local talent abounds and competition is stiff. This is a very difficult and different context for work and life so if you are not independently wealthy and/or are very resourceful with a lot of time on your hands, I would suggest a visit first before diving in. People come to me all the time with dreams of moving to Havana after spending a few weeks here. That’s a vacation, real living is a whole lot tougher.

Living here full-time, long-term is a whole different ball game. A friend of mine from New York who fell in love with a Cuban, married her and moved here came into the café a few weeks ago saying: “we’re moving to Greece. After two months here, I realize I can’t live here.”

Living in Havana means long, random blackouts, sometimes going without toilet paper or running water, being duped by locals constantly, struggling with the language, fighting for public transportation, dealing with internet/computer/banking/bureaucratic chaos, facing food insecurity and on and on. Most of these issues cannot be resolved with money – this isn’t a context where throwing money at a problem brings resolution. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly!

Q: How does the work culture differ from the USA? Do you have any tips for expats doing business in Cuba? Did you have any particularly difficult experiences adapting to local business culture?

A: This is a topic for an entire book. Cuba was a stalwart, centralised, communist economy for decades. To give you an idea, consider the common saying: “we pretend to work and the State pretends to pay us.” 

Things here can be incredibly inefficient, a lot of the economy turns on favours rather than simple supply, demand and cost. Work ethic can be sketchy and work may be cancelled with no notice for all sorts of random reasons from blackouts to unscheduled trips or meetings or crisis management. I have all kinds of experiences adapting to local business culture since I opened the bookstore/café at the very beginning of the private sector experiment here. One of the biggest challenges is finding reliable staff. It helps to have a very large network of friends and contacts, but even that is no assurance.

Family and children
Q: What are your favourite family attractions and activities in Havana?

A: I love Parque Monte Barreto. Cuban families go here, one of Havana’s biggest green spaces, in droves on the weekend for picnics, pony rides, jumping in the bounce houses, etc. Parque Almendares, more towards the centre of town, is another place where there are cultural activities for kids on the weekends, rowboat rides, miniature golf and even a playground.

There are plenty of playgrounds in and around the city. I have tons of content for expats travelling with family in my new book, 100 Places in Cuba Every Woman Should Go. Expat and diplomatic families often go to the western enclave/country club called Club Havana for swimming, pizza parties, tennis and the like.

Q: What are the schools like, any particular suggestions?

A: I don’t have children, but the International School in Havana is well-regarded.

Final thoughts
Q: Is there any advice you would like to offer new expat arrivals to Cuba?

A: Do your research, learn Spanish, make Cuban friends and try to keep an open mind. Also be open to serendipity – Havana is the kind of place that embraces those who get it/can roll with it while chewing up and spitting out those who don’t.


http://www.expatarrivals.com/article/interview-conner-american-expat-cuba?fbclid=IwAR3WuZ1JNoTVLvYWv7XRKNcNbE8kyr_Ig5V4usHyLH64QLfX-jmT8aq5u_4


Read Conner's blog https://hereishavana.com/

July Carnival Trip to Santiago and Guantanamo (with option of Baracoa and Holguin)

July Trip to Santiago de Cuba
and Guantanamo

(Optional Extension to Baracoa and Holguin)

Enjoy the Caribbean’s Biggest Carnival    

Engage with Cuban and US History

Photo by Kelly, Compass and Camera travel blog

Read her post about Carnaval

Saturday, July 20   
6:27 p.m. flight on American Airlines from Miami to Santiago (hotel or bed and breakfast)

Sunday, July 21  The Spanish Legacy    
Basilica del Cobre (Cuba’s patron saint) and Morro fortress; orientation presentation at Museum of Carnival; attend opening night of Carnival

Monday, July 22  The Independence Wars and US Intervention   
Maceo Memorial honoring a leader of the mambisi independence struggle; learn about US supporters like Clara Barton of US Red Cross and Dynamite Johnny O'Brien; memorial at San Juan Hill to Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders;  museum of the Cuban-Spanish-American war for the local side of the story; swim at the beach with a Spanish wreck; dinner at seaside seafood restaurant; carnival fair in a neighborhood

Tuesday, July 23  The Revolution   
Biran, the large plantation owned by the father of Fidel and Raul Castro; Moncada Barracks museum (site of the failed first stage of the Cuban revolution); gravesites of independence leader Jose Marti and Fidel Castro; dinner at Terrazas La Caridad, a paladar that also roasts its own coffee; enjoy music and dancing or carnival

Wednesday, July 24  Cultural Focus   
Dance class at Artex; Asociasion Cubana de Artesanos Artistas and Casa de Diego Velazquez; light lunch on roof of Casa Granda; ceramics museum near ICAP;  presentation at Centro Cultural Africano on slavery and its current impact; performance by Café Caliente; roast pig dinner at Centro; enjoy music and dancing or carnival

Thursday, July 25  Guantanamo                                                            
The origin of Cuba’s traditional music, including Tumba Francesa and the Museum of Changui; lunch in paladar el Karey; Zoolagico de Piedra; evening of music and dance at cultural center of Artex

Friday, July 26   Caimanera

The Cuban town adjacent to the US base*; meet community leaders and artists; lunch at Caimenera; discuss local culture and the history of the Guantanamo base during lunch meeting with UNEAC and professors from University of Guantanamo; return to hotel or casa particular in Santiago; enjoy music and dancing

Saturday, July 27   

La Gran Piedra natural reserve and botanical garden; personally explore the city; attend final night of Carnival

Sunday, July 28

Drive in morning to Holguin, 9:10 a.m. Jet Blue flight to Fort Lauderdale; or personal day in Santiago and fly to Miami 8:45 p.m.

In Santiago, choose to stay at the newly renovated Imperial Hotel or at a casa particular (bed and breakfast).


We are offering two price and lifestyle options, a very good conveniently located hotel, probably the Imperial, or a casa particular (bed and breakfast). 


The registration deadline is June 15, 2019.  Please complete this form as soon as possible:  https://tinyurl.com/SantReg  A $150 contribution confirms participation.   Some participants will begin their trip with independent time in Havana and join us on July 19th to drive to Santiago with an overnight in Camaguey.

Cubismo video from Carnaval



* Learn the Cuban perspective on the base from the video "All Guantanamo is Ours"

***************

Addition of Holguin and Baracoa    (subject to interest)

Sunday, July 28  Holguin
Drive to Holguin; visit the three plazas of Holguin and the cross on the hill overlooking the city; night of music and dance with Cuban friends

Monday, July 29  Holguin
Indigenous gravesite museum and the replica of a Taino village; company town of United Fruit and the church in Banes; site where Dynamite Johnny O’Brien landed with arms and soldiers for the mambisis; landing site of Columbus; enjoy the beach with Cuban friends; night of music and dance with Cuban friends

Tuesday, July 30  Baracoa
Drive to Baracoa; museum and beach of Cajobabo where Jose Marti and Maximo Gomez landed in 1895; lunch in paladar of Jose; meet President of UNEAC and/or historian of Baracoa Alejandro Harmant; pre-Colubus archeological museum Cuevas de Paraiso; swim at Duaba river; dinner in paladar Marco Polo or La Colonia; sociocultural project Atabey (painting, music, sculpture); Casa de la Trova

Wednesday, July 31  Baracoa
Sendero del Cacao; Rancho Toa; boat to Tibaracon del Toa;  swim or hike; lunch at Rancho Toa Almuerzo Campestre; coconut farm and production center; dinner with university professors; music and dance at Terraza Artex, discoteca el Ranchon or discoteca El Parque

Thursday, August 1
Drive to Holguin airport; morning flight to Ft. Lauderdale on Jet Blue or evening flight to Miami on American Airlines; or travel independently by bus to Camaguey, Santa Clara, Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Bay of Pigs, Matanzas, Havana, and/or Pinar del Rio 

From Wikipedia:

The Americans decided to invade Cuba and to start in Oriente, where the Cubans had almost absolute control. They cooperated by establishing a beachhead and protecting the U.S. landing in Daiquiri. The first U.S. objective was to capture the city of Santiago de Cuba in order to destroy Linares' army and Cervera's fleet. To reach Santiago, the Americans had to pass through concentrated Spanish defences in the San Juan Hills and a small town in El Caney. Between June 22 and 24, 1898, the Americans landed under General William R. Shafter at Daiquirí and Siboney, east of Santiago, and established a base.

Battle of San Juan Hill

The port of Santiago became the main target of naval operations. The U.S. fleet attacking Santiago needed shelter from the summer hurricane season, thus nearby Guantánamo Bay, with its excellent harbor, was chosen for this purpose and attacked on June 6 (1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay). The Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3, 1898 was the largest naval engagement during the Spanish–American War, resulting in the destruction of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron (Flota de Ultramar).

Resistance in Santiago consolidated around Fort Canosa,^[18] All the while, major battles between Spaniards and Americans took place at Las Guasimas on June 24, El Caney and San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, outside of Santiago.^[19] after which the American advance ground to a halt. Spanish troops successfully defended Fort Canosa, allowing them to stabilize their line and bar the entry to Santiago. The Americans and Cubans forcibly began a bloody, strangling siege of the city^[20] which eventually surrendered on July 16, after the defeat of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron. Thus, Oriente was under control of Americans, but U.S. General Nelson A. Miles would not allow Cuban troops to enter Santiago, claiming that he wanted to prevent clashes between Cubans and Spaniards. Thus, Cuban General Calixto García, head of the Mambi forces in the Eastern department, ordered his troops to hold their respective areas. He resigned over being excluded from entering Santiago, writing a letter of protest to General Shafter.^[14]

Program revised 1/19/19 and subject to change.  

John McAuliff, Fund for Reconciliation and Development   director@ffrd.org    917-859-9025

FATHER FÉLIX VARELA & THE IRISH IN NEW YORK

FATHER FÉLIX VARELA & THE IRISH IN NEW YORK

Plaque at the Church of the Transfiguration

Father Felix Varela became the advocate for the Irish immigrants in New York from the 1830s to 1850s.  He was exiled to New York from Cuba because of his passionate support of independence, abolition of slavery and equal education for women.  His first teacher, an Irish priest, introduced him to Gaelic. 

Excerpts from a Google search:

Varela fled to New York, the first Cuban exile. There he eventually became Vicar General of the New York Diocese. His special apostolate was to New York's recently arrived Irish immigrants, who were as detested and persecuted in the 19th century as Hispanics are today in this country. Varela built the first Catholic schools for them (open to both sexes, for the first time); the first mutual aid society; the first orphanages; and the first parish to cater to their spiritual and material needs, in the notorious Five Corners section were most of them lived. The Irish clamored for Varela to be their bishop, but Spain vetoed his selection because Varela continued to agitate for Cuba's independence from New York, creating, through his patriotic writings, a distinctive Cuban consciousness and nationality. Martí himself journeyed to Varela's grave, then in St. Augustine, FL, to pay homage to "the man who taught us to think" and consecrate his work of liberation to him. 

http://reviewofcuban-americanblogs.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-father-flix-varela-has-not-been.html

Varela y Morales, Félix (1788–1853)

Félix Varela y Morales (b. 20 November 1788; d. 25 February 1853), Cuban priest, thinker, and patriot. Orphaned at an early age, Varela was still a child when he moved to Saint Augustine, Florida. (The area had been returned to Spain by Britain in 1783 under the Treaty of Paris.) There he was consigned to the care of his maternal grandfather, the commander of the city's Spanish garrison. He became the pupil of Fr. Michael O'Reilly, then the vicar of East Florida, who eventually became his role model. It was Fr. O'Reilly who influenced his decision to enter the priesthood rather than become a soldier, as his family traditions called for. "I wish to be a soldier of Jesus Christ," Varela said at the time. "I do not wish to kill men, but to save their souls."...

Varela published his pro-independence articles in the newspaper El Habanero, which he founded in the United States. At the time, there were many Cubans who were in favor of Spanish rule, and some of them advocated the annexation of the island to Colombia or Mexico, just as others would support annexation to the United States a few years later. Varela argued against all of these paths. He morally justified rebellion against the oppressive colonial government, saying that it was "inspired by nature and upheld by the sacred laws of self-preservation." As for the idea of Cuba becoming the province of a neighboring state, he wrote: "I am the first to oppose the union of the island to any government. I should wish to see her as much of a political island as she is such in geographical terms."

https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/varela-y-morales-felix-1788-1853

In 1837, Varela was named Vicar General of the Diocese of New York, which then covered all of New York State and the northern half of New Jersey. In this post, he played a major role in the way the American Church dealt with the tremendous influx of Irish refugees, which was just beginning at the time. His desire to assist those in need coupled with his gift for languages allowed him to master the Irish language in order to communicate more efficiently with many of the recent Irish arrivals. 

https://www.revolvy.com/page/F%C3%A9lix-Varela

While in the United States, Fr. Varela published newspapers and many articles on subjects such as human rights, religious tolerance, education and the need for the Spanish and English speaking communities to live in peace.  In 1827, he founded the Church of the Immigrant in the impoverished Five Points district of Manhattan.  Today, known as the Church of the Transfiguration, the parish continues to serve many immigrants.  Fr. Varela became renowned in New York for his charitable works, his ministry to the ill during a cholera epidemic, his ecumenical spirit and respect for non-Catholics, his great devotion to the Mystical Body of Christ, and the missions he preached each year in anticipation of the Feast of Corpus Christi.

In 1837, Fr. Varela was named Vicar General of the Diocese of New York, which at that time included the entire state of New York and northern New Jersey, as well.  Proficient in languages, Fr. Varela learned the Irish language and was instrumental in helping the Irish acclimate to their new country at the beginning of the great migration of the Irish to the United States.

https://thoughtsandprayersforthefaithful.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/sanctity-in-america-ven-felix-varela/



Protected from Spanish assasination by Irish parishioners

The Spanish Governor in Havana, Francisco Vives, decided to apply Varela’s death sentence in New York, dispatching one of his thugs, el tuerto (one-eyed) Morejón of the Havana police to assassinate him. By that time Varela had built a loyal following among his Irish parishioners, who were no friends of colonialists, and they foiled the plot by warning Varela and intimidating the would-be assassin. A one-eyed Spanish-speaking stranger wandering around an Irish neighborhood in lower Manhattan would have been noticed. In any case, Morejón returned to Havana, presumably without earning the 30,00o pesos Vives had offered him. 

https://cubannewyorker.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/the-first-cuban-new-yorker-the-case-for-felix-varela-y-morales/

Varela’s association with Friends of Ireland in 1843 in support of publication of Thomas Mooney's lectures on Irish history

https://books.google.com/books?id=dbHSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR20&lpg=PR20&dq=felix+varela+and+the+Irish&source=bl&ots=VUb8C2ibDI&sig=WjPGg_Pck--dO0FFV9j90MaCZLQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5gLDKjrveAhXITd8KHUlWAJ84KBDoATAHegQIARAB#v=onepage&q=felix%20varela%20and%20the%20Irish&f=false



Varela talks about his support of Irish immigrants in 1800’s New York in “Choosing Peace”:

“I work hard to help Irish families build schools for their children, and I tend cholera patients, and I defend Irish American boys and girls against insults from mobs who hate them just because their parents are immigrants.” 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2076178949

Essay by Cardinal Egan  My Special Saint

https://archny.org/news/my-special-saint



Two observations from Hernán Guaracao, a major on line publisher for the Latino community in Philadelphia, originally from Colombia.  He brings Varela into the present.

"But his greatest achievement in life was not this advocacy for the independence of his homeland, written out in that journalistic enterprise he launched in Old City Philadelphia, but what he did in the following 30 years in New York City, where he moved to lead a life of charity in defense of the poorest of the poor, the undereducated immigrants coming to America in the first half of the 19th century, mostly from an island called Ireland."
...
“No single Latino left a greater imprint on 19th century American culture than Varela,” writes  former Philadelphia Daily News writer and New York Daily News columnist, Juan Gonzalez in his book “Harvest of Empire.” 

http://aldianews.com/articles/opinion/american-saint-latino-descent-father-f%C3%A9lix-varela/42744



Does anybody remember the “Kensington Riots,” when the Catholic Irish confronted the backlash of resistance to their presence they found in Philadelphia in the 19th Century, either because they were poor, or they were undereducated, or they were simply “different”, on top of being catholic, exactly like a good number of Latinos are today?

The life of Father Felix Varela y Morales, when properly publicized and well understood, can be a major point of reference to the current dilemmas of immigration into the United States.

And it can be a call, from the shrine of the memory of a man one step away from being declared a saint by the Catholic church, for the moral responsibility many leaders with power and influence, some of Irish descent, must feel today.

In the profound immigration crisis of today, Varela life’s example can be just an inspiration for action in view of the millions that have come and are now trapped by obsolete laws that keep many on the run, or stigmatized because of the negative images propagated by a society of immigrants that have been harsh with their own kind.

http://aldianews.com/articles/local/essential-latino-furtive-champion-irish-immigrants-19th-century-us/44122

Additional URLs for Cuban, Irish and Irish American links    https://tinyurl.com/IrishCubalinks

VENERABLE FÉLIX VARELA

• HIS SAINTLY LIGHT STILL SHINES IN NEW YORK

  SPRING 2022

  
  Illustrations by Vinny Bove.
  
  By Michael S. Cain
  
  
  VARELA'S PATH TO SAINTHOOD

  ---

  TRACING VARELA'S LIFE

  ---

  
  FOR A DISTINGUISHED NATIVE OF THE CARIBBEAN, it was a rude welcome to America. Fr. Félix Varela, a renowned Cuban philosopher, educator, writer, and statesman, arrived in New York Harbor on December 15, 1823, disembarking from the cargo ship Draper C. Thorndike and stepping into a full-blown blizzard. Unfamiliar with the perils of walking in a northern winter, on his first steps in the country where he would live the next three decades, he slipped and fell on an icy walkway.

  It was an unaccustomed low point in the life of the 35-year-old priest. A few weeks earlier, he had been representing Cuba, then a Spanish colony, as a delegate to the nascent legislative assembly at Cádiz, Spain. In a swift turn of events, the deposed Spanish king had been restored to power and ordered the execution of all who had advocated democracy. Facing certain death if he remained in Europe or returned to his beloved Cuba, Varela escaped at night to Gibraltar, where he boarded the Thorndike, bound for New York.

  Suddenly an exile, the thin priest in his thin cloak stood up from the icy harborside pavement and found his footing in the streets of a new city. Over the next quarter of a century, he would become a humble but prominent force in the Catholic community there, serving the faithful of New York with a selfless devotion that matched the patriotic fervor he felt for his homeland.
   

  "FATHER VARELA . . . HELPS US TO LIVE OUR FAITH AS A FORCE FOR CHANGE IN SOCIETY. SEEING HIS EXAMPLE, WE CAN OFFER OUR OWN CONTRIBUTION WITH THE SAME ENTHUSIASM THAT HE HAD FOR HELPING THE SOCIETIES OF HIS TIME TO LIVE ACCORDING TO JUSTICE AND TRUTH."
  
  ARCHBISHOP VINCENZO PAGLIA, POSTULATOR IN VARELA’S CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION

  
  Félix Varela would never again set foot in Cuba, but he also never stopped working on behalf of its people, pointing the way for them toward a freedom that would not come in his lifetime. Two centuries later, he is still revered by Cubans and Cuban-Americans of all political persuasions. The cause for his canonization, initiated in the 1980s, is principally overseen by the Archdiocese of Havana. But it is his life after 1823 – his years as a New York priest – that mark Varela unmistakably as a man of God.
  
  FÉLIX VARELA Y MORALES WAS BORN into a military family in Havana, Cuba, in 1788. Orphaned at the age of 3, he was raised by his paternal grandparents in St. Augustine, Florida, where his grandfather was commander of the Spanish garrison. An intelligent, curious child, slight in stature, young Félix took eagerly to his studies in Latin, religion, and history. 

  When Varela was 14, his grandfather told him it was time to turn from academic pursuits and enroll in military training. The boy politely refused. “I want to be a soldier of Jesus Christ,” he said. When the commander became angry, Félix responded, “I don’t wish to kill men. I want to save their souls.” Though he was not destined to be a warrior, young Varela did not lack for courage.

  Instead of a military academy, his grandfather sent Varela to the Seminary of San Carlos in Havana. There the young man was quickly recognized as a rising star. He became a priest, a professor, and by his mid-twenties, one of the colony’s foremost philosophers and thinkers.

  As a professor and speaker, Varela showed no fear in exploring and expanding the potentially dangerous ideas of the era he lived in: the abolition of slavery, the overthrow of absolute monarchies and colonial empires. He became known as a speaker who explained ideas so clearly and persuasively that even those who disagreed with him sat up and listened. As a writer, teacher, and delegate to the Spanish Cortes, the priest stood up for what he believed in.
  
  AFTER HIS LANDING IN AMERICA, it took Varela more than a year to get his credentials verified to serve as a priest in the Diocese of New York. By February 1825, he had begun serving as a parochial vicar at St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street in Manhattan. He had learned to speak English, and had begun to settle into his duties: saying Mass, hearing confessions, performing baptisms, visiting the sick. In the evenings, the priest also found time to write and edit El Habanero, a magazine for Cuban readers. And the rulers of Spain and Cuba still wanted him dead.

  In March 1825, an assassin landed in New York City, dispatched by associates of Francisco Vives, the colonial governor of Cuba. His instructions: to kill Fr. Félix Varela.

  The priest received a letter of warning. His friends in the Cuban expatriate community were able to learn the assassin’s identity, but not his whereabouts. They entreated Varela to go into hiding, but he refused. Instead, he went about his business apparently unperturbed. He was not going to let threats turn him from his new mission of helping to build the Catholic Church in America, ministering to the needs of its people.

  One day, walking the streets of his parish, the priest encountered the man who had been sent to murder him. In a spirit of compassionate forgiveness, he approached the would-be assassin and counseled him against committing a grave sin. The man listened. Then he returned to Cuba, his mission unfulfilled, while Varela carried on his own with hardly a pause.
  
  BEFORE THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, under British rule, Catholicism was banned in New York. Five decades later, as Varela began his priesthood there, a strong anti-Catholic sentiment still prevailed among many in the Protestant majority. Catholics had to be careful. They could be assaulted in the streets. On one occasion, hundreds of Catholics had to form a human shield around St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Mulberry Street (now known as the Basilica of Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral) to stop a Protestant mob from ransacking and burning it.  

  There were two Catholic churches in New York City in 1825: St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street. The diocese opened a third, St. Mary’s, in a former Presbyterian church building on Sheriff Street, in 1826; and the following year, Varela, using his own funds and money raised from the community, purchased a fourth: an old Episcopal church in Ann Street called Christ Church. Varela became pastor of a new Catholic parish there. Its population was generally very poor, and most of the money to operate it came from Varela’s supporters in Cuba and New York.

  

  "FATHER VARELA DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO THE SICK, THE POOR, AND THE HELPLESS. HE WAS CALLED ‘THE APOSTLE OF THE IRISH’ FOR HIS WORK WELCOMING IMMIGRANTS AND TENDING TO THEIR NEEDS."
  
  BISHOP OCTAVIO CISNEROS, VICE POSTULATOR IN VARELA’S CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION

  
  The skills and the passion for justice that Félix Varela had developed in the first 35 years of his life turned out to be just what the Catholic Church in New York needed. His command of the principals of governing served the Church well when parish board members made unruly demands; his problem-solving skills helped keep parishes financially solvent; and his command of language enabled him to build strong community bonds. His talents at oratory captivated congregations during his homilies and, at public forums, unmasked the distortions of demagogues fomenting anti-Catholic sentiment.

  Soon he was writing articles in English and co-publishing the New York Weekly Register and Catholic Diary, which was widely read among the immigrant Irish. He wrote an English-language catechism for religious education and opened free Catholic schools for girls and boys next door to Christ Church, where he oversaw instruction and taught many classes himself. The schoolchildren there could hardly have imagined they were being taught by one of the most celebrated professors in the Americas.

  In 1829, Bishop Jean Dubois named two vicars general for the Diocese of New York: Fr. John Power, the pastor of St. Peter’s, and Fr. Félix Varela. Varela would serve in the role until 1850. Under their management, the Catholic Church in New York grew rapidly. Six new parishes were created in the diocese (which at the time encompassed the entirety of what is now New York state, plus part of northern New Jersey). With the help of the Sisters of Charity, schools and orphanages were created – often with a considerable portion of the funds obtained through the efforts of the Cuban priest. Upon receiving one particularly generous donation, Varela funded an asylum for widows and their children, which would be run by the Sisters of Charity; the site of the asylum would eventually become St. Vincent’s Hospital.

  With its founding philosophy of religious tolerance, the United States attracted many Catholic immigrants, especially from Ireland, where the faith was being suppressed. This added fuel to the virulent anti-Catholic movement in New York and elsewhere, and Félix Varela proved to be one of the church’s most effective forces to counterbalance it. In 1830 and 1831, in addition to appearing on debate stages, he published a periodical called The Protestant’s Annotator and Abridger, in which he patiently dissected each scurrilous charge of a popular anti-Catholic periodical called The Protestant. While other Catholic leaders responded angrily to the insults of the Church’s detractors, Varela was a peacemaker. “In an era of blinding religious animosities,” wrote biographers Joseph and Helen M. McCadden, “Varela was the pioneer ecumenist, able to conduct dialogue without violence, astonishing his opponents by his learning, his patient exposition.”
  
  WHILE VARELA'S WRITINGS AND SPEAKING engagements afforded him a public platform from which to proclaim his faith, the work that he did in New York quietly and without calling attention to himself was an even more remarkable sign of his devotion to the mission of Jesus on Earth. The Cuban priest embodied the notion of selflessness. His service to the poor and marginalized was immediate, direct, and deeply personal. Among Irish immigrants, many of whom came off the boats in desperate need, Varela was known as a tireless champion and supporter. 

  During the cholera epidemic of 1832, according to one contemporary, Varela “virtually lived in the hospitals.” He went to greet immigrant ships, going to the aid of the penniless and often sick passengers as they disembarked. Because of his loving approach to people of all denominations, even those who looked down on Catholics, he was able to gain access to institutions that other priests were barred from, including New York City Hospital, which was managed by Protestants (but full of Catholic patients).

  Eventually, stories of his benevolence made him famous despite his avoidance of the spotlight. On one occasion, Varela was approached by a poor woman while eating his lunch. He excused himself for a moment, washed the spoon he was using, and handed it over to her. “Money have I none,” he is reported to have said. “But take this silver spoon, the last from my homeland – it will fetch enough to feed your family.” The woman was subsequently arrested on suspicion of having stolen the spoon, and when Varela went to the police to vouch for her, the incident was reported in the press.

  Other accounts of his selflessness also spread through the city. There was the wintry day on Chambers Street when a poor, shivering woman with a baby in her arms was approached by an unidentified man who quietly removed his own cloak and draped it over her, then slipped away coatless. Onlookers followed the mysterious benefactor and recognized Varela letting himself into his residence on Reade Street.

  In Félix Varela: Torch Bearer from Cuba, the McCaddens describe his housekeeper’s “constant battle to keep him supplied with essentials. Whatever was nearest to hand – his watch, his silver, the dishes from his table, the household linens and blankets, his own garments – he gave to those in need.” When people came seeking help, “he often supplied the receivers of alms through a side window or rear door.”
  
  BY THE LATE 1840s, Varela’s health was failing. He had never fully adapted to the climate of New York, and his respiratory ailments became increasingly serious. Between 1847 and 1849, he experienced debilitating bouts of asthma and “consumption,” going south to recover and then returning north with renewed vigor, resuming his daily rounds of “sick calls, confessions . . . confraternities &c.,” in the words of one of the priests in his parish. In 1850, however, he left New York for the last time, relocating to St. Augustine, Florida, where he had lived as a boy.

  By now the Cuban was widely renowned among American Catholics. He made a deep impression in Savannah, Georgia, as Fr. Jeremiah O’Connell recalled in an 1878 article: “In Savannah . . . his memory is held in deep veneration by the faithful and all who made his acquaintance. How he lived was a wonder to his friends, for he gave everything he had to the poor.”

  After three years serving the people of St. Augustine, Fr. Félix Varela died in February 1853, surrounded by parishioners who sought his blessing or simply wanted to be in his presence. Among the congregation, he was already considered a saint for his kindness and good works.
   

  "VENERABLE FÉLIX VARELA WAS A HERO OF CUBAN INDEPENDENCE AND A GREAT NEW YORKER. . . . HE SERVED THE CHURCH AS PRIEST, PASTOR, AND VICAR GENERAL, ATTENDED THE SICK, WELCOMED IMMIGRANTS, AND GAVE OF HIS OWN BELONGINGS TO HELP THE NEEDY: A PURE SERVANT OF CHRIST."
  
  CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN

  
  “Varela loved all men, and Varela has been loved by all,” observed Cuban scholar José Maria Casal a month after Varela’s death, in a speech to dedicate a St. Augustine chapel built in the priest’s memory. “Cubans owe Varela not only love, but profound veneration.”

  Many non-Cubans felt – and feel – the same way. At the Church of the Transfiguration on Mott Street in Manhattan, a parish Varela founded in 1838 after Christ Church suffered irreparable structural damage, he is still proudly claimed as the original force behind a parish known to this day for diversity and service to the poor.

  The Archdiocese of New York proudly endorsed the cause for Varela’s canonization when it was launched in 1983, and New York Catholics rejoiced in 2012, when the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared him venerable. “Venerable Félix Varela was a hero of Cuban independence and also a great New Yorker – the kind of man who just couldn’t help being generous and kind,” says Cardinal Timothy Dolan. “He served the Church as priest, pastor, and vicar general, attended the sick, welcomed immigrants, and gave of his own belongings to help the needy: a pure servant of Christ.”

  The streets of lower Manhattan that he walked almost two centuries ago would be unrecognizable to Varela today – though if he searched among the tall buildings and busy streets he would find two parishes that claim him as founder. His light still shines there, and throughout the world. †

  
  A statue of Venerable Félix Varela at Transfiguration Church.
• https://archwaysmag.org/venerable-felix-varela
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