A Little Guajira Invented the Cappuccino!

Who invented the Cappuccino?

Capuchin friar Marco d'Aviano (circa 1683) is given credited, but I'm not so sure.

Supposedly, sacks of Turkish coffee were captured when the Romans repelled the Muslim invaders. However, the soldiers found straight up espresso was too bitter for their palate. Friar d'Aviano's heavenly brainstorm was to add frothy milk and sweetner to the black brew. Thus was borne the Cappuccino -- and the metrosexual Romano!

Far fetched? I think so.

Los Romanos reigned for centuries as the baddest of Europe -- a ruthless and fearsome killing machine, but to drink coffee these lords of war needed sugar and frothy milk? Hmmmm. (On 2nd thought, perhaps it's true. After all, while some men drank Scotch, Rum, Vodka and Tequila, Romans preferred syrupy and fruity concoctions, e.g., Amaretto, Sambuca and Cianti.)

A more plausible story? How about a little Guajira Cubana -- Carrie's abuelita -- as creator of the Cappuccino! Y Por Que No?

Watch the video!

Marga Gomez' Funny Life

In this clip, Marga Gomez talks about the emotional high of Barack Obama's election followed by the low of the California Gay marriage ban. She knows how to turn pain into laughter. It's a skill she honed as a young woman.

The daughter of Cuban comedian Wilfredo Gomez (aka, Willy Chevalier) and Puerto Rican dancer Margarita Estremera, Marga was raised in Manhattan and Long Island's Massapequa. (Talk about extremes!) It was her experience as a lonely and only Latina at the Massapequa High School, along with the family performance gene that she credits with turning her onto comedy.

An upcoming comedic venture is called Long Island Iced Latina. Here's the blurb:

Gomez continues to workshop this intoxicating comedic memoir of her awkward adolescence in Massapequa, Long Island, mixing equal parts cultural confusion, chronic virginity, mother-daughter instability and a splash of polyester fashion to paint a sardonic picture of her uprooted life as the new brown girl in a white high school.

January 8 – January 17, 2009
Marga Gomez’s
LONG ISLAND ICED LATINA
The Marsh Theatre
1062 Valencia
San Francisco, California
Two weeks of Workshop Performances
Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Tickets $15-$50

Links:
Marga Gomez - MySpace
Marga Gomez Videos
The Marsh's new Winter-Spring season
Marga Gomez -Wikipedia
Marga Gomez -Answers
From Miss Gomez to “jaded lesbian,” Marga Gomez grows up?

Cubans for Obama: Shifts in the South Florida Latino Vote

The Republican Cubans' grip on South Florida politics is lessening with each passing day, and Barack Obama may be a beneficiary of this trend next Tuesday.

The larger reason has to do with the region's changing demographics.

Older Cuban exiles are dying off and for the younger, U.S. born Cubans--as well as later refugees--the 'Cold War' framework of these elders is something of a relic of the past.

Democratic Support Grows Among Cuban-Americans
US Election Cuban voters report - Download (WM)
Jorge Mas Santos Favors Barack Obama
Cubans see hope for change in Obama
Obama Courts Cuban-American Voters

While most Cuban Americans are strongly anti-Castro and anti-communist, a growing number believe that the 50 year old U.S. policy towards Cuban has failed. Additionally, some question wisdom of prohibiting access and direct support to family members in Cuba; while others are perplexed by the prohibitions against direct support to Cuban pro-Democracy groups and dissidents.

Furthermore, younger South Florida Cuban Americans are more concerned about the economic security and safety of their families here in the U.S. They--like other Americans navigating today's shifting economic and political situation--respond with a healthy diversity of views and personal preferences.

Voters are focusing on what the candidates say about domestic economic and political issues... and not on how the candidates could improve relations with their home country. Jorge Pinon, Cuba expert at the Center for Hemispheric Policy

Another factor in the shifting politics of South Florida is the growing number of non-Cuban Latinos. Americans of Cuban heritage are ferwer than 50% of South Florida Latinos--and are likely to drop to just 25% within a decade. Newer arrivals from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and the Dominican Republic are diluting the Cuban conservative political influence. Moreover, these new residents are reframing the political conversation and views of the South Florida Latino community.

Related:
Florida Latino Profile
Cubans for Obama
Cuban for Obama

Jorge Mas Santos Favors Barack Obama

Jorge Mas Santos of the Cuban American National Foundation, the leading Cuban exile organization with a distinctly conservative Republican hue, spelled out the five policy changes the presidential candidates must pursue to win the Cuban American vote (How to Win the Cuban American Vote, WashPo 10.25.08).

1) Allow direct aid to dissidents.
2) Lift restrictions on travel and remittances.
3) Maintain sanctions on hard currency.
4) Engage democratic forces in Cuba.
5) Rebuild U.S. intelligence capabilities in Cuba.

Furthermore, Mas Santos cited George W. Bush's failed policies towards Cuba, and then concludes his letter with an endorsement of Barack Obama as the candidate whose US-Cuba approach best matches his proposal.

Stunning!

Controversial. Upsetting to some (as expressed here and here). And potentially a game-changer for the evolving politics of South Florida. Stay tuned!

Buena Vista Social Club's Carnegie Hall CD to be Released 10/14/08

A group of Cuba's aging musical geniuses came together as Buena Vista Social Club in the late '90's and exploded onto the world music scene. Their album Buena Vista Social Club, produced by Ry Cooder, is the biggest selling world music album ever, with over 8 million records sold.

Now ten years after the group's performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, which became the center-piece of the hugely successful film directed by Wim Wenders, the recording of that historic event is about to hit music stores across the globe. BTW: It's only the second album ever by the original Buena Vista Social Club.

Ceiling Fans, Courtly Men And a Whiff Of Old Cuba is Jon Pareles' review (NYTimes, 7.3.1998) of Buena Vista Social Club's historic performance at Carnegie Hall. Here's the intro:

The Buena Vista Social Club basked in the latest wave of Cubaphilia when it performed on Wednesday night. The concert was more than a musical occasion. Musicians from Cuba in their 70's, 80's and 90's, some emerging from retirement, were making their United States debuts at no less than Carnegie Hall.

The fabulous Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall (2 CD) [LIVE] will be released October 14, 2008. Click here to listen to some of the tracks.

Benicio Del Toro wins Cannes award as 'Che'

Oscar-winner Benicio Del Toro won Cannes' Best Actor award Sunday for his role as "Che" Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's film on the revolutionary hero.

Benicio was born in San German, Puerto Rico but grew up in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Gustavo Adolfo del Toro Bermúdez and Fausta Sánchez Rivera, who were both lawyers. When he was nine years old, his mother died of hepatitis. At the age of thirteen, Benicio's father moved his two sons to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.

Related:
Benicio Del Toro
Che
New Photos of Benicio Del Toro in Steven Soderbergh's Che
Benicio, Evo y Che

Picking Leaders: USA vs Cuba

The contrast between the political systems of the United States of America and Cuba couldn't be more sharply drawn than in how each country chooses it leader.

The U.S. is in the throes of spirited primary elections to select the presidential candidates for the two major parties. Additionally, smaller parties will gather their members in conventions over the next 5 months and select their candidates. In the fall, some 150 million Americans will cast votes for their favorite--and someone will emerge as America's new president for a four year term.

Things are just a tad different in Cuba. This week there, one aging despot named Castro simply handed over his dictatorial powers to another aging despot named Castro. That was it. Of course, they'll have some "pick-from-a-list-of-one" candidate--Raul--in a charade they'll call an election by the people.

Yes, the process in America needs improvements: it's too cumbersome, frought with abuse and biased towards the major parties and special interests. However, what the Cuban people are made to accept is morally bankrupt and politically corrupt!

Viva Cuba Libre! Si, Se Puede!

Cane: 1st All Latino Primetime Dramatic TV Series

The much anticipated drama Cane, starring Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo and Rita Moreno, premier's tomorrow as part of CBS's new fall line-up.

Set in Miami, Cane is about a wealthy Cuban-American family torn by rivalries as its sugar and rum businesses are passed down to the next generation.

Cane has generated a great deal of Buzz within the Latino community. It's also generating some controversy. Miami Cuban bloggers are not happy that the cast is largely Puerto Rican. And others are rightly worried that the program will stereotype Miami Cubans as a people obsessed with money, race and social class.

However, ensuring the authenticity of the series is creator Cynthia Cidre, a writer of Cuban American heritage. Cidre and the series producers have gone to great lengths to make the settings, language, food, music, family structure, etc., convincingly Cuban Latino with a South Florida flair.

Following on the heels of Ugly Betty, George Lopez, The Mind of Mencia--and adding to America's established appetite for Shakira, Mojitos, Latin resorts and Latin Ballroom, a successful Cane could help American coach potatoes find their inner Latino, too.

Stay tuned, America!

Related article:

Is American TV ready to tune in Latino culture?

Musical Aims To Put Cruz's Name Back In Lights

Musical Aims To Put Cruz's Name Back In Lights (by Leila Cobo, Reuters - 7.8.07)

Latin-themed musicals are a rare commodity in the theater business.

But an upcoming production based on the life of Cuban music queen Celia Cruz has potential to reach Latin and mainstream audiences in a major way.

The biggest draw of "Celia: A Musical Journey," set to open September 12 off-Broadway at New World Stages, is the artist's name.

Cruz, who died in July 2003 at 77, was one of the most universally beloved figures in Latin music. Since her death, she has been remembered with a handful of biographies, TV specials, greatest-hits albums and her very own traveling Smithsonian exhibit.

A musical would undoubtedly draw Cruz fans, but it could also grow from there.

More

Jose 'EL Nino' Temprana a Citizen at 105

MIAMI - (AP - 6.30.07) A 105-year-old Cuban-born man who had at least one pending wish finally had it fulfilled — he became a U.S. citizen.

"I feel different," said Jose Temprana, who served 30 years in Cuban jails. "Satisfied, very happy. It was worth the wait."

Temprana has the vitality of a younger man. Nicknamed "El Nino" (The Boy), he rides his scooter to the store to play the lottery, rolls his own cigars, drinks whiskey with neighbors and has a girlfriend.

"He's just got a great spirit," said his neighbor Patti Hernandez. "Everybody's going, `Come on, he can't really be that old.'"

Temprana was born in the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio on Sept. 26, 1901. He worked as a sponge diver and lobster fisherman and had eight children with his first wife, who died giving birth to the youngest. He remarried, and his second wife died in 2002.

In 1964, he was imprisoned in Cuba for smuggling weapons from the United States into the island. Temprana got out at age 93, applied for a humanitarian visa and flew to Miami.

Once here, he worked to get his citizenship but fell short twice.

"I've wanted ... it since I was 8 or 10 years old," Temprana said.

School Board Seeks Banning of Vamos a Cuba

Florida school board wants Cuba book banned (by Laura Wides-Munoz, AP - 6.5.07)

MIAMI - A children's book about life in Cuba has parents and school board members demanding its removal from district libraries even though it only features wholesome topics.

To many in this heavily Cuban-American community, "Vamos a Cuba" ("A Visit to Cuba") is extremely offensive because it lacks any criticism of the country's dictator Fidel Castro or his communist government.

[T]he American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Miami-Dade Student Government Association challenged the removal in court.

More

The Porto Rican Indians of the Carlisle School

It was common for the federal government and religious institutions to remove young Native Americans from their families and placed them in Indian boarding schools far from home.

Hundreds of these schools operated in the United States from the late 1800s through the 1950s.

“Kill the Indian and save the man.”
Founder of The Carlisle School, U.S. Army General Richard H. Pratt

Indian schools proliferated after Army officer Richard H. Pratt, who worked with Apache prisoners in St. Augustine, Florida, convinced the U.S. Congress to give him funding and use of deserted army barracks to operate boarding schools for Indian children.

Pratt believed that removing Indian children from their culture and subjecting them to strict discipline and hard work would force their assimilation into mainstream society.

Congress' support was based on cost. It was also thought that the U.S. Army could save the thousands of dollars it took to kill an Indian by forcibly changing young Indians into ‘Americans’, which would cost only a few hundred dollars.
Needless to say, many Indian students did die, and many more were physically and mentally maimed for life. At the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania alone, there 186 graves of Indian children.

Surprisingly, many students from Puerto Rico and Cuba were also enrolled at the Carlisle and other U.S. boarding schools. It was part of a U.S. program following the Spanish American War of 1898 to "Americanize" the populations of Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Educator and author Sonia M. Rosa discovered this forgotten part of American-Puerto Rican history and has written about it a paper titled The Puerto Ricans at Carlisle Indian School. It's a short but fascinating study of the Puerto Ricans at the Carlisle Indian School, a group of young Boricuas which came to be known as the Porto Rican Indians.

The Taíno People of Cuba

Indians in Cuba (by Jose Barreiro, Cultural Survival Quarterly Issue 13.3 - 9.30.89)
Punta Maisi, Cuba

The old Indian woman, a descendant of Cuba's Taíno-Arawak people, bent over and touched the leaves of a small tree. Her open-palmed hand lifted the round, green leaves in a light handshake. "These are good for inflammations of the ovaries," she said. "I gave them to all my young women." "She knows a lot," her daughter, Marta, said. "She doesn't need a pharmacy. You have something wrong with your body, she can make you a tea - un cocimiento - and fix you up."

The mother and two sisters, part of a large extended family known in this town for its Indian ancestry, continued to show me their patio. Around an old well, where they wash their laundry, they pointed out more than a dozen herbs and other useful plants. The Cobas Hernandez clan, from which Maria and her several daughters, her son, Pedro, and his brothers spring, counts several living generations of families from here to the city of Baracoa, about 120 km west from Los Arados on Cuba's southern coast. They are not the only such extended family and they are not the only people of clear Indian ancestry in Cuba still living in their aboriginal areas.

It may surprise many social scientists that nestled in the mountains of the Oriente region (eastern Cuba), from Baracoa on the southern coast all the way to the Pico Turquino, the highest mountain in Cuba, there are numerous caserios, several barrios, and at least one community of more than a thousand Indian people. They were called Cubeños by Father Bartolome de Las Casas, who helped some of their communities to survive, and are ancestors of the original Taínos who met Columbus.

In March and April 1989, I traveled to Santiago de Cuba to attend a conference, "Seeds of Commerce," mutually sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and a Cuban research center, the Casa del Caribe. I took the opportunity to extend my visit for two weeks, first in the Baracoa-Punta Maisi region and then west to the plains country of Camaguey. I wanted to ascertain the veracity of testimonies that I had heard as a child and that have been recently published in Cuban academic journals, to the effect that Taino-Arawak descendants inhabit the eastern region of Cuba. I wanted to reacquaint myself with the people of guajiro background still prevalent in the Camaguey countryside.

Click here for the full article.

Thanks to Tomas Waribonex Luzojos of the Taíno Nation of the Antilles for finding this article. The Taíno Nation's Official Taino Nation News is an informative site for Taíno related articles, notices and commentary.

Cultural Survival promotes the rights, voices and visions of indigenous peoples.

Read other articles by Jose Barreiro published in Indian Country Today.