For over 58 years, Cuba and the example of the Cuban Revolution has been a beacon of hope for people everywhere fighting for a better world. Despite a cruel and illegal US blockade against Cuba, which is still in place today, Cuba has continued to provide it’s people with their most basic human rights, housing, healthcare, education and access to healthy food and clean water.
In order to celebrate these incredible achievements, and to educate people about all of Cuba’s accomplishments, Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) organizes cultural and political events across the Vancouver region.
On May 13, 2017 VCSC brought people together for a night of trivia about Cuba that included questions on Cuban history, culture, environment and sports. The trivia game was played in teams, which left the room abuzz with whispered debates and a friendly debate or two!
The engaging evening also featured stories from Janine Solanki, a recently returned participant in the 2017 Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade. Janine had barely gotten off the plane direct from Eastern Cuba, when she arrived at the event, and she was alive with many fond and moving stories about her time on the Brigade this year.
The event ended with Vancouver’s premiere screening of the short Cuban documentary "The Power of the Weak" about Jorge "Jorgito" Jerez. Jorgito is a Cuban revolutionary and activist and a speaker on issues around living with Cerebral Palsy. His inspirational story of love and struggle, and especially about his role in fighting for the freedom of our five Cuban heroes, brought tears to the eyes of just about everyone in the room.
Proyecto Cultural Sur event
Then, on Friday May 26, Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba and Proyecto Cultural Sur – Vancouver joined forces to co-organize this year’s edition of the Vancouver International "Words in the World" Festival. The International “Words in the World” Festival is a world-wide annual event coinciding with the Havana International Poetry Festival.
This year, “Words in the World” in Vancouver paid tribute to Salvador Allende, the President of Chile that was killed in a right-wing US-backed coup d'etat in Chile in 1973. The event, which was held outside on a beautiful spring time evening, featured poets from across Latin America, Canada and North Africa, and poems in three languages: Spanish, English and Arabic. There was also delicious food to be shared, and each participant was given a certificate for their contributions from Proyecto Cultural Sur – Vancouver.
Follow Alison Bodine on Twitter: @Alisoncolette
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