November 18: Dr. Julia E. Sweig Presents Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know

In collaboration with The Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, Books & Books will host Julia E. Sweig on Nov. 18, as she comes to Miami to present her latest book, Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know. Dr. Sweig is the Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin American Studies and the Director of Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a leading expert on Cuba, Latin America, and US policy toward the region.

In her latest book, published in June 2009, Dr. Sweig makes use of two decades of research to shed light on the complexities of Cuban reality and its politics.

If you're in Miami, mark your calendars!

Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Books & Books
265 Aragon Avenue
Coral Gables, FL

For additional information about Dr. Sweig and her work, please visit her homepage.

Mensaje de solidaridad para el pueblo cubano

Mensaje de solidaridad para el pueblo cubano

Rodrigo Dantas de Brasil

Music that Helped Bring Down the Wall

From the New York Times:

Musicians Who Poked at the Iron Curtain

By LARRY ROHTER

Guitars, keyboards and drums did not topple the Berlin Wall. But for the young people who helped bring down Communist regimes across Eastern Europe in the fall of 1989, pop music was a profoundly subversive force, inspiration and vital tool of protest for challenging and undermining a totalitarian state stricter than any parent.
...
They saw themselves as rebels with a cause, punks whose lyrics railing against the status quo often carried a heavy cost, including surveillance and the danger of being labeled social parasites because their music could not be legally recorded, played or broadcast.

Click here for the full article.

As more and more Cuban musicians stand up against the status quo it is great to know that what they are doing has been proven to make a difference.

Mensaje de solidaridad para el pueblo cubano

Mensaje de solidaridad para el pueblo cubano

Yoani Sanchez, famed Cuban bloger, was detained and abused today by members of the regime

Information is still coming in about the incident to read the early reports please visit:

Associated Press

El Nuevo

Chicago Tribune