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00:00:00Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Welcome to Sens Films and welcome to Sens Films Cinema Club.
00:00:12If you've never been here before, I just want to explain because some of you might get confused
00:00:21about who we are, what we are. Sens Films is a film production company, we're a film studio,
00:00:28we've been here since 1975 and we occupied this building and we make films and our purpose in life
00:00:36is to, you know, look after film and share films and the film culture is very much the centre of
00:00:43our life. And it is in that context that we started in 2005 this film club which makes it possible for
00:00:53us to share films with the audience like you yourself tonight. And we do it with a different
00:01:02agenda, very much in the tradition of film societies of way back since the 1920s where the agenda is not
00:01:12commercial like in the normal cinemas but it's also political, educational, historical, cultural,
00:01:19there's all sorts of other reasons for looking at films than just selling you a ticket which is why
00:01:26we don't sell tickets in fact. And that's why we focus, we try to engage you, it's your audience
00:01:33participation is to make donations. And you can be very creative that way, you know, you can do it
00:01:41twice, you can do it before, after the film, anyway. But it's just to explain that this is not the main
00:01:47purpose. And tonight we are sharing, we're welcoming the North London Cuba solidarity campaign. I just
00:01:56want to stress the name properly because sometimes I say it wrong. And it's very much in line with
00:02:05our purpose as filmmakers and, you know, people make films because film is a language and a language is
00:02:12used to pass on ideas, to pass on political statements, it's used to speak, it's used to say
00:02:19something. It may be very poetical, it may be very emotional, it may be very personal, but it may also
00:02:25be something which is of the nature of information, of the nature of politics, of the nature of the fact
00:02:33that some groups of people, some nation, Cuba, some group of Palestine, are underrepresented in the media and
00:02:41needs people to give them a platform, an opportunity to express, to put the view, feed the information
00:02:48and share it with a wider audience. And not for a commercial reason, but because of passing it off. So that's why,
00:02:54as a film society, as a film company, we find that there is no contradiction in sharing our space and not just
00:03:01talk about the art. From the next week we're going to talk about the silent films of the 1920s, 1925 with
00:03:08anniversary, centenary of great classics. But there is no contradiction with also looking at things which
00:03:15may be published on YouTube about Palestine or about Cuba or about other issues of that nature
00:03:22because it's part of the use of the same language, which is cinema and the audio-visual
00:03:30language, which we adore and that's why we're doing it. So with this, with me having taught all those things,
00:03:37I would like you to welcome Lorraine, who is part of the campaign.
00:03:47I have to say a very big thank you, as always, to Olivier and to Sands because they are wonderful hosts to us.
00:03:59All the things that Olivier has just said to you, and we are very grateful to them for allowing us to actually
00:04:06give a platform to some of the things that are happening in Cuba.
00:04:11We're going to show, just at the beginning, just a very brief film
00:04:16by an organisation called Belly of the Beast,
00:04:20which is about why, one of the reasons why things are so hard in Cuba at the moment,
00:04:26because of Trump's measures against tourism, and you'll see that in a moment.
00:04:32After that, we have the pleasure of having the Charlotte Affair
00:04:36from the Cuban Embassy coming to speak to the film, and we've got some exciting news
00:04:46about the container that we were part of sending off. So I will leave you with this film. Thank you very much indeed.
00:04:55Thank you very much.
00:05:15This U.S. ambassador just visited Cuba's most famous beach resort, and acted surprised.
00:05:22It was full of Russians. Here's why that's exactly what his government helped create.
00:05:35Here's the thing. The U.S. knows why people from the U.S. and Europe aren't here.
00:05:40U.S. restrictions on travel have made it hard for tourists to visit Cuba.
00:05:44So Cuba's turn into a world will come, not by choice, by necessity.
00:05:49If U.S. officials want to know why Borodero is full of Russians, they should look in the mirror.
00:05:55It's illegal under U.S. law for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba as tourists.
00:06:00That's right. You're breaking the law if you want to spend a day at the beach in Borodero,
00:06:06unless you are the U.S. ambassador. Also, Trump put Cuba on the U.S. terrorism sponsor list,
00:06:13in serio. Guess what? Cuba doesn't sponsor terrorism.
00:06:18This means many Europeans stopped coming here, not because they fear Cuba,
00:06:24because they fear losing their U.S. visa waiver. Basically, if they step foot in Cuba,
00:06:29they can't go to the U.S. anymore without a visa because they could be at February's threat.
00:06:36Because they went on vacation in Cuba. Sin palabras.
00:06:41The good news is some Europeans still come anyway. And if you're from the U.S., you can also visit.
00:06:47Just don't say vacation and maybe don't feel yourself in Borodero like my hand.
00:06:54Instead, you say you're here to support the Cuban people. For real. That's illegal.
00:07:00At least for now.
00:07:01Follow us for real stories from Cuba by the people who lives in.
00:07:16Right. I want to bring you some good news about Links Between Us and Guantanamo,
00:07:21which is the next film we're going to see. Because a month ago, on the 25th of June,
00:07:28a container ship, 20-foot container ship, left London full of all kinds of goods,
00:07:33which we'd all contributed, like descend to Guantanamo, where they've had dreadful times
00:07:40because of earthquakes, hurricanes, power outages, and 60 years of the blockade.
00:07:47So this container has gone to Guantanamo and it arrived just this week on the 26th of July,
00:07:53which many of you will know is Moncada Day, which is the beginning, the initial, the start of the Cuban
00:07:58Revolution back in 1953 when Fidel and Raul led an attack on the Moncada barracks,
00:08:06which failed miserably militarily. But it gave an amazing exposure to Fidel when he
00:08:12he made long speeches and he made a speech about in his defense, which said his history will absolve
00:08:20me. And he went on a long time. So everybody got to know Fidel. And so he gave them a huge PR
00:08:25success, which helped to build the revolution, which then succeeded six years later. So we thought it was
00:08:30a lovely coincidence that the container ship arrived on the 26th of July. I'm a member, I'm Jan,
00:08:40member of North London CSC, and we helped with all our members to collect physical things for the
00:08:47container. And one of our members, Miriam over there is a Cuban in our group, and she's helped organize
00:08:54the logistics of this container. And she's done an amazing job with the help of the people at the
00:09:00embassy, who not only helped running all over London picking up goods, but also arranging packing
00:09:06and repacking the container to fit in as much as possible, because everything came in different
00:09:12shapes and sizes. And they wanted to get as much in that was useful to Cuba. So
00:09:20Cubanas in the UK is what Miriam's part of, and they're Cubans living over here who want to do their
00:09:26bit to feed back to Cuba. And the distribution of the goods which we collected is going to be organized
00:09:33in Guantanamo by Gerardo Hernandez, who's one of the Cuban Five. If you don't know about them,
00:09:40find out, look them up. They were in prison for years, like Mandela. He's the national coordinator of
00:09:47the CDRs. And if you don't know what CDRs are, they're committees for the defense of the revolution in
00:09:53every neighborhood in Cuba. So there's a network all through Cuba of local networks that know the
00:09:58needs of the people. And so they're going to help in distributing the goods from the container to the
00:10:04people who need them most. So that's all. Now let's watch the film and learn more about Guantanamo.
00:10:19Should we turn this light off?
00:10:26Do it on the slides.
00:10:26Will you do it?
00:10:27Okay.
00:10:28Oh, yes.
00:10:28Yes.
00:10:29Is that right?
00:10:30Right.
00:10:30This is my magic.
00:10:31This is my magic.
00:10:41This is my magic.
00:10:43It's____that,
00:10:46my magic.
00:10:51This is a tough one day I wish you were suffering from Lul pers soldier.
00:10:53I wish you were your ending for rookie,
00:10:56to the book changer where my winner is
00:10:58What kind of Stan Mavala originally here is?
00:10:59I wish me 1 week in the blue bar...
00:11:02You've got three or four lettering here.
00:11:04This is my��as hace normal.
00:11:05I'm going to do it.
00:11:06It's free to make another month.
00:11:08It's been discussed that since I'm not lying about.
00:11:09бывает
00:11:11We are occupied by the Yankees.
00:11:15What?
00:11:16The Yankees of the United States.
00:11:18We have stolen a piece of our territory.
00:11:21It's like someone is on your home,
00:11:23taking a piece of illegally.
00:11:25Guantánamo is not the base.
00:11:41Guantánamo, Guantánamo, Guajiro, Guantánamo.
00:11:47Hola, ¿qué tal?
00:11:48Muy buenos días.
00:11:49Sea usted bienvenido a Juntos,
00:11:51el mayor informativo de la radio caimánerense.
00:11:53Bienvenido a esta frecuencia 104.3 de la FM de Cuba,
00:11:58la frecuencia amiga que sale al aire por Radio Bahía.
00:12:02Acompáñenos.
00:12:11Mi proyecto se llama El territorio ocupado ilegalmente por la base naval norteamericana.
00:12:23Bueno, esto se realizó en el concurso historiadores de mi localidad,
00:12:30que se realizó en nuestro municipio Caimanera,
00:12:34que obtuve primer lugar a nivel municipal.
00:12:38Bueno, esta historia comienza en el verano de 1898,
00:12:42en el momento en que la Marina de Guerra norteamericana,
00:12:44cumpliendo las indicaciones del Pentágono,
00:12:47toma el seno marino y establece una base naval de operación.
00:12:52Esta base se oficializa en 1903.
00:12:56Se oficializa mediante la enmienda PLA.
00:12:59Uno de los artículos de esa enmienda
00:13:03que se obligó a añadir a la primera constitución cubana.
00:13:09Decía que Cuba debía arrendar a los Estados Unidos
00:13:13terrenos donde dispusiera para la instalación de bases navales y carboneras.
00:13:20Si no se incorporaban los artículos dictados por el gobierno estadounidense,
00:13:26no se retirarían entonces las tropas norteamericanas que ocupaban el país.
00:13:32Entonces, la base naval tiene un surgimiento sucio, deshonesto,
00:13:37desde su raíz.
00:13:39Y fue un acto de imposición.
00:13:42Sin duda, la base naval de Guantánamo
00:13:48era uno de los sitios más estratégicos de la Marina norteamericana.
00:13:52Por eso lo escogen.
00:13:53La Bahía está en el mismo centro del Mar Caribe.
00:13:55Tiene un calado y una anchura considerable
00:13:59para tener a la vez varias flotas de guerra.
00:14:02La Valley, la Fuentes de Guantánamo
00:14:09Ilha de Guantánamo
00:14:12Irmán
00:14:14Y
00:14:16El grande
00:14:21El grande
00:14:24Quien
00:14:27La Fuentes de Guantánamo
00:16:02here has been from 10.000 to 15.000, and perhaps the number of immigrants that came here,
00:16:09even in the corridors, they slept in the corridors, looking for work in that military enclave.
00:16:15For the children, there was a single school that passed many vicissitudes, even desalojo.
00:16:23The only street asfaltated was the area of prostitution, which served as a recreation of the Marines when they were in Franco.
00:16:35But the rest continued being a lodazal, the houses of cartons and pieces of what they found,
00:16:46continued being analfabetics, the children of Caimanera, even when they had a little less hungry than people from other places,
00:16:56because they had that source of employment close to them.
00:17:00So, that does not give an idea, or does not give an idea, but does not give an idea what we know.
00:17:09Not only the pan lives the man.
00:17:11A partir del triunfo de la revolución en enero de 1959, y también como parte de las provocaciones,
00:17:18de las agresiones que sufre la sociedad guantanamera, la sociedad cubana, proveniente de la base naval,
00:17:24se empiezan a adoptar algunas medidas severas por parte de las autoridades norteamericanas.
00:17:28Empiezan los despidos masivos, fueron despedidos miles de trabajadores,
00:17:33y se quedan algunos cientos de trabajadores, finalmente, ya en 1970.
00:17:39Es decir, esa propia política agresiva norteamericana conlleva que sean despedidos una buena parte de los trabajadores.
00:17:46Quedan unos cientos de trabajadores trabajando allí.
00:17:49Y por supuesto, Cuba respeta eso.
00:17:52Y siguen ganando su salario, viajan diariamente a la base naval,
00:17:56y es un elemento que se tiene en cuenta, hasta que por ley de la vida van poniéndose mayores las personas,
00:18:04y van falleciendo, se van jubilando. En esta ciudad hay cientos de jubilados de la base naval que reciben subvenciones.
00:18:10Ya hace cuatro años que no trabaja ningún trabajador. Los dos últimos se jubilaron.
00:18:16Guantanamero, Guaquiro, Guantanamero. Guantanamero, Guaquiro, Guantanamero.
00:18:25El tiempo que yo trabajé allá lo encontré correcto. Solamente en los últimos instantes fue que hubo esos problemitas ahí, ¿no?
00:18:34De dudas. Para entrar a la base y salir, registraban a uno, ¿no?
00:18:40Y lo mío era constante. Lo mismo para entrar, que para los movimientos que yo daba, me perseguían.
00:18:49Y claro, yo en ese caso me puse... Tenía miedo, ¿no? Tenía miedo de mi vida, pues. Habían pasado cosas allí.
00:18:58¿Seguro que usted no colaboraba con los cirugentes, con la gente de Fidel?
00:19:02Eso es lo que ellos suponían yo.
00:19:05Y la verdad... La verdad es que en algo... En Cuba, en mi pueblo...
00:19:10Pero no... No de espionaje, ¿no? Sino de otras cuestiones.
00:19:16Y yo trabajé en la base hasta... Hasta que invadieron por Bajajirón.
00:19:21Ahí salí. Salí porque yo... Yo tenía miedo de que me pasara algo ahí.
00:19:28Guni es un pájaro de figura muy grotesca, que habita en las islas de los mares del sur.
00:19:34Y que tiene el hábito de alimentarse de la carroña y de los desperdicios que se arrojan por la borda de los barcos de la flota americana.
00:19:41Por eso es que en la base naval, los marineros americanos llaman a los cubanos, Gunis, Gunis.
00:19:49Mi situación de trabajo duró hasta el día de octubre de 1986.
00:19:57Treinta y seis años de servicio.
00:19:59Hasta el año cincuenta y seis, en que viene el problema de la revolución.
00:20:09Sinceramente, y te lo digo de verdad, en aquella época yo nunca fui revolucionario.
00:20:16Yo era gozador. En el año cincuenta y seis me captan.
00:20:22Yo tenía una pila de amigos revolucionarios de verdad alzados aquí en la zona de Guantánamo.
00:20:32Como yo trabajaba en la base, me ponen a trabajar en la parte de materiales, conseguir platinos, condensadores, zapatos,
00:20:43cualquier cosa que se podía conseguir para mandarlo a los alzados que estaban en el área.
00:20:53En honor a la verdad, al ser la bahía de Guantánamo una base naval al servicio del imperio norteamericano,
00:21:00la principal amenaza contra Cuba, contra la revolución cubana.
00:21:03Realmente, un sector de la población cubana no veía con buena cara a los trabajadores de la base.
00:21:10Si le digo otra cosa, le miento. Pero es un poco comprensible el foco de agresión.
00:21:17Pero lo que sí, se respetaron sus derechos humanos fundamentales. Se lo puedo asegurar.
00:21:23Figúrate. Había quien decía, mira este. Este es yankee.
00:21:28Porque no sabía si tú eras de la gente o no. Y en el momento que voy pasando,
00:21:34siento que dice por la autobús, tiembla gusano. No era conmigo.
00:21:40Pero acá yo me llevo el alma. Que me hizo. Me puse erizado, digo.
00:21:47Me puse el gran marino. No tengo miedo.
00:22:03Somos vos.
00:22:05Yo soy el único, principalmente, cuando el otro no se siente muy bien.
00:22:11I am the only one who goes to the border,
00:22:15accompanied by the military,
00:22:18to collect the money from the retirement of 51 people.
00:22:24How do you give them the money to the other side?
00:22:27When the American or American
00:22:30comes accompanied by a captain and a photographer,
00:22:34and an aide,
00:22:36they come with 50 sobres.
00:22:39Then they say,
00:22:41fulana de tal,
00:22:42and I say,
00:22:43you know what I'm going to do,
00:22:44but that's what I'm going to do.
00:22:47When she comes to a guy who died,
00:22:49that I know that he died,
00:22:51I say,
00:22:52I say,
00:22:53I say,
00:22:54I say,
00:22:55then they look after
00:22:57who the family can receive that.
00:22:59That's it just.
00:23:01There's no one.
00:23:03Because the general that we have in Cuba,
00:23:06that's the one who goes to the border,
00:23:07they say,
00:23:08here no one can lose any one kilo,
00:23:10because this is the money of the workers.
00:23:13Look,
00:23:14when I come from the border,
00:23:17I come with a guard here,
00:23:18another here.
00:23:20Guardia Cubana.
00:23:22And the cajones here,
00:23:25they all win the same.
00:23:27There are those who win more than 1,000.
00:23:29There are two people who win 101 pesos,
00:23:33because their father worked very little,
00:23:36others win 200 and a half pesos,
00:23:38others win 300,
00:23:39others win 400,
00:23:40others win 500.
00:23:42many many people who win.
00:23:43They all win the best in the world.
00:23:44They all win $1.
00:23:45They all win $1.
00:23:46They all win $1.
00:23:47Guantanamera, Guantanamera, Guantanamera, Guantanamera.
00:24:00Quiero tener mi bohío en medio de los palmares
00:24:06Quiero tener mi bohío en medio de los palmares
00:24:13Para aliviar mis pesares con tan dulce murmurillo
00:24:19Guantanamera, Guantanamera, Guantanamera
00:24:30Cuando se inicia el siglo XX, se establece la base naval yanqui
00:24:41Para divertimento de los americanos
00:24:43La ciudad se convierte en un espacio para el disfrute de ellos
00:24:48Hay que ver en qué medida ellos llegaban acá a la ciudad
00:24:52En tren, en lo que fuera, e invadían la ciudad
00:24:57Los pases que frecuentemente daba el mando norteamericano a los marines
00:25:04A miles de marines que desembarcaban
00:25:06Y llegaban por esa estación ferroviaria que está a mi espalda
00:25:09Esta ciudad en parte se vestía de blanco
00:25:12Esos marines venían en busca de placeres
00:25:14Y aquí estaba establecida la zona de productivo lo más grande de Cuba
00:25:21Y una de las más grandes del Caribe
00:25:22A partir de los jueves llegaban desde el tren de Caimeanera los americanos
00:25:35Y entonces nosotros no salíamos porque esa calle era para ellos visitar los distintos prostíbulos
00:25:45Y desde chiquitica cuando ya los días de franco mi mamá no nos dejaba salir ni al patio
00:25:55Porque el patio de nosotras estaba ahí en la misma línea por donde pasaba el tren
00:26:03Y yo sí tengo muy malos recuerdos de eso
00:26:06Porque bueno, yo cuando tenía 11 años fue que me mudé de ahí
00:26:11Ellos pensaban que Guantánamo era la plaza de armas de ellos
00:26:16Ellos se iban en el tren
00:26:19Desde el jueves, volvían el viernes, volvían el sábado
00:26:24Y terminaba el weekend el domingo
00:26:27Satisfacían sus intereses personales los marines
00:26:32A costa de las cubanas
00:26:36Con un nivel de desarrollo ínfimo
00:26:40Porque el analfabetismo antes de la revolución estaba donde quiera
00:26:46Y conjuntamente con los marines hay que plantear el alto consumo de bebidas, de cocaína
00:26:53También la sífilis tenía una de las tasas más altas del Caribe
00:26:58Aquí en Guantánamo con esos años
00:27:00Aquí venía el franco norteamericano y había que ver las orgías
00:27:04Que se desenvolvían dentro de esas multitudes de marines norteamericanos
00:27:09Era una ofensa para nosotros
00:27:12Ellos pensaban que esto era un traspatio
00:27:14Ellos lo veían así, que esto era de ellos
00:27:16Porque tristemente aquí se abrió una zona de prostitución muy célebre
00:27:21En un pueblito que no llegaba a 9000 personas
00:27:26Cuando triunfa la revolución que se erradica todo ello
00:27:29Todas ellas pasan a tener otra forma de vivir
00:27:32Se les educa, cambia su forma social
00:27:35La población que se empieza a erradicar acá
00:27:38Fundamentalmente personas de pocos recursos
00:27:41Empieza a transformarse
00:27:45Caimanera es la frontera
00:27:49Es la primera avanzada
00:27:54La mano firme y armada
00:27:59Ante el rostro de la fiera
00:28:03Guajira, Guantanamera
00:28:08Guajira, Guajira, Guajira, Guajira
00:28:10Guantanamera, Guatina, Guantanamera.
00:28:40Guantanamera, Guantanamera, Guantanamera.
00:28:54Tras el triunfo de la Revolución Cubana, la base se convierte en una base de agresión
00:29:00para tratar de derrotar al joven Estado revolucionario.
00:29:03Y es el momento de mayor peligro.
00:29:04Yo tengo el honor de haber trabajado durante 12 años en la Brigada de la Frontera
00:29:13y ahí viví de cerca las afectaciones, las provocaciones.
00:29:20En el año 1968 yo integraba la Unidad de la Defensa Antiaérea
00:29:25y prácticamente no se podía vivir.
00:29:27No nos dejaban desayunar, almorzar ni comer porque los aviones violaban el territorio cubano,
00:29:33pasaban por encima de nuestras unidades.
00:29:36Al romper la barrera del sonido afectaban las construcciones,
00:29:40lo que es cristales, mapoterí y demás.
00:29:44Así como los tanques pesados que hacían sus prácticas,
00:29:47la aviación hacía tiros de combate aquí cercano, en la parte de aquí del oeste,
00:29:56porque ellos sabían que una vez que ellos violaran y pasaran por encima de la unidad,
00:30:00nosotros ocupábamos nuestras posiciones y los poníamos en posición de combate.
00:30:05Y desde la base naval de Guantánamo continúa el hostigamiento de nuestras fuerzas.
00:30:12Dicha base se ha convertido en guarida de malhechores
00:30:15y catapulta de introducción de estos en nuestro territorio.
00:30:21¿Cansaríamos a esta asamblea si hiciéramos un relato medianamente detallado
00:30:27de la multitud de provocaciones de todo tipo?
00:30:29Basta decir que el número de ellas, incluidos los primeros días de este mes de diciembre,
00:30:37alcanza la cifra de 1.323 solamente en 1964.
00:30:45Provocaciones gravísimas son
00:30:46el cruce de la línea divisoria provocando incendios en instalaciones del lado cubano
00:30:52y disparos con fusiles,
00:30:55hechos repetidos 78 veces durante el año,
00:30:58con el saldo doloroso de la muerte del soldado Ramón López Peña,
00:31:04de resulta de dos disparos efectuados por las postas norteamericanas.
00:31:08Porque nosotros nos educamos en el principio de no dejarnos llevar por las provocaciones,
00:31:14porque nos enseñaron a eso,
00:31:16que menos que no se diera la orden por el mando no se podía actuar.
00:31:19Y eso se ha cumplido toda la vida y eso ha evitado un enfrentamiento,
00:31:24a pesar de las provocaciones, no solo la aviación, sino de otro tipo.
00:31:31En ocasiones uno tenía ya siendo oficial que comprobar la defensa
00:31:35y ellos le apuntaban a uno con ametralladoras, lo insultaban y todo eso.
00:31:40Todos los pobladores de aquí vivíamos anteriormente en Boquerón,
00:31:44porque estamos en Mártir de la Frontera.
00:31:46Y hubo que salir de allí,
00:31:48con la cercanía que había y disparos que se realizaban desde el interior de la base,
00:31:52impactaban en las casas.
00:31:54Ahora estamos un poquito más lejos.
00:31:55Y todo eso ha sido daño permanente,
00:31:59desde el punto de vista material y psicológico,
00:32:02porque independientemente de que nuestro pueblo y nosotros nos hemos preparado
00:32:06para enfrentar esa situación y prácticamente se daba como algo normal,
00:32:11pero de todas formas, desde el punto de vista psicológico,
00:32:14nos mantenían afectados.
00:32:16Y se mantuvo esa posición hostil aproximadamente hasta 1992.
00:32:25Donde ya empieza a bajar la tensión
00:32:28y empiezan las conversaciones posteriormente
00:32:31entre el mando norteamericano y el mando cubano.
00:32:34Es decir, ya a finales de los 90 hay unas conversaciones bien establecidas
00:32:38donde se tratan diversos asuntos de interés estadounidense y cubano.
00:32:42Los temas migratorios,
00:32:44los temas de la seguridad de la frontera.
00:32:47Ya cesan esas agresiones violentas,
00:32:51aunque no hay una situación totalmente estable,
00:32:52pero hay una paz bastante relativa, bastante segura.
00:32:56Camina por la ciudad, moviendo bien las caderas,
00:33:01camina por la ciudad, moviendo bien las caderas,
00:33:05y todo el mundo te mira porque eres Guantanamera.
00:33:11Guantanamera y Guantanamera.
00:33:15Guantanamera y Guantanamera.
00:33:19Guantanamera y Guantanamera.
00:33:21Baila conmigo, dale, mi nena.
00:33:24Guantanamera y Guantanamera.
00:33:25Baila bonito, Guantanamera.
00:33:28Guantanamera y Guantanamera.
00:33:29Voz a bajar como una fiera.
00:33:32Guantanamera y Guantanamera.
00:33:34Y llegó el changuicero mayor.
00:33:45living here in Boquerón is a little special, it's something strange, because in any other
00:34:05place in Cuba, you can visit Boquerón, no, Boquerón has only got a special permission
00:34:12to enter, that is, be familiar or work in the village, due to the border, that we are in
00:34:21a limited access zone, that is, it is difficult because it is not the same living here in Boquerón
00:34:27than in other places in Cuba, because the transit is free, here no. We are adapted to live
00:34:34here, simply North Americans are there, we are here in our part, we are here in the
00:34:39area, there are some inconveniences, as of course in all these areas. You are talking
00:34:47with one of those that propicia that the people get distracted and enjoy, I am a promoter
00:34:52cultural here in the community, and precisely, we work well on a cultural program on the
00:34:59weekend, but there are some limitations, for example, in the spaces, we have little space,
00:35:07now we have a mini-gastronomic complex that is working on the weekend, with good offers,
00:35:14and precisely, we are taking advantage of that, the place where people can go, the video
00:35:17room, independently of that many people have a reproduction team, therefore, they do not
00:35:22visit to those places. As a people of Boquerón, we feel pride, we have pride, we have pride,
00:35:28we live here in Boquerón, for the history that this village has.
00:35:31As you can see, here is the North American
00:35:48church and the prison where the young men and men are killed illegally.
00:35:55and the prison where young men and men are tortured illegally.
00:36:00In this place, the most brutal acts are committed against human rights,
00:36:08because there is a prison where people are tortured.
00:36:25There is a prison where they are buried.
00:36:41When you are married, you may drink a lot of protein.
00:36:49I don't know.
00:37:19It's a patriotism that we feel when we're there and we know that those people have taken us apart from our territory and we know that they belong to us.
00:37:49I don't know.
00:37:51I don't know.
00:38:23I know.
00:38:24I know.
00:38:25I know.
00:38:26I know.
00:38:27I know.
00:38:29I know.
00:38:31I know.
00:38:33I know.
00:38:34I know.
00:38:35I know.
00:38:37I know.
00:38:38I know.
00:38:39I know.
00:38:40I know.
00:38:41I know.
00:38:42I know.
00:38:43I know.
00:38:44I know.
00:38:45I know.
00:38:46I know.
00:38:47I know.
00:38:48I know.
00:38:49I know.
00:38:50I know.
00:38:51I know.
00:38:52I know.
00:38:53I know.
00:38:54I know.
00:38:55I know.
00:38:56I know.
00:38:57I know.
00:38:58I know.
00:38:59I know.
00:39:00I know.
00:39:01I know.
00:39:02I know.
00:39:03I know.
00:39:06I know.
00:39:07I know.
00:39:09I know.
00:39:12I know.
00:39:15What's also interesting?
00:39:16The sea.
00:39:17uddает piss.
00:39:18What?
00:39:19What was a land in the city?
00:39:22It's theabbians.
00:39:27The fishing is limited by the territory that occupies the base of Guantánamo,
00:39:33this area of here, south of Guantánamo,
00:39:36all this territory is 45 square miles.
00:39:44The base of Guantánamo has limited the fishing in Guantánamo,
00:39:50or it has done damage to Caimanera,
00:39:54and, fundamentally, that is the one who takes care of the source of the fish.
00:40:00The most part of the territory that occupies the base are the best areas of fishing.
00:40:05Therefore, we have not seen limited,
00:40:08having the territory occupied by the North American,
00:40:12that they do not allow us to enter that area of fishing,
00:40:16which is where more marine species have, of quality, of quality.
00:40:21We are forced to work here, in the valley,
00:40:24very limited by the production.
00:40:27It does not satisfy the needs of the people.
00:40:30The people.
00:40:40The base of the area, all that area is a millionary of sin.
00:40:43All that is, all that is, all that is, all that is, all that is, all the sin of the world.
00:40:47But imagine that that there is no longer, that they are not allowed to develop.
00:40:52We have low level of self-series.
00:40:53This is the limit to the coast of the coast of the coast,
00:40:54and that there is no longer a coast of the coast of the coast.
00:40:55From the coast of the coast of the coast of the coast,
00:40:56we can't do it.
00:40:57It's a military bay.
00:40:58It's a military bay.
00:40:59At 8 o'clock, you're in the suburbs.
00:41:01You're on the sea, you're in the water, and you're feeling it when you're on the бой.
00:41:06You're on the sea, or what?
00:41:07And that's how it feels. We calculate the ore and that.
00:41:11In the sea, not here. When you go to the beach,
00:41:14in the area of the military zone, it feels clear there.
00:41:24Considering that the government has been forced
00:41:29to put a passenger there to avoid self-provocation
00:41:33by the armed forces of the United States.
00:41:36And that also limits the entry of species to the Bahia.
00:41:43Because when they fished in that part of the territory,
00:41:47the North Americans, in coordination with the internal revolution
00:41:53that had abandoned the country,
00:41:56killed several of our workers,
00:41:59one of them, the pescador Rodolfo Rosel Sala.
00:42:02We don't have to wait for a day to go to the base.
00:42:06At least to go to a couple of places.
00:42:08One day they will be able to go to the base.
00:42:10And they will be able to go to the base.
00:42:11One day later.
00:42:12One day later.
00:42:13One day later.
00:42:14One day later.
00:42:16One hour later.
00:42:21Whoa.
00:42:35Guantánamo es la cuna del rico John Wilson, Guantánamo es la cuna del rico John Wilson,
00:42:46que fueron muy bien tocados por Pedro Chito y Cambrón.
00:42:52Guantánamo es la cuna del rico John Wilson, Guantánamo es la cuna del rico John Wilson,
00:42:57el hombre guantánamero en todo el mundo es querido, el hombre guantánamero en todo el mundo es querido,
00:43:09por la rica tradición que el mismo Guasú ha tenido.
00:43:15Guantánamo es la cuna del rico John Wilson, Guantánamo es la cuna del rico John Wilson,
00:43:27eso es lo que está ahí y que de pronto no es cubano, es mucho más que eso.
00:43:33Pretendemos tener ese espacio que nos pertenece, precisamente por el lugar que está ocupando.
00:43:39Los cubanos aspiramos que más temprano que tarde la base vuelva a su logístimo dueño, al pueblo cubano.
00:43:49Un día tendrá que flamear la bandera cubana porque eso no es lo que te podía decir.
00:43:53Esa es una de las condiciones, por decirlo de alguna manera, que ha puesto Cuba para que se normalicen las relaciones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos.
00:44:01Y tú sigues ahí, cobarde, sabiendo que esta es mi tierra, que ocupaste ilegalmente para implantar tu base.
00:44:09Pero no lo dudes, te lo advierto, yo la voy a recuperar.
00:44:12Así, pasó un siglo y los habitantes de Caimanera que surgieron, que su madre es el mar, no podían ver y no pueden ver y no conocen la entrada bella de su bahía.
00:44:27No la conocen nuestros niños, ahí no podemos ir.
00:44:30No, no, yo pienso de esa base que ya, que nos la entreguen ya.
00:44:37Yo quisiera salir corriendo a descubrir esa parte de allá porque esa base, estando allá, nosotros no podemos descubrir qué es lo que hay de esa parte para allá.
00:44:50Y entonces nosotros estamos trabajando en eso para que no devuelvan ese territorio ocupado.
00:44:59¿O sea que ese territorio es de Cuba?
00:45:01Sí, pues claro.
00:45:02¿Tú crees que ese territorio es de Cuba?
00:45:04Sí, sí.
00:45:05¿Tú lo sientes así?
00:45:07Pues claro.
00:45:10Buenas noches. Así se despide en sueños, desde la primera trinchera antiimperializa de Cuba en Radio Bahía.
00:45:19A todos gracias por la sintonía. Buenas noches.
00:45:22Y esa es la historia. Esa es la historia. Esa es la historia de Guantánamo, no de este pedacito.
00:45:29No de Guantánamo.
00:45:30La reforma agraria es, vení del pueblo un deseo, y en este caso la veo, buena como tú la ves.
00:45:48Por ella hay vivo interés en la república entera.
00:45:53Y como de esa manera, ya el Guaquiro no es un pari, viva la reforma agraria, y viva nuestra bandera.
00:46:08Mi divina Guaquira, Guaquira, Guantánamera, Guantánamera, Guaquira, Guantánamera.
00:46:38La reforma agraria es un año, antes de ir a la universidad para estudiar internacionales.
00:47:02All our students, to the military brigade, the Cuban side, of course, to spend one year there.
00:47:14In our military training, that all Cubans, after eighteen, they do for one year or two years.
00:47:23So it was very moving out.
00:47:25And also seeing some of my colleagues now, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there,
00:47:29the girl and telling some poetry she worked with me at the US Department in
00:47:36the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so it's a very good very good friend so thank you
00:47:42so much for for having me for having the this screening of this documentary it
00:47:49shows a very special episode of the Cuban history of resistance against the
00:47:58and big the biggest imperialist power in the world so I want to share with you
00:48:04some thoughts about this documentary to see the e-message and hear
00:48:11the voices of in all Guantanamo's hours is to feel the heartbeat of the Cuban
00:48:17people it is to understand in a way that no political speech can fully convey the
00:48:23deep and painful reality of this wound on the body of our nation on behalf of my
00:48:29country I would like to express my sincere gratitude to each and every member of
00:48:33the North North London Cuba solidarity campaign for your unwavering
00:48:37friendship and to Sandfield Studios of course for hosting us in this home for
00:48:43progressive voices the documentary you have just seen is a powerful act of
00:48:48reclamation it asserts a fundamental truth against more than a century of
00:48:54occupation and distortion for most of the world the name Guantanamo is just a
00:49:01single dark image of a US naval base a military prison a symbol of torture and
00:49:07indefinite detention without trial it has become in the words of the United
00:49:12Nations experts a place of unparalleled notoriety and an ugly chapter of
00:49:18or relenting human rights abuses it is a name synonymous with a legal a moral
00:49:24black hole deliberately created on a piece of land specifically chosen to
00:49:30evade the rule of law because it's not Cuba it's not Cuba under the protection of
00:49:35Cuba but it's even of course it's not American soil but this film has shown you
00:49:42the other Guantanamo the real Guantanamo a beautiful province that the at the
00:49:47easternmost tip of our Iceland a land of vibrant culture resilient people stunning
00:49:53mountains and a bay whose waters contain some of the most pristine and by a
00:49:58biodiverse maritime ecosystems in the Thai Caribbean and the Cubans can are not
00:50:04allowed to access to these waters the part of Guantanamo illegally occupied by the
00:50:10United States is less than two percent of the total area of the province of
00:50:15Guantanamo but this is the Guantanamo of the Cuban people this our land our water
00:50:20and our sovereign territory this injustice is not an accident of history it is the
00:50:27direct and continuing consequence of an original scene of imperialism as you saw
00:50:33in 1901 when Cuba was under the US military occupation after our long war for
00:50:42independence from Spain our sovereignty was granted only on the condition and we
00:50:47would mutilate our own first Constitution by inserting an appendix now known as the
00:50:53plot amendment this amendment imposed by force gave the United States the right to
00:50:59intervene in our affairs and demanded that Cuba lists some sovereign territory for
00:51:04the establishment of novel stations like this one on this basis of coercion the
00:51:10treaty of 1903 was signed and in 1934 it was made permanent at least without end that can only
00:51:20terminated by the mutual consent it doesn't have any parallel in the international law this kind of
00:51:27treaty let me be clear the Cuban government has never for a moment accepted the legitimacy of this
00:51:35colonial imposition this is the triumph of the revolution in 1959 we have
00:51:40considered the US presence in Guantanamo and illegal occupation as a clear and
00:51:45constant symbol of this rejection our government has refused to cash any of the
00:51:51annual rent checks sent by the United States and we were speaking late before that
00:51:57there was a paper coin checks annually sent to today to Cuba for this important piece of our our country for
00:52:06almost a year a century this illegal base has been a dagger in the heart of the Cuban nation then in 2002 the
00:52:16first crime of the occupation was compounded by another the United States government seeking a place
00:52:21beyond the reach of its own loss to commit acts of torture choose our Guantanamo this is not only
00:52:28not this is not only an American disgrace it is a stain on our country and a flagrant violation of the
00:52:35regional lease which specifically limited the use of now of the area to coal or naval stations only and for
00:52:43no other purpose literally in the treaty so now in 2025 we face a new and deeply alarming escalation on
00:52:53January 29 on this year the US government issued an executive executive order to expand its migrant
00:52:59operations at Guantanamo with the stated aim of turning our territory into a mass detention center for
00:53:06tens of thousands of migrants our foreign ministry responded immediately and unequivocally
00:53:12rejecting this plan as a demonstration of the brutality with which the US government operates
00:53:19it is the height of cynicism to use our illegally occupied territory to detain the victims of the
00:53:25very US policies of plunder sanctions and disestabilization that are driving migration throughout the our
00:53:32hemisphere to that country this is responsible act is not only another violation of our sovereignty it is a
00:53:40direct threat to regional stability you have seen the faces and heard the stories of the people of
00:53:47Carmanera and Boquerón you have seen their dignity and their resilience these lives are marked by a
00:53:55psychological and physical border not of their making a border that limits their ability to fish
00:54:02their even their own bay isolates them from their fellow humans in the rest of the island and subjects
00:54:08them to a constant tension of living in the shadow of a hostile foreign military power this physical
00:54:15occupation is the sharpest edge of the criminal blockade that seeks to strangle our economy and the
00:54:22cynical and fraudulent inclusion of Cuba on the list of state sponsor of terrorism and you could watch some
00:54:29stories about some people working at the or living in those areas fishermen that were killed so we are
00:54:39victims of terrorism we are not never have been and will never be sponsored of terrorism they are all
00:54:46part of the same cruel policy watching this movie can fill you with anger but we cannot be helpless we must
00:54:54turn our anger into action and your solidarity is our greatest weapon so what can you do here in the uk
00:55:05first continue your wonderful support for the cuba solidarity campaign
00:55:10if you are not a member i urge you to join to join tonight your membership your vote your participation
00:55:17in your campaigns against the blockade are the lifeblood of this movement
00:55:21second use your democratic voice write to your mp we have an all-party an all-party
00:55:33parliamentary group in the in westminster on cuba specifically on cuba so please urge your mp to join
00:55:41that group demands that the british government condemn this illegal occupation remind them that a cross-party
00:55:48group uh there's a lot there's also another all-party group specifically specifically for the closure of
00:55:56guantanamo detention facility and has been set up in your in the parliament since and the establishment
00:56:04of the that prison so this is another opportunity for you to ask your mps or whatever represents you to
00:56:12join those uh groups of parliamentary people who are who can also help in that regard finally become
00:56:22messengers of the truth that you have seen tonight when you hear guantanamo mention on the news again
00:56:29remember the faces from the movie tell your friends family and colleagues the story of the real guantanamo
00:56:36and share this documentary do not let the narrative of the prison erase the reality of the people
00:56:44the road to justice is long but we will not we will not walk walk it alone for more than 60 years
00:56:51the cuban people have resisted and for more than 60 years friends like you have stood with us so we are
00:56:58confident that together we will see the day when this colony colonial relic is gone when the last us
00:57:04soldier lifts our soil and when we can finally say without reservation that all guantanamo truly belongs
00:57:11to us so thank you so much
00:57:18if you do have a question just stick your head up
00:57:31commentary or commentary or anything everybody's gone shy
00:57:37when was that made that that film i think 2014 i'm not sure about 10 years ago or yeah something like
00:57:47like that it's important it's not brand new but it's uh it's relatively recent
00:57:54thank you so much for this i i feel tired because i'm quite ignorant about this but i thought obama said
00:58:02he was going to close it down yeah yeah obama said that he was he promised to close the prison
00:58:11the prison he was he said that he was going to close the prison because of the record of tortures and
00:58:17human rights abuses at the prison but he never talked about the base as a whole just the prison
00:58:23i was presented there was where the suspects of terrorism brought to from afghanistan or iraq
00:58:31were brought there to interrogate them and but he promised that and he never did anything he took some
00:58:40uh some of these uh some of these uh prisoners to other countries around the world he tried to empty
00:58:47the prison but the prison is still there so uh and it's used for this other purposes like migraine migrants
00:58:55and so uh he's still there and you know trump is now trying to use it as a migrant facility
00:59:02so yeah united nations in the for example in the committee for colonization we have presented this
00:59:22case many times and of course we have support from the international community but you know
00:59:28the votes on on this regard are not mandatory so they they convey to to the u.s to to leave the
00:59:39this this this way but as that's it's a mutual agreement treaty completely we denounced the the treaty
00:59:47the treaty which we we we see the treaty as a completely illegal uh act as international law
00:59:54uh he said was signed under a military occupation in the u.s for during the u.s military occupation so
01:00:04but they not can they i bet you they can't because it hasn't happened but why can't they take a vote or
01:00:10a sanction of america because they'll block it every time i assume yeah exactly there is a vote every
01:00:16year in the united nations exactly which against the blockade yeah which gets blocked is it yeah every every
01:00:23year from since 1992 we we we have a resolution the general assembly against the blockade and the whole
01:00:30war most uh unanimously unanimously vote in favor to to lift the the blockade the so-called embargo and
01:00:38all the united states and israel in the what does the uk where does the uk vote it's consistently voting in
01:00:44favor we vote since 1995 yes both for lifting the britain vote yes only the u.s and israel yeah yeah
01:00:55yeah yeah it's not coincidence you know yeah
01:01:00have any cases in international law been brought at the un sorry have any cases in law been brought
01:01:06in any international courts uh i think we have studied this option but we have not taken this
01:01:13this step because it's complicated and it's a it's of course tricky and could be you know they
01:01:21if they they if they in anything just in any case they they have a decision that that's we remove our
01:01:29control from the u.s and they give it to the u.s for example like they have sanctions against cuba
01:01:35it would be very difficult very dangerous so but yeah if we have contemplated that option it's too much
01:01:41a risk yeah yeah trump will put the tariffs up even more yeah exactly or sanctions the yeah
01:01:54thank you the speech was lovely thank you i have the question uh are there any restrictions or
01:01:59repercussions on british nationals if they visit cuba sorry are there any restrictions on british
01:02:05nationals no no they can't visit they could visit cuba but but they they are um they they could lose
01:02:11the the the electronic system travel and yeah the the u.s visa the waiver for visa you can you can lose it
01:02:22but but if you want to go to america you can you have to apply for a visa proper visa yeah but you lose this
01:02:28waiver yeah but but but american uh british people british tourists goes to today to cuba every year
01:02:35around last year we received like 60 000 and so but but what numbers were even more higher even before
01:02:43kobe we received like like uh 250 000 so it was the the number has decreased of course because of this
01:02:51threatened and this uh and and people who wants to go to the u.s don't want to go to the waiver because
01:02:58they don't want to apply for a visa and everything it's not even just visiting the u.s either it's
01:03:03transiting through the u.s yeah exactly and even transiting even if you're going on the same bloody
01:03:10you still got to get off and have a visa yeah yeah you have to do that at the same point adventure in
01:03:14america now don't you wherever you land in america first you have to do it don't you yeah even if you're
01:03:19going to get back on the same plane yeah i will remember that jan said that i'm cuban and i will
01:03:28give you an example my three granddaughters were born in this country and since they are babies
01:03:34they go every year at least once to cuba they speak spanish they like the country but they grow they are
01:03:41finishing university they want to have a training in the united states and they cannot go one of them
01:03:50which is a thief teenager and go to demonstration with us and all of that she's afraid of the interview
01:03:57she's going to have in the united states and the other siblings are what's going on we cannot visit our
01:04:04family thank you thank you thank you so much this is how in maine they want to to condemn the the system
01:04:13whatever but at the end are the cubans wherever we live that suffer the consequence of this this
01:04:20stupid coercive illegal foreign policy of united states with cuba for many many years that is just in
01:04:29children that were born under this situation and have to live under that you know guantanamo if you
01:04:35see the the map guantanamo is um all around this mountain as you saw the the the bay is the natural
01:04:46way and was the natural way before americans were there to communicate guantanamo and santiago for
01:04:52instance my my grandmother was from emeos one of the places that suffered the hurricane and it's
01:04:58more to the east and that they never went through the land to santiago they went through the the coast
01:05:06and an american the the the u.s base there is affecting the life the the right the why is is totally
01:05:16legally and and they have been causing to the population there and those that we live outside cuba
01:05:24they are just making our life difficult very difficult and in the case of of yeah of the ista is
01:05:31always it's because of the the the so-called um a list of states of of sponsors of terrorism because
01:05:39obama took off cuba from the from the list and the when the when the establishment of diplomatic relations
01:05:47but then trump came and and put cuba again on the list so cuba was again on the list and then by then
01:05:54in the last week of his four years presidency he took off cuba again the the first day of trump and rubio
01:06:02administration they put cuba you know it's all you you see it's a it's a political tool and completely
01:06:09the sun is completely um immoral but but they they have this powerful tool that uh have real very
01:06:18real implications against cuba against the cubans the cuban people and has and we have to do not
01:06:25continue to announce it until maybe another government u.s government remove cuba from the list because
01:06:31they have real implications for example here in the the the the cuban embassy in london doesn't have
01:06:38a a uk bank account running in this country because any any bank wants to wants to have to host the
01:06:46cuban embassy we have our accounts in spain it's ridiculous and we we apply we we say that to the
01:06:54fcdo every year and they say the private banks are private we can do any we can do anything but
01:07:00and we know it's a blockade we know it's the is the is the the the this policy so we are we have to
01:07:07continue denouncing i i work in a bank so i by going through uh mandatory trainings we are uh it's part of
01:07:16the course that any transactions or accounts related to a cuban national will be in a restricted exactly
01:07:23even even the the the word the the keyword cuba in the reference the key the keyword cuba in the
01:07:29reference of cuba it will be frozen that this to those transactions so it's completely and what is
01:07:34more than that is because you were born in cuba you have problem in your bank account
01:07:44very difficult correct me if i'm wrong i think ussr was the main sponsoring partner for cuba for many
01:07:50many many years now after the fall of the ussr i think you turned to venezuela didn't you and who's
01:07:55your main sponsoring partner where'd you get your supplies from you used to get oil from venezuela
01:08:00venezuela algeria algeria uh from russia you still get stuff from russia yeah yeah yeah but what else
01:08:08but but most of those countries are even are also sanctioned that's what i'm asking but they are they have
01:08:14a specific specifically program persecuting now that our oil import imports so it's very very
01:08:22difficult for us to but venezuela of course venezuela uh algeria had a good economy and obviously but
01:08:27they've been sanctioned by america now as well haven't they yeah yeah so that's why i was asking
01:08:33because they were your main sponsoring partner for many years weren't they so you say it's just you get a
01:08:38little here a little there a little there exactly and it's not enough yes we can import very little
01:08:44because we have to have we don't we don't have the the the enough enough currencies to to pay for
01:08:50it because we have the our our tourism have not recovered from covet because our our medical brigades
01:08:58abroad are also persecuted by the by the department the state department of the united states and many
01:09:07many circumstances because you're used to trading dollars but you're still trading dollars now
01:09:13no we we have we try to avoid that doing euros or other currencies yes because there was a passing
01:09:21reference in the film to cover resources coal mining resources is there any coal in that part of cuba
01:09:29i'm actually occurring i'm surprised to hear that i've never heard of coal mines there are so there are some
01:09:34some places in cuba some maybe maybe media have some what in those days which is was the 19th century
01:09:43yeah the coal was made by cutting the trees certain kind of oh you mean charcoal because i thought that
01:09:52the film suggested that the americans wanted cuban coal resources as in coal and the ground
01:09:59because because because they because the at that time the
01:10:28chips the chips the main the main fuel of chips was coal of course so they they needed to to build
01:10:34this uh normal stations and coal mines for yeah they were coding stations all over the world i know that
01:10:41so i was wondering whether that was one reason why the americans wanted that particular base apart
01:10:46from the location you know the strategic location no no it's not what it's not the reason for that the
01:10:52the reason was that um the the independence of cuba by the mambises which are the cuban fighters
01:11:03against spain was hijacked by the united states and they declared united states declared the war
01:11:09in spain they were not there to avoid spain coming back this the spanish soldier left they were there
01:11:18to avoid the cubans getting them out of the country because we wanted independence and that's why they
01:11:25say either you leave a piece of land for us as a military base or we stay here as a big partner and
01:11:33was a military occupation that's why they and they never left for example for puerto rico puerto rico
01:11:40to this to the until this day it's a colony from from the u.s it wasn't it was the same war again
01:11:46they gave the war against and during 1999 95 95 in 1895 it was the war between the u.s and spain
01:11:57and it wasn't in philippines cuba and puerto rico because puerto rico is a protected colony though isn't it
01:12:02yeah exactly you're not that's the difference since since that since that moment
01:12:09can i ask a question about your crops because i do research a few years ago america flooded the
01:12:14market related cultural crops one of your main exports was agriculture exports wasn't it and
01:12:19they flooded the market to devalue the market to stop you making money from exporting some of your
01:12:24crops is that still the case well we we most of our food we imported because we
01:12:32we we have but you used to grow a lot didn't you yeah yeah yeah some some but some crops but not
01:12:39not too much it's more for internal consuming or exporting we sport for of course cigars about
01:12:47tobacco as the sugar came of course the sugar came that's the market they flooded that was yeah they
01:12:53flooded that market didn't they to stop the export yes i raised something down from a figure of 11
01:12:58i don't 11 million 11 000 whatever it was down to about 3 000 that was when that was when the
01:13:03ussr collapsed wasn't it because they used to buy a huge amount of exactly exactly i was at the
01:13:08beginning of the revolution when the embargo started and they got the market to stop that didn't
01:13:13they cut our the cuba has a like an agreement with the us to export uh sugar to to the us and they
01:13:23cut it down and of course it was a the the the incomes for that for that selling was have you
01:13:28still got a market for that was it sugar some we have we have developed our economy now more through
01:13:37science through other of course we have cigars a rum and seafood and the hospital ships other
01:13:45other kind of discussion yeah this lady here yeah i just want to ask you you know you've talked about
01:13:54many things and as i said i've come to this feeling actually i am a bit ignorant of this i remember one
01:14:01time that they've been spoken about a lot on the news but i don't hear anything about it and um you
01:14:11know in your heart really what you believe should be done there must be a strategy something that you
01:14:17know you've all been involved in this for a while you talk about many different things there must be maybe
01:14:23one strategy one idea that can work during during the during the missile crisis for example
01:14:43during the missile crisis for example you know the missile crisis
01:14:461962 october 1962 there was a big diplomatic crisis yeah it was at the at the at the brink of a nuclear
01:14:58nuclear war yeah between the us and the soviet union because the soviet union and settled some
01:15:05nuclear weapons in cuba so during that process the us the the us the the us naval base in guantanamo
01:15:13was under the negotiation because it was on the table it was one of the five points that fidel castro
01:15:20put on the tables so if you want to remove the the nuclear weapons we need to remove the embargo
01:15:25we need to to return the the us naval base to cuba and all other other demands so of course we need
01:15:33we have to we have to to get it back but we can't open and work with the us because we are in a
01:15:38weaker position in that regard so we need to continue denouncing and in a in a when maybe a a moment in
01:15:46the future comes to a negotiation and we can demand that territory to to get back to cuba but we
01:15:53need to continue the announcing and we can like we need to to explore other options
01:15:58so we can do very little in that uh to to to get back our our territory you're a tiny country
01:16:28china or any other country can i can i just say though that i mean within a within the states
01:16:35within the united states there is a lot of support for cuba i mean we all think of you know the states
01:16:41being you know sort of absolutely anti-cuba obviously trump and co are but there is an awful
01:16:47lot of solidarity and and and support for cuba as well isn't there and i think that's you know that's
01:16:53very heartening you know if you if you do join the csc you'll see in the magazines you'll see that
01:16:58there's a lot of you know activities um you know and that that is you know as our activities here that
01:17:05is very positive sadly it doesn't get rid of trump and co but um it is important i think we've got to see
01:17:13some kind of hope at some future stage and it's a very and it's a very expensive uh military base for
01:17:20the u.s they need to support to import everything even the water they need to import yeah everything
01:17:25they they spend millions of dollars every year running this this base so but it's a it's a it's a
01:17:34it's a very geostrategically positioned in the caribbean
01:17:39it's well for for the their fleets to have an intermediate intermediate
01:17:46it's cost pro bono exactly it's cost pro bono so so do they think the russians are just going to put
01:17:51more nuclear weapons there or something are they scared that it's just gonna okay if they're there
01:17:57they won't that's what they think but they don't know they don't control yeah why did cubans stop working
01:18:03at the base were they stopped by the americans or did they decide they didn't want to work for the
01:18:08americans anymore you know you mean that the workers they got kicked down no they they they
01:18:15they stopped uh hiring more cubans yes yes yes because of the revolution they they stopped hiring
01:18:23people from and some went on for a while exactly exactly until they retire or they die naturally
01:18:30just about making the base more secure yeah yeah go on what was it who is doing all the work which
01:18:39the cubans used to do no they they they brought everybody from the u.s or the personnel and staff
01:18:45they is from the u.s if you've ever seen it it's like main street usa what's that okay this
01:18:51was mentioned that um uh it's possible that guantanamo bay uh could well become a uh uh a a a a
01:19:11migrant detention center as it were uh under trump's horrible plans um if that is the case
01:19:19is that's a real possibility first of all and secondly if it does happen what what are the implications
01:19:29for cuba because it will uh ratchet up tensions uh even more well we denounce it and they they did send
01:19:39some migrants for to the to the naval base uh two months ago they now moved again to the us we don't know
01:19:47the the the the details but they are sending some migrants to the to the to the to the now to the
01:19:54the pay to the u.s naval base in guantanamo but they have relocated in other countries because they
01:20:00most of them are uh asians for haiti for haiti or from other countries in the in the region but yes
01:20:09they are they are using it as a migrant and it's a migrant facility yeah how how how many u.s
01:20:17people are there working at the at guantanamo well i i'm not i'm not really sure at the at the time i
01:20:26was um posted in the guantanamo i think some some like thousands of of uh u.s military base and the
01:20:37civilians they would have a lot of severe civilian people spouses children have schools there hospital
01:20:44there so they they are maybe it's like thousands maybe it's like a small town isn't it yeah exactly
01:20:51all the americans come in by air yes they don't try and now of course by chips and ships all right
01:20:59they don't touch cubans no no no never allowed to travel to cuba no they they don't even allow to use
01:21:07our our air space they need to turn around cuba uh through the between cuban haiti and through use
01:21:17that space and and and land in the naval base okay sorry was there one more question here this idea why
01:21:26did they bomb the sugar holding place why did they bomb the sugar holding place i saw something on
01:21:35television quite long time ago sugar hole sugar kind storage like a factory or something yeah yeah or
01:21:42someplace some massive store who bombed in cuba the americans yeah bombed i thought i i think it was cuba
01:21:51that happened they they they had they dropped some uh incendiary um like napalm for example in vietnam
01:22:00it was something similar and they tend to to have some illegal flights over cuba and and spread this
01:22:08chemical what recently no during the 60s oh yeah just to do economic damage yeah same thing i said before
01:22:15about the sugar cane they have they have tried many things they they have introduced viruses and they
01:22:24have they have they have introduced um they have the dengue in america anyway you can catch it in america
01:22:42in dengue yeah in the us not too much not too much not too much well they introduced the the worst uh kind
01:22:52of dengue in cuba that is uh hemorrhagic dengue or something like that that is the worst the worst kind
01:23:00of children died a lot of children died during the 60s 70s we have suffered a lot from the u.s policy
01:23:07of aggression of uh in threats and yeah so terrorist action terrorist action actually organized deployed
01:23:17and developed from the u.s okay okay i just got one more question in the bay of digs is that a tourist
01:23:25attraction yes today yes yes the museum there everything we call it playa playa heron and and
01:23:32this is completely uh you can you can visit it and there are many touristic places nearby and yeah
01:23:40it's a wonderful beaches there in south of the visit um i have been to cuba but i didn't get there
01:23:47yeah yeah next time santa clara place you know where baptista was rail yeah there i went there yeah nice
01:23:55but i didn't get to next visit next visit yeah of course cuba all through cuba there are many
01:24:03historical wonderful places also the nashar it's fantastic so if you have not visited cuba you are
01:24:10welcome to thank you very much it's a pleasure to have you here i wondered whether we might show
01:24:23guantanamera as our next film perhaps yeah yeah we we've shown it before in the past but yes that's
01:24:30another another another aspect yes okay thank you very much
01:24:43you
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