Friday, October 2, 2009

Miami changes its mind

Time will tell if Juanes changed anything in Cuba, but it seems his concert changed some minds in Miami.

A pre-concert poll (pdf) of Cuban American opinion, which to its great credit the Cuba Study Group released even though it showed that its own view was a minority view, showed that only 27 percent of Cuban Americans had a favorable opinion of it.

After the concert, a second poll (pdf) now shows that favorable opinion of the concert jumped to 53 percent. The survey also shows that 77 percent of respondents age 50 and higher watched the concert.

One Cuban American who changed his mind about the event was businessman Sergio Pino, who wrote in the Miami Herald that he was “skeptical” of the concert, “believing that somehow the presence of such a prominent artist would provide the Cuban dictatorship with useful propaganda.”

Mr. Pino continued:

“In my opinion the concert was a success. Juanes had good intentions – and they showed. He offered a message of love and unity for all Cubans. He shouted ‘Cuba libre’ more than once, and his song about an island in the middle of the sea, begging for liberty, jerked tears from everyone.

“Juanes opened the door to change; it is time to rethink our strategy. With three Cuban-American members of Congress, and one in the Senate, and many well-meaning Cuban-American leaders of hundreds of different political organizations in exile, it is time for one of them to come forward and unite us behind a new and more effective approach that focuses on the Cuban people first.”

When Mr. Pino addresses the Cuban Americans in Congress, he does so as a very substantial contributor to pro-embargo legislators and the major political action committees that support the embargo.

[TIME magazine photo.]

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

mr pino; spare me your tears for the cuban people. you've worked too long for policies that have done nothing but harm them, now you seem to have a change of heart because of a concert. go then and help end the embargo, do something constructive for a change.

Anonymous said...

On Planet Anonymous, it is US policies that have harmed the Cuban people.

Anonymous said...

Great to hear Miami is "changing," Peters. When you detect any change in Havana, please let us know, ok?

chingon

Anonymous said...

chingon writes
"When you detect any change in Havana, please let us know, ok?"

that is your problem, we are americans, and should not mettle in other countries. that is both a conservative and liberal view. Chingon must be one of those neo-cons who wants to 'bring' 'freedom' to world through gun.

I have no doubt that to wish 'freedom' for a country is valient, but its imperialist chingon, and that sentiment is playing right into fidel's hands.

If you want to change Cuba, go to cuba and change from inside ...do not use USA as a tool to change what you are too pus**y to change from there.

Anonymous said...

If you are an American, than I am Japanese.

chingon

Anonymous said...

on planet gusano, american policies have had no affect on cuba. when you get a grasp on reality, and a life, get back to us.

anyone who thinks the embargo, et al has not had any affect is a complete and utter moron. and has absolutely no understanding whatsoever on cuban-american policies. but keep cashing those CANF checks and listening to radio marti.

Anonymous said...

yes chingon is japanese, cause he writes pidgen english

pidgen is one of those two faced gusanos who haven't got the guts to go to cuba and try and change things, but would rather kick and scream from the safety of another country, telling the rest of the world he knows what's best for cuba.

he adds NOTHING to the conversation except the same old crap that has been absolutely meaningless for the past 50 years, he is a cubanologists who for sure makes money off the embargo, cashes his CANF checks and could care less about the cuban people, although he tries his best to convince others he does. he is the worst type of gusano. he is pidgen.

Anonymous said...

Bootlicker, so you want to be a tough guy? The problem is you can't be a bootlicker and a tough guy at the same time. A bootlicker will always be a bootlicker.

Besides, they don't like people like me in Havana, haven't you heard? People who advocate for freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and self-determination. On the other hand, they certainly welcome the likes of you, Useful Idiot bootlickers who will apologize for any crime committed by the regime no matter how dastardly by blaming it all on the yanquis.

chingon

Juan Cuellar said...

Nothing Change. Bendixen poll? Give me a brake. The two card trick: Bendixen-Saladrigas.

theCardinal said...

i think the concert was overall positive, full of crap but still positive. I don't think, however, that you will ever get any right-wing Cuban to go along with a Bendixen poll. His polls consistently tilt left.