I dont know how many of you saw the Sunday morning program
about Cuba, but I for one have mixed reviews. The stuff on
Hemingway was very interesting. There were some things that
I did not know. I got to see some buddies give interviews
in Marina Hemingway, yadda yadda yadda... The part that
really bothered me was that the CBS did a piece on this
Rumba group from Matanzas. I knew something was fishy when
the groups' members were wearing American baseball caps,
Nike shoes, and Nike spandex body suits. The group had
toured extensively in the US and Europe and the influence
was obvious. I just wish CBS would have focused more on the
REAL people of Cuba who play Rumba in the back-allys with
old barrels and boards. This is the soul of Cuba. There
were some other obvious staged scenes, but on the whole I
like the piece, especially the videography. Things are
really changing quickly, so I would recommend for everyone
to GO NOW!!!
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Jose,
Did you tape it??? I can't believe it - I overslept and
missed it (had gone out the night before and stayed out
quite late ..serves me right). Anyhow, I am so disappointed
- I really wanted to see it. I wonder if I called CBS and
asked them to send me a copy of the tape (for a fee) if they
would do it or not?????
.....it wasn't the greatest in the world, but it wasn't bad
either. Honestly, I don't have very high expectations for
the news media for things such as this. They generally show
you the sanitized version of reality - which is fine. I
just accept it as that, then move on. I got a little uneasy
when people were talking about the "evil embargo" and how
it's forced the people to suffer - but that's another
discussion for another day. Anyway, thanks for letting me
know it was going to be on - I was VERY glad to have seen
it!!!!
-
Helen, don't worry too much. I taped the last hour, and it
seemed to focus a lot on Hemingway - not so much the Cuban
people or their daily lives/struggles. Honestly, the only
way to 'really' know is by going and seeing for yourself.
But we'll talk later.
So sorry you missed it. It really was a pretty neat piece.
Anyway, CBS will send you a tape or printed transcript, but
they will charge you. I believe the price is $29 for the
tape. With that, I dont believe you get the whole program,
just some of it. Like you, I stayed out late the night
before and almost did not get up in time. It was a real
struggle. Anyway, I hope you can get a copy. I did tape
it, but this morning saw my niece recording Tele-Tubbies. I
am not sure if she recorded over the Cuba story or not. I
will have to check when I get home. If I still have a usable
copy I will be glad to foward it to you. Let me know.
Jose Ramon
Hey there,
I think you just popped in while I was writing Helen. As A
long time visitor to Cuba, I was wondering if you noticed
this really bad staged scene? It was when Charles Osgood
was talking about the old cars and how the Cubans majically
keep them running. They showed this old car that was in
MINT condition. As it drove away, I noticed it had a BLUE
CHAPA. As far as I know, all Cuban license plates are
YELLOW. I know that businesses have red plates, military
green, and diplomatic black. Blue Plates however, are
something new to me. I would bet it was a special toursit
taxi or something out of a museum. With thousands of cars
to shoot, why did CBS do this??? I know its nit picky, but
it bothered me. There are lots of old cars with colorful
characters as owners. CBS could have gotten some sweet
footage. Anyway, I heard from my buddy in the Marina and he
said a Cuban delegation was right with the CBS crew. CBS
couldnt take a p*ss without a Cuban watchdog standing right
there. So with that in mind, I guess they did the best they
could.
JOSE RAMON
I didn't pick up on that, I was running back and forth in my
apartment - since I was trying to get ready to go someplace.
However, we really should expect things like that. Plus, it
does seem logical that the Cuban government had tight
control over what they took footage of. Oh well, at least
we know how things really are.