Unbiased Cuban Experts

Hard, But Not Impossible, to Find
Monday, December 8th, 2014 

       My friend Tracey Eaton {on the left} is one of America's best, fairest, and most unbiased experts on anything related to Cuba. When he headed the Dallas Morning News Havana bureau, I not only read but clipped out all of his articles, which I still have. When I had questions, I emailed Tracey and he never failed to respond with precise answers. I told him I had permission in 2004 from the George W. Bush administration to visit Cuba for the purpose of researching the island's revolutionary icon, Celia Sanchez. Tracey gave me some tips, including a good, reasonably priced place to stay -- the Victoria Hotel. He met me at the Victoria Hotel the morning after my arrival. Since 2005 Tracey has been back in the U. S. as a Professor at Flagler College in Florida. But he returns often to Cuba because he remains one of the most quoted Cuban experts...by the New York Times, USA Today, etc. Also, he has a myriad of blogs related to Cuba including Along the Malecon, Cuba Money Project, and Tracey Eaton Photography. He is presently America's best investigative blogger regarding U.S.-Cuban relations. In recent days on Along the Malecon, for example, he has posted a plethora of data and documents regarding the astounding amount of money the Miami-based, tax-funded Radio-TV Marti has spent and is spending to undermine the Cuban government. I, of course, have been aware of this boondoggle since the 1980s when the Bush dynasty anointed Jorge Mas Canosa the leader of the Cuban exiles, after which Mr. Canosa, on his way to becoming a Miami billionaire, founded the unmatched and unchecked Cuban American National Foundation as well as the unmatched, unchecked, and ongoing Radio-TV Marti fiasco. But Tracey's recent postings reveal some of the exact amounts of tax money Radio-TV Marti has spent and is spending to wreak havoc in Cuba along with other tax-paid havoc including the embargo, unending USAID plots, etc. Also, till I read those recent postings by Tracey I had no idea how much of those hard-earned tax dollars are being sent to foreign contractors hired to do some of the anti-Cuban uncover dirty work.

             The very last Tracey Eaton article from Cuba for the Dallas Morning News remains one of my favorites. It recounted a nostalgic last ride around the island before he relocated back to America. The article was perceptive regarding everyday life on the island and even gave a hint of why decades of a superpower's exalted efforts to overthrow the revolutionary government have failed. Tracey drove his jeep all over the island on that nostalgic trip. In the beautiful colonial coastal city of Trinidad in southern Cuba, he stopped for gas. At the pump, he noticed a young girl eyeing him and also jotting down some pertinent data, such as, I suppose, "PEXT*412" -- the license plate on his jeep. In 1959 the two most indispensable Cuban rebels -- Celia Sanchez and Vilma Espin -- concocted the block-by-block Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. The young girl who took note of Tracey's trip to Trinidad, like most Cubans, undoubtedly belonged to a Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. Having read Tracey's articles, on my travels around the island I was not surprised to notice everyday, very watchful Cubans with notepads in their hands. Tracey's article as well as my own experiences on the island helped explain to me why the Bay of Pigs attack, the embargo, and all other schemes to overthrow the revolutionary government have failed for going on six decades. Most Cubans are investigators, not dissidents.

        This historic photo captured the Big Four of the Cuban Revolution and the Big Four in Revolutionary Cuba. If that doesn't compute with what you have been told, then you have been conveniently lied to. Left to right is Vilma Espin, Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and Celia Sanchez. Fidel Castro and other insiders rated the Big Four in this order of importance: #1 Celia Sanchez; #2 Fidel Castro; #3 Vilma Espin; and #4 Raul Castro. Again, if that doesn't compute with what you have been told, you have been conveniently lied to.

Now back to my friend Tracey Eaton. 

Did I mention that he is a great photographer?

       Tracey Eaton aptly named this photo "Morning Out." It shows a young Cuban woman performing a morning ritual common to everyday people around the world -- taking their house-broken dog outside so he/she can do what they need to do. Yes, decent and beautiful everyday people populate the island.

         Tracey Eaton named this photo "Hitchhiker." It, too, captured everyday life in Cuba and epitomized a pervasive fact of life that is far more common and ubiquitous in Cuba than elsewhere. Cubans, including young ladies like this, routinely hitchhike to get from one place to another. It is uncommonly safe in Cuba, which is a non-rich society whereby everyday Cubans routinely help others. So, if you have private transportation in Cuba you are expected to oblige hitchhikers, and that includes, as I noticed, police cars and other government vehicles, even trash trucks. When I was in Cuba I hired a driver, Jose, and he explained why he was obligated to stop and pick up hitchhikers unless our Honda was already over-loaded. Sitting in the passenger seat, I noticed Jose used his headlights to signal oncoming cars or trucks. It was, he said, like Morse Code. "I was telling that last car," Jose said, "to be on the look-out for two motorcycle cops parked on the right side of the road three miles back." Those of us who have been to Cuba soon picked up on such nuances endemic to the island. And those of us who want a fair appraisal of Cuba, be it good or bad, depend on journalists like Tracey Eaton -- journalists who have been to Cuba, who know Cuba, and who are not inclined to throw hand-grenades at the island out of revenge or for money.

By the way....................

         The 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games is over and 32 nations participated in the event held in Veracruz, Mexico. Little Cuba won the team championship with a whopping 123 gold medals. Mexico, the host country, finished second. The photo above shows the Cuban baseball team celebrating its 9-3 victory over Nicaragua in the title game. In the past two years, U. S. Major League teams have signed a plethora of Cuban baseball stars with some initial contracts exceeding $72 million guaranteed dollars. Cuba allows its best players to sign professional contracts in baseball-mad Japan and stars such as sluggers Yadier Hernandez, Alfredo Despaigne, Yulieski Gourriel, Frederich Cepeda, and ace pitcher Hector Luis Mendoza returned from Japan in time to help Cuba win the baseball title in the just-completed Central American and Caribbean Games. These popular Games are played every four years. Back in 2010 Cuba did not participate because the Games were played in Puerto Rico, a U. S. territory. Mexico, the 2014 site, is not a U. S. territory despite the major disagreement at the Alamo in San Antonio back in 1836.

        This Havanatimes.org photo shows Freddy Asiel Alvarez, the winning pitcher for Cuba in the championship game at the 2014 Central American And Caribbean Games. Cuba opened its regular baseball season recently -- Friday, December 5th -- and all 16 professional teams were in action on Opening Day. 

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