The Ambassador’s Visit, the Brookline Resolution, & the Upcoming Boston City Council Public Hearing
Following up a meeting with friends of Cuba in Miami last month, Cuban Ambassador to the U.S. Lianys Torres Rivera paid a visit to the Boston area at the end of June to meet with supporters working to normalize US-Cuba relations. July26.org and others had just completed a special June 14th program on “60 Years of Resistance – Perspectives on the U.S. Blockade of Cuba” with scholar and solidarity activist Helen Yaffe, the finale to her virtual spring tour across the U.S. The timing was fortuitous and reinforced the significance of the recent passage of Brookline’s Town Meeting Resolution calling for an End to the Embargo and a Boston City Council resolution well on its way. Among her activities, the Ambassador participated in a forum for metro-area friends and activist supporters, met with the three primary groups doing Cuba support work locally, and attended a special meet and greet gathering in Brookline.
Click to enlarge. (clockwise from upper left) At the dinner and meeting with July26.org – (l to r) Second Secretary Yuliette Tain Domínguez, Ambassador Torres Rivera, Judy Freiwirth, Sussen Gazal, Yoav Elinevsky, Marilyn Frankenstein, Peter Miller, Bob Mulcahy, Nalda Vigezzi (missing Diane Stradling, Susan Mirsky); from the Brookline Meet and Greet, Tim Rupprecht, State Representative Tommy Vitolo, the Ambassador and Second Secretary, Sarah Miller; panel at the University Lutheran Church activist/supporter forum, Merri Ansara, the Ambassador and Second Secretary, Nalda Vigezzi, participants/audience during Q&A, Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara at the microphone (photo credits include Sussen Gazal, Bob Mulcahy).
Approximately 60 participated in the special forum on June 29 at the University Lutheran Church in Harvard Square, organized by Massachusetts Peace Action, Democratic Socialists of America/Boston, and the Boston-Cuba Solidarity Coalition. The event was preceded by a dinner and meeting with July26.org. The Ambassador graciously accepted a special copy of the Brookline resolution in honor of her visit at the gathering there the next day. A public hearing on the Boston resolution is scheduled for July 11.