The Ambassador’s Visit and the Brookline & Boston Resolutions

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 metro-Boston at the end of June to become familiar with the area and meet with political and governmental leaders and groups and supporters working to normalize US-Cuba relations. A special report on the full visit should be available soon and added/linked to this partial account.

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).

It’s been a busy time for all. July26.org and others 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 country. The visit’s timing has been fortuitous and reinforces the importance 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 each of the three primary groups doing Cuba support work, attended a special meet and greet gathering in Brookline, met with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the City Council, and sat for an interview with WHMP radio host Bill Newman.

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 July26.org 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 after her meetings at Boston City Hall. A public hearing on the Boston Resolution on July 11* preceded a formal vote at the City Council meeting on July 13.

(Last updated 7/12/22)

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* Note that July 11 is the one year anniversary of the protests in Cuba that were so misunderstood, misrepresented and misreported in most mainstream and right wing media (for more on this, see the reports and analyses here).