The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 74/No. 23      June 14, 2010

 
Overflow crowd attends
Cuban 5 art show
 
BY JAMES HARRIS  
VENICE, California—A weekend of solidarity with the Cuban Five was held here May 22-23. The events featured the artwork of Antonio Guerrero, one of five Cuban revolutionaries who have been unjustly held in U.S. prisons for more than 11 years.

The central feature of the weekend was the opening of an exhibit of Guerrero’s paintings and drawings titled “From My Altitude.”

The International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five hosted the event, cosponsored by art institutions and civil libertarians in southern California, among them Social Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), Beyond Baroque, Venice Arts Council, KPFK radio, and Southern California Americans for Democratic Action.

More than 120 people attended, with an overflow crowd standing outside and viewing it from a video projection.

Alicia Jrapko, national coordinator for the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five, opened the proceedings. Also speaking was actor Edward Asner. Actor Danny Glover participated by video.

The Cuban Five were arrested in 1998 in Miami and convicted on phony conspiracy charges. They were in Florida monitoring the activities of right-wing Cuban American groups that have carried out violent attacks on Cuba. Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández, Ramon Labañino, Fernando González, and René González have been held in prison since then, under harsh conditions.

Guerrero was originally sentenced to life in prison. The international campaign to win freedom for the five forced the courts to reduce his sentence, as well as those of Labañino and Fernando González.

Guerrero learned to paint and draw while in prison with the aid of other prisoners, an inspiring process he describes in one of the exhibits. Included are portraits of the mothers of the Cuban Five, Che Guevara, seascapes, and colorful pictures of birds and animals.

The May 22-June 11 showing of Guerrero’s art is being held at the former Venice jail, which was converted into an art space by SPARC. The prison setting adds a grim authenticity to the exhibit.

A fund-raiser the following day featured the film “Women Behind the Cuban 5” and a presentation by Dolores Huerta, a founder of the United Farm Workers union.

Huerta spoke about the U.S. government’s denial of visas to the wives of Hernández and René González, Adriana Pérez and Olga Salanueva respectively.  
 
 
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