By ADRIANA CORDOVI

  Rosa de la Cruz believes there is a difference between having freedom and exercising it.

  In Cuba, people are fighting for that independence, she says, and she wants to spread the word. So de la Cruz came up with the idea for an exhibit titled
  ¡Cuba Hoy! on the island's emerging independent society.

  Pictures of political prisoners hang on the walls of the Varela Center, 3609 S. Miami Ave. in Miami. The exhibit also features photographs and publications
  from South Florida organizations working with groups on the island to achieve freedom.

  Among the groups is Directorio Democrático Cubano, an organization that sends books to independent libraries, and money or medicine to families of
  political prisoners; Los Ismaelillos, a group of children from ages 5 to 17 who correspond with children in Cuba; and Proyecto Auxilio, which organizes
  sponsorships for the families of political prisoners inside Cuba.

  ''This is about what we are doing and what we can do,'' de la Cruz said. ``[In Cuba], there's little to fight with, and the least we can do is give them
  support.''

  The exhibit, which runs through Friday, features different speakers each night from 7 to 9 p.m. On Tuesday, the Rev. Francisco Santana, of Our Lady of
  Charity Catholic Church in Miami, and the Rev. Marcos Antonio Ramos, of the Calvary Hispanic Baptist Church in Miami, discussed the church's
  representation in Cuba today.

  ''The most we can do is to help those in Cuba who are fighting,'' Santana said. ``Everyone's ideas [and] projects here are related to what's happening
  on the island.''

  Jannet Rivero of Directorio Democrático Cubano left Cuba when she was 8 and lived in Venezuela before settling in Miami in 1990. For the past 10 years,
  she's been active with the organization.

  ''I believe that in order to gain democracy and freedom back in our country, we need to support people inside Cuba,'' she said.