Lobbying for Latin Grammys challenged
Some in CANF opposed to idea
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
Some elder statesmen of the Cuban American National Foundation
are unhappy about chairman Jorge Mas Santos' participation in a
campaign to woo the Latin Grammy Awards to Miami, the latest
effort by the lobby's young leader to stake out new turf on the
Cuba issue.
Mas, 38, co-signed a letter with Miami-Dade Mayor Alex
Penelas and others that urged the Latin Academy of
Recording Arts & Sciences to stage its Sept. 12 awards
show at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami earlier spurned
the event, citing a now-defunct policy that prohibited the
county from doing business with firms or people with ties to
Cuba.
``I think it's important that it happen in Miami,'' Mas said in a
recent interview. ``If they are held in Los Angeles or New
York, this community cannot show itself as the bastion of
freedom of expression that it is.''
Mas signed the Feb. 2 letter as ``Chairperson, South Florida
Latin [Grammy] Host Committee.''
But people inevitably associate Mas with the Cuban
American National Foundation, and his role in trying to woo
the Grammys has upset some people.
Banker Luis Botifoll, 92, the foundation elder who has both
an avenue and an auditorium named for him, said of the
Grammys: ``I don't give a damn if they come or not. But I
don't promote them to come. The foundation is created to
liberate Cuba -- not to promote business in Miami.''
Until last month, the U.S.-born Mas had made no public
pronouncement on the Latin Grammys. His new advocacy
coincides with a series of foundation innovations, launched
after the Elián González episode was seen by some as a
public relations problem that damaged Cuban-American
clout.
Some Executive Committee members who agreed to speak
for publication complained that Mas never consulted them on
the Grammys. They added that, even if Mas is championing
the Grammys outside his foundation duties, his ideas reflect
poorly on the two-decade old organization.
``This issue was not discussed on the Foundation board.
The only person who benefits from this is Fidel Castro,'' said
Horacio García, 61, a fast-food franchisee. Of Mas he said,
``He's the chairman but I have the right to disagree.''
``He can do whatever he wants as a person but not under
the Cuban American National Foundation,'' added Elpidio
Núñez, 78, a meat wholesaler. Bringing the Grammys to
Miami, he said, ``is not going to help free Cuba in any way.''
Bringing the Grammys to Miami ``would be provocative
toward the Cuban exiles,'' said Executive Committee
member Diego Suárez, 74, a heavy machinery industrialist
who was part of the inner circle that founded the organization
with Mas' father. ``As a member of the Cuban American
National Foundation, I believe that it is unacceptable that the
Cuban artists come here.''
DISAGREEMENT
Just how widespread the disagreement is is difficult to
determine. Foundation President Francisco ``Pepe''
Hernández, who praises Mas' Grammys advocacy, declined
to release a list of 28 executive committee members, 19 of
whom live in Miami, making it impossible to poll the inner
circle. Seven people identified by other Foundation members
as Executive Committee members would not comment or
did not respond to repeated telephone calls. Foundation
spokeswoman Ninoska Pérez Castellón, 50, also declined
to comment.
CANF has about 150 directors and trustees, many of whom
do not live in South Florida. No vote has been held on the
Grammys, although both advocates and opponents agree
there is unhappiness among some members of the group
that for years has sought to hide their disputes from the
Castro regime.
``These are strong-willed people. They have strong debates
internally. These are not Mickey Mouse issues,'' said
Executive Director Joe Garcia.
Hernández downplayed the discontent, saying he heard
greater unhappiness late last year after he escorted
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman to
the grave of Jorge Mas Canosa, the chairman's father and
organization founder who died in 1997.
Others would say only that any dispute was not something
for public comment. ``We are 100 people. We have different
opinions,'' said Executive Committee member Clara María
Del Valle, 56. ``But the dirty laundry, you wash at home --
not in the street.''
Even Botifoll indicated that he disliked voicing his concerns
to a reporter, saying the airing of disagreement ``is helping
Castro.'' ``Just write that the foundation is more united than
ever, more strong than ever, and has more resources than
ever. Period,'' he urged.
One Mas supporter said Mas was willing to take his position
on the Grammy because ``we feel more secure about the
embargo now'' with a Republican in the White House.
``We are not afraid to confront the enemy with ideas. This is
going to help put the Cuba issue on the front pages,'' said
auto dealer Lombardo Pérez Sr., 61, an Executive
Committee member.
Advocates argue that supporting the Grammys' coming to
Miami is important to overcome stereotypes of Cuban
Americans as opposing freedom of expression.
``I think we have to show the rest of the people that our
quarrel is not with the Cuban people, with the Cuban
musicians. Our quarrel is with Fidel Castro,'' said
Hernández.
During the Elián González episode, Hernández said,
``The
Cuban community suffered greatly; a lot of people were
ready to bury us.''
Other recent Mas initiatives have also have raised eyebrows.
POLICY ADDRESS
On Dec. 7 in Washington, he delivered a policy address as
CANF chairman that advocated micro-loans to independent
enterprise on the island, citing struggling independent soup
kitchens, restaurants, hostels, farmers, day care centers
and church-run clinics. He said the aid should be ``overt''
through nongovernmental organizations and that any attempt
by Castro to interfere with it would expose his unwillingness
to help his own people.
In the same speech, at the Inter American Dialogue, a group
whose members had just met Castro, Mas softened his
criticism of such fact-finding delegations with a request that
next time, they bring Spanish-language books for
independent libraries there.
Botifoll and Suárez said they agreed to the broad goals of
supporting dissidents but never signed off on trying to
distribute computers or cell phones or micro-loans inside
Cuba.
``Theoretically, it looks great -- computers and support for
the fight against Castro,'' said Suárez. But any equipment
would inevitably fall into the hands of the government, which
has ``a 100 percent screen and will never permit even one
calculator to the opposition.'' Send cash to families of
political prisoners instead, he said.
``We don't support making loans to Castro,'' said Botifoll.
INCREASED AID
Domingo Moreira, a pro-Grammys executive committee
member, said he didn't expect the micro-loan idea to
succeed -- but said experimentation is good. Mas and
Hernández note that directors three years ago approved
increased aid to dissidents, though they acknowledge they
never submitted the specific ideas to the Executive Board.
The possibility that the Grammys might come to Miami has
also ruffled some feathers outside the foundation.
``We reject the theory that politics has no relation with the
arts and sports,'' said a Junta Patriotica Cubana declaration.
``Only those people favored by the regimes are allowed to
demonstrate their artistic, athletic or intellectual abilities in
international events.''
And callers to Spanish-language radio have been ruminating
for days on the motives of Mas, who became chairman little
over a year ago of the foundation founded by his father in
1981 to exert exile clout in Washington.
La Poderosa radio station owner Jorge Rodriguez, a
Foundation director from 1983 to 1990, said Mas
miscalculated when he adopted the Grammy cause. ``If
some artists come from Cuba and win an award, the exiles
will look bad. The Cubans -- Jorge Mas Santos or myself --
someone who fights against the Cuban government for 40
years would be hosts? Everybody's against it.''
Mas remains adamant in his position, however. ``I don't
listen to La Poderosa.''