Antunez
Cuban opposition activists Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, better known as Antunez, and his wife Yris Perez Aguilera undoubtedly drew strength from the Cuban exiles and other supporters they met and greeted them warmly during their visit to Tampa this weekend. When they return to Cuba next month, they will go recharged and reassured that they have the support of many in exile as they continue their struggle to free Cuba of the Castro dictatorship.
Those of us fortunate to meet the couple received a boost, as well.
Among those who greeted Antunez and Yris at a private dinner Friday evening, and a rally at Casa de Cuba on Saturday were the "old guard" of the local exile community, including several men who like Antunez, had spent years in the Castro gulag or who are veterans of 2506 Brigade abandoned at the Bay of Pigs. They have fought on the front lines against the Castro regime and after more than 50 years, they still have not been able to return to their patria, to their homeland.
Antunez makes a point while delivering remarks Friday night.
In Antunez, a man of a different age and of a different race, they see a brother.
In Antunez, they see a man as unwilling as them to compromise with the Castro regime.
In Antunez, they see a man who shares their distaste for the Cuba policies being promulgated by the President Barack Obama and his administration, and for business and political leaders in Tampa eager to "do business" with the Castros.
Antunez and some of the "old guard." (And not so old.)
In Antunez, and his wife, they see proof that the struggle for which they sacrificed so much, continues in Cuba.
Antunez and Yris at Casa de Cuba, Tampa, Aug. 31, 2013.
And for this younger Cuban, Antunez and Yris only reaffirmed that my own efforts to highlight those Cubans fighting the Castros and to document the daily repression unleashed against them are indeed worthwhile.
They were not aware of this blog but in private conversations and in remarks to their audiences, Antunez and Yris said one of the things Cubans on the island need most is information about what really is happening in Cuba and around they world. They need those of us who are able to break the information blockade and to both tell the stories about what is happening and to support those Cubans in Cuba willing to oppose the regime.
Antunez and Yris reassured me that what I and other bloggers at Babalu, Pedazos de la Isla, etc. and many more on Twitter are doing, indeed makes a difference.
That endorsement, plus the power of their overall message, and their forthrightness in how they deliver it -- this couple is indeed a "power couple" for Cuban freedom -- inspired me at a moment when I probably needed it most.
I have long considered Antunez and Yris to be two of the braver opposition activists on the island. Anyone who has ever listened to or seen their recordings posted on YouTube should have no doubt about that, or whether they are deserving of their support.
This weekend, I looked into their eyes, I listened to their voices, and I realized my faith was not misplaced. In person, they are deserving of even more admiration and respect.
They are indeed giants of the Cuban opposition, they are indeed giants in the fight for Cuban freedom, and because that is true, I am recharged and ready to do more on this blog and elsewhere to support them and others in Cuba in their struggle.
For that, I thank them very much.
Antunez and me, Tampa, Aug. 31, 2013.
See more photos from Antunez's visit to Tampa here.
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