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<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Public
showing of 1912, Breaking the Silence, followed by a discussion
with Gloria Rolando, Cuban filmmaker.</span></font>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">University
of Massachusetts, Boston</span></font>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">April 20th,
2010</span></font>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">2PM - 4PM</span></font>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Campus
Center - 2nd floor</span></font>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Alumni Room<br>
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<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt;">Over the 6,000 AfroCubans were killed in
the 1912 Massacre. Many were members of the Independent Party of Color,
the first black party outside of Haiti in the Americas.</span></font>
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<p align="left"><b><a name="1912, Breaking the Silence"> 1912, Breaking
the Silence</a></b></p>
<p align="left">1912, Breaking the Silence is the title for a project
consisting of three chapters dedicated to the history of the <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/photopages/independentsfoto.htm">Party
of the Independents of Color (PIC)</a>. An approximation, a tentative
sketch necessary for this little known part of Cuba's history. This is
documentary material, intended to teach, whose principal resources are
the voices of historians and Cuban cultural icons who in some way have
taken up this theme as they express their ideas and conclusions. But
this first chapter is an introduction to the theme which seeks to cover
some antecedents in the history of Afrocubans' struggle for resistance,
a necessary recapitulation which goes step by step down the path taken
by the black movement in Cuba since colonial times, the struggle for
independence and the situation of black cubans once the Island of Cuba
achieved its independence in 1902. We make references to very important
black leaders in Cuba from the nineteenth century, such as <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/juangualbertogomez.htm"> Juan
Gualberto Gomez</a> and Martin Morua Delgado. We talk about the
importance of <a href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/Maceo.htm"> Antonio
Maceo</a> and <a href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/Bandera.htm">
Quintin Banderas</a>.<br>
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The voices, opinions, and commentaries are accompanied by images of
documents, photos, and clippings from the press of that era. The
objective of the first chapter is to answer two questions: 1) what did
the Afrocubans do before the founding of the PIC? 2) Was the creation
of a political party to represents Afrocubans necessary?<br>
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This thought process, this exploration will continue in the subsequent
chapters, especially in chapter 2. It has not been easy to establish an
audiovisual language to present a series of historical events with so
few resources. We have not used any fictional elements. We have
fortified the sound track where you can hear music from rap to the
traditional melodies of Cuban Trova and Punto Guajiro. This is a
project dedicated to the young and to all those who want to take a look
at the history of Cuba with the nuances of skin color, with the nuances
of the injustice inherited from slavery and above all with the
perspective of underlining, of highlighting the forgotten images and
voices.<br>
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The project in general is dedicated to <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/walteriocarbonell.htm"> Walterio
Carbonell</a>, <a href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/history/linares.htm">
Serafin Portuondo Linare</a>, the leaders of the PIC -- <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/evaristoestenoz/Estenoz.htm">
Evaristo Estenoz</a> y Pedro Ivonnet. We really appreciate in this
project the voices of distinguished Cuban intellectuals who gave us
their testimony: Eduardo Torres Cuevas, <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/fernandomartinezheredia.htm">Fernando
Martinez Heredia</a>, Oilda Hevia, <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/nancymorejon.htm">Nancy Morejon</a>, <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/eugenegodfried/mourloteng.htm">Yoel
Mourlot</a>, <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/eugenegodfried/ricardoriquenes.htm">Ricardo
Riquenes</a>, <a href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/Tomasfr.htm">Tomas
Fernandez Robaina</a>, Alejandro de la Fuente, etc. From the United
States joined the voices of professors <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/Brock.htm">Lisa Brock</a> and August
Nimtz to comment on some interesting aspects of the relations between
Cuban and the US at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning
of the twentieth. This project does not pretend to have the last word
on the 1912 theme. But we do intend to mobilize an audience step by
step towards that year which should never be forgotten ever again in
the history of Cuba, the Caribbean, and the Americas.<br>
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The independent video group Images of the Caribbean makes available for
your consideration this work done over the course of the last 6 years.
Many were the persons and institutions who have collaborated from Cuba
and other countries. However, we must recognize that the initial idea
of grouping together some voices was that of professor <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/Helg.htm"> Aline Helg</a>, to whom I
give thanks for that first impetus. One more time, the PIC theme came
to be among my preoccupations as an Afrocuban artist -- the first time
was with the short feature film, <a
href="http://www.afrocubaweb.com/gloriarolando/raicesdemicorazon.htm">
Roots of My Heart</a>. It is therefore hard to quiet my own voice which
has changed into a vehicle for redemption and justice. Thanks very
much, Gloria Rolando, Havana, March 28, 2010.</p>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">For details on the filmmaker and her
films, see afrocubaweb.com<br>
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Info: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:acw@afrocubaweb.com">acw@afrocubaweb.com</a><br>
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