- by Ron Hall
- The Guardian
- Issue #2124
As the home of progressive music and thought in Adelaide, the Semaphore Workers Club was the ideal venue to highlight Cuban culture and values.
The La Bomba Dancers involved everyone in a vibrant presentation of Salsa dancing, an iconic Latin American dance so strongly associated with the Cuban nation. Following La Bomba was Follow Your Feet, a musical group led by flautist Sean Dempsey whose lyrical playing was a wonderful treat.
As a fundraising activity, there was a multi-prize raffle. This featured a bottle of coveted spiced Havana Club rum, chocolates and other tempting items, a small hamper, and a souvenir fruit cake. Possibly the most appropriate prize was a voucher for a box of organic produce, representing where the funds are to be directed, that is, to support an Agro Vivo urban agriculture project in Playa Giron. All these raffle prizes were donated by members and supporters.
Another really appropriate prize was a valuable heath care package from Cultivate Health, so appropriate as health care and medical treatment in Cuba is freely available to the whole community. This gives Cubans a superior life expectancy and low infant mortality rates while many Western nations, including the United States have an appalling record. The US disgracefully tried to deny Cubans access to anti-COVID vaccines during the pandemic. Cuba accepted this challenge by developing their own safer vaccine which was made readily available to Third World nations at minimal cost.
Two other prizes appropriate to a celebration of the Cuban revolution were a green Fidel cap and a red Che beret – wonderful pieces of revolutionary memorabilia – donated by the Follow Your Feet band leader.
The Australia Cuba Friendship Society across Australia has accepted the task of raising the sum of US$20,000 for this project over a period of two years. As a result of a special national campaign called From Australia to Cuba With Love, $8,700 has already been raised, including $1,700 plus a further $150 in South Australia.
Go to the Australia Cuba Friendship Society website and discover more about how you can join in activities to support Cuba and the Cuban people.
