Fidel Castro has a favorite new book and he’s quoting favorite passages in his captive media:
“At Woodstock nearly half a million youth gathered to be drugged and brainwashed on a farm. The victims were isolated, immersed in filth, pumped with psychedelic drugs…all with the full and secret complicity of the FBI and CIA.”
Alas, when in 1979 Fidel Castro (whose regime murdered more political prisoners than pre-war Hitler’s and jailed political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin’s) invited Stephen Stills to perform in Cuba, the famous Woodstocker could hardly contain his elation. The fervent champion of human-rights, civil rights and free-speech (indeed CSNY’s last tour was titled “The Free-Speech Tour”) not only took up the offer to perform at this “Havana-Jam,” but also composed a song in Castro’s honor, titled “Cuba al Fin!”
Jazz-master Paquito’d Rivera, in Cuba at the time, recalls watching Stills on stage at Havana’s Karl Marx theatre lovingly crooning the song to the families of Castro’s Stalinist nomenklatura as if Havana-Jam were a personal performance for the mass-murderer himself. Within blocks of this cheeky “Havana-Jam,” (which also included Human-Rights activist Kris Kristofferson along with Billy Joel) Cuban youths, black and white, languished in dungeons suffering longer prison sentences than Nelson Mandela’s. The Cubans’ crimes were attempting free speech.
“They (Castro’s Stalinist regime) invited me because they knew I was politically astute,” gloated Stephen Stills regarding the acumen and good taste of his Cuban hosts, who to this day jail and torture youths for the crime of saying “Down with Fidel!”
“There’s a man with a gun over there, ‘tellin me I gotta beware.”
Cuban youths have much to teach regarding that scenario, Mr Stills. If only you’d deigned to part briefly from your Stalinist hosts (the gunmen) and asked around.
“You have to give them (Cuba’s Stalinists) due respect because they have a unique form of socialism that’s very significant in the scheme of world history,” Stills further hailed his hosts.
Oh, it’s unique alright, Mr. Stills. Few 20th Century regimes jailed and tortured youths en masse for the crime of growing long hair and craving rock music.
Famous Woodstocker Carlos Santana should also be notified of Castro’s latest “reflections,” as his Propaganda Ministry headlines his weekly articles. Who can forget Carlos Santana’s grand entrance at the 2005 Oscars? The famed guitarist, on hand to perform the theme song for Motorcycle Diaries, stopped for the photographers, smiled deliriously and swung his jacket open.
TA-DA! There it was: Carlos’ elegantly embroidered Che Guevara t-shirt. Carlos’ face as the flashbulbs popped said it all. “I’m so cool!” he beamed. “I’m so hip! I’m so sharp! I’m so politically-astute like my buddy Stephen Stills!”
Indeed, if hipness, sharpness and political astuteness denotes Carlos Santana proudly advertising the emblem of a regime that criminalized Carlos Santana music.
Judy Collins, though not physically present at Yasgur’s farm on August 15, 1969, certainly merits mention here. You know that Spanish gibberish that closes out Stills’ “Judy Blue Eyes? Well, that’s Stills, employing a faux Cuban accent, singing: “How beautiful it would be to bring me to Cuba, the queen of the Caribbean I only want to visit you there, how sad that I can’t go Oh va, oh va, va!”
Well, exactly ten years later Stills fulfilled his wish, and as a personal guest of the beautiful island’s owner and warden.
Upon Che Guevara’s death, the bereaved “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes” herself sought solace in songwriting, composing a lovely ballad title “Che.” “You have it in your hand to own your life–to own your land” goes the chorus which represents Che himself consoling Bolivian campesinos who mourn their savior’ death.
Attempting to own their own lives and land is precisely what got thousands of Cuban campesinos massacred by Che Guevara’s firing squads. American songstress millionaires certainly mourned Che’s death. But check out this last picture for a clue as to how Bolivian campesinos reacted.
“Only through the total eradication of private property will we create the new man,” instructed Che Guevara. “Individualism must disappear. Youth must refrain from ungrateful questioning of governmental mandates. Instead they must dedicate themselves to study, work and military service. The very spirit of rebellion is reprehensible!” thundered this idol of ” do-your-own-thing” Bohemians.
Cuban campesino Carlos Machado was 15 years old in 1963 when the bullets shattered his body. His twin brother and father collapsed beside Carlos from the same volley. All had resisted Castro and Che’s theft of their humble family farm. All refused blindfolds and all died sneering at their Communist murderers, as did thousands of their valiant countrymen.
Not that the victims of this Stalinist bloodbath were exclusively men and boys. In fact, the Castroites were well ahead of the Taliban. On Christmas Eve 1961 a young Cuban woman named Juana Figueredo Diaz spat in the face of the executioners who were binding and gagging her. They’d found her guilty of feeding and hiding “bandits” (Che’s term for Cuban rednecks who took up their meager arms to fight Che’s Soviet-backed theft of their land to create Stalinist kolkhozes.) When the blast from that firing squad demolished her face and torso Juana was six months pregnant.
Not to be outdone by Judy Collins, famous Rhodes Scholar Kris Kristofferson composed song titled Mal Sacate wherein he laments: “You have stolen all the land that you can steal, and you killed so many heroes.”
A perfect tribute to his Havana-Jam hosts, you might think?
Hah! It’s obvious you’re no Rhodes Scholar! Kristofferson is instead lambasting Stalinism’s enemies!
The very next stanza mentions the “murdered heroes,” among whom we find none other than: Che Guevara!
Judy Collins and Kris Kristofferson obviously share the same “political astuteness” with their friend and soulmate Stephen Stills. So let’s excuse for confusing Fidel Castro with Country Joe Mc Donald and Che Guevara with Wavy Gravy.
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