On September 30, over 100 people gathered in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo to hear stories, listen to music, watch slides and video from the first Japanese American Delegation to Cuba in August 2001. This summer, 18 Asian Americans from Los Angeles visited Havana and the Isle of Youth in Cuba.
Members of the delegation, sponsored by Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR) will share their impressions of Cuba and exchanges with the Cuban Japanese community in the Bay Area twice on Saturday, January 12, 2002, at 3 pm at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) Issei Memorial Hall in San Francisco, and at Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland at 7 pm.
The delegation resulted from the efforts of Los Angeles activist Judy Ota who had learned about the 100 year history of Cuban Japanese from Francisco Miyasaka, President of the Japanese Cuban Society, while she visited Cuba with her daughter to meet her Cuban relatives a couple of years ago. Upon her return to the US, Ota and her sister, Kathy Masaoka organized a California speaking tour for Miyasaka last summer with the sponsorship of NCRR, JCCCNC, National Japanese American Historical Society, and Japanese American National Museum, among others.
One of the goals of the delegation was to reintroduce Obon odori (obon dances). The delegation, spanning in age from 18 to 75, will also screen a short video edited down from over 16 hours shot by delegation member Janice Yen that gives a glimpse into Cuba and the Japanese Cuban Obon festival held on the Isle of Youth. Some of the delegation's other visits included: an alternative medicine clinic, a Cuban Japanese organic farm, and grassroots community organizations.
Important highlights of the Delegation’s stay on the Isle of Youth were meeting the two surviving Isseis on the Island and touring the Presidio Modelo (Model Prison) where over 300 Issei men from throughout Cuba were imprisoned during WWII.
Delegation members will also share their observations of Cuba's revolutionary society and its social and economic programs that include free health care and education (through college) to all Cubans. They will also share the effects of the last decade of economic downturn due to the pull out of aid from the former Soviet Union, and the difficulties resulting from ongoing U.S. Blockade against the tiny island nation.
According to Evelyn Yoshimura, delegation organizers plan to bring two Cuban Japanese to California during Summer 2002 to experience Japanese American Obon. Individuals and groups are encouraged to come and find out how they can help with this cultural exchange. "We are also in the initial stages of planning a second US delegation to Cuba for Spring 2003. The Cuban Japanese Society has already invited us to visit Holguin, Camaguey and Santiago. Now is an excellent time to get involved," stated Yoshimura.
The JCCCNC is located at 1840 Sutter Street in San Francisco’s Japantown. Pro Arts Gallery is located at 461 Ninth Street in Oakland. For more information on the January 12 events, contact Jill Shiraki at (415) 567-5505 or Betty Kano at (510) 763-9425. For more information about future Cuba delegations, contact NCRR at (213) 680-3484 or Tony Osumi at (310) 301-4915.
Updated: 12/17/01
