BY NORTON SANDLER
BERKELEY, California - Some 30 participants from Cuba have been invited to "A Dialogue with Cuba," a conference hosted by the University of California here March 19-21. They include prominent academics and scientists, artists, entertainers, journalists, athletes, trade unionists, university students, and deputies from Cuba's National Assembly of Peoples Power, as well as representatives of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. The conference is sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley itself, the office of University Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl, and numerous university departments.

At a news conference held on campus March 10, Ling-chi Wang, chairman of the Department of Ethnic Studies, said that the Cuban invitees were selected by various university departments who are paying their expenses to attend. These departments have also invited academics and others from the U.S. to participate in the conference panels and plenary sessions.

The main sessions will include "A Framework for a U.S./Cuba Dialogue," "Race, Racism, and Society," "U.S.-Cuba Relations," "The Sociology of Sport," and "Democracy, Elections, and People's Power."

Among the Cubans invited are Gisela Arandia from the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba; Alfonso Chao Chiu, president of the Chung Wah Casino (Chinese Benevolent Association); Olga Fernández Ríos, director of the Institute of Philosophy, Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment; filmmaker Gerardo Chijona; Julio César Guanche, member of the national secretariat of the Federation of University Students; Jorge Ruiz, director of Radio Havana's English-language section; and Ramón Crespo, national secretary of the Cuban Health Workers Union. The conference will be opened with a concert March 19 at the Berkeley Community Theater including well-known Cuban singer Carlos Varela and an Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble featuring Pancho Quinto and other entertainers. Cuban poet Nancy Morejón and U.S. writer Alice Walker will read from their works.

According to Wang the U.S. State Department has approved visas to travel to the conference for 8 conference invitees from Cuba, but denied visas to 11 others. They will be joined by Fernando Remírez de Estenoz, who heads the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. Eleven musicians taking part in the cultural event have received U.S. visas. None of the those invited who are associated with Cuba's National Assembly or other governmental bodies have been granted visas, including Alberto Juantoreno, the vice president of Cuba's National Institute of Sport; Carlos Fernández de Cossio, chief of the North American Section of the Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Sergio Arce, secretary general of the Latin American and Caribbean Christian Conference on Peace. "Because the dialogue will be academic, free, and open," Wang stated, "it should have the blessing of our government, the U.S. Department of State, a prerequisite for securing timely visas for our invited scholars and professionals to come to Berkeley. We trust that our government will not use the visa approval process to impose censorship and stifle free expression and exchange of ideas."

He added that the conference organizers are mobilizing support from throughout the nine-campus University of California system to aid in the effort to obtain visas for the remaining Cuban invitees. The Cuban participants are making themselves available to visit other area campuses for a couple of days before the conference and a few days afterward. The conference is free to students. Registration for other participants will be $20. The opening concert costs $15 for students and $20 general admission.

For more information on the "Dialogue with Cuba," contact the Department of Ethnic Studies, 506 Barrows Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-2570. Telephone (510) 643- 0796. E-mail LULYFL36@unclink2.berkeley.edu.

Norton Sandler is a member of International Association of Machinists Local 1781. Mary Lou Montauk contributed to this article.  
 
 
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