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Vol. 76/No. 8      February 27, 2012

 
Art exhibit at Seattle college
wins support for Cuban Five
 
BY EDWIN FRUIT  
SEATTLE—For the past month, Seattle Central Community College has hosted an exhibit of drawings and paintings by Antonio Guerrero, one of five Cuban revolutionaries framed up and imprisoned by the U.S. government. The Cuban Five, as they are known, also include Gerardo Hernández, René González, Ramón Labañino and Fernando González. (See introduction to The Cuban Five: Who they are, Why they were framed, Why they should be free on page 7.)

Guerrero is serving 21 years and 10 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Exhibits of his art, as well as that of Gerardo Hernández, serving two life sentences plus 15 years, have helped introduce thousands of people to the international campaign to free the five revolutionaries.

More than 100 attended the grand opening of the exhibit here Jan. 12. Ken Matsudaira, the curator of the gallery, estimated that 400 to 500 people have seen the exhibit so far. “Several teachers brought their classes,” he told the Militant. Students looked at the art, read the material, and viewed the video on life in Cuba today. “Students asked about the 50-year U.S. economic embargo and wanted to know when the four remaining political prisoners would be released,” said Matsudaira.

René González was let out of prison Oct. 7, but has been prevented from returning to Cuba during a three-year supervised release imposed as part of his sentence.

Pete Knutson, a professor of anthropology at the college, brought 50 students from his “Art and Anarchy” class. “I think this exhibit was eye-opening for the students as they saw what led to the imprisonment of the Cuban Five,” he said. “Reading the firsthand accounts of their lives and their patriotism toward Cuba had a real impact on them.”

The Human and Civil Rights Committee of the American Federation of Teachers Local 1789, which represents the community college faculty in Seattle, co-sponsored the exhibit along with the gallery.

Matsudaira said Guerrero’s exhibit would be displayed through Feb. 17. Afterward, one of Guerrero’s pastel drawings, “One day my prison shirt will be left hanging,” will be sent to London as part of a Cuban art show. The rest of the exhibit will be sent to another location still to be determined.
 
 
Related articles:
Class roots of US rulers’ unremitting economic war on revolutionary Cuba
Cuban 5: Who they are and why they should be free
Updated booklet explains reasons and methods behind the US government’s frame-up
Cuba’s annual book fair opens in Havana  
 
 
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