U. S. musicians will travel to Cuba for the Havana program and Cuban musicians to the U. S. for the Providence event. Now into its 40th year, the US blockade against Cuba is a tired relic of the Cold War without political relevance. The embargo's economic sanctions just serve to starve ordinary Cubans and encourage dangerous emigration from impoverished conditions, as in the case of the unnumbered deaths among thousands of people who have tried crossing the Florida Straits in makeshift rafts. Those in government who recognize the urgency to reverse the isolation have acknowledged that cultural exchange is the only way.
Cultural exchange is currently the only way to reach out to Cuba.
It's one of those exemplary scenarios of art triumphing over intolerance, and musicians are poised to play a role in the opening of the societies. That someday she might come to know the truth. That someday she might eat a piece of bread. That someday he might leave his Mercedes behind. That someday he might open the door, open his soul.