Monthly Cuba Cultural-Film Night, a campaign to bring the culture of Cuba to Vancouver! On November 7, 2008, more than 60 people participated in Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba’s (VCSC) Monthly Film and Cultural Night at the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood House in Vancouver. The event was entitled ‘The Strength and Spirit of Cuban Women’ and highlighted the struggle and gains made by women in Cuba. There was a movie entitled ‘Lucia’, and poetry read by local women poets. The room was filled with photos depicting Cuban women in struggle against oppression. The evening was opened by VCSC coordinator and Canadian Network on Cuba co-chair Tamara Hansen and VCSC organizer Colleen Glynn, who introduced the program and the gains that have been made by the heroic effort of Cuban women. VCSC organizer April Desilets read the poem ‘Black Woman’ by the famous Cuban woman poet Nancy Morejon. The poem depicted a black woman being treated like an animal before the Revolution and how after the Revolution she was able to be treated as a human being and another person. This greatly highlights the important role that Cuban women are able to play in society as a result of the Revolution. After April, Kerri Goodwin, another VCSC organizer and Vancouver woman activist read with strength her own poetry about how she felt the struggle for the Cuban 5 was important. Free the Cuban 5 Committee- Vancouver organizer Sarah Alwell passionately spoke about the need for justice for the Cuban 5, who have been unjustly arrested and imprisoned for over 10 years. In the case of two of the five, their wives have been denied visitation rights to see their husbands in US jails (For more information, check out www.vancubasolidarity.com/freethefivevan.html ). After Sarah, VCSC showed the film ‘Lucia’ which chronicled the lives of three different characters named Lucia through three important time periods of Cuban history: fighting against Spanish rule, against US neo-colonialism, and after the Cuban Revolution. The movie highlighted how before the Cuban Revolution women were treated as the slaves and maids of the men in the household. However, after the Revolution women under the law were treated as equals, but the Cuban people still faced challenges in making the law the reality. The night ended with MCs Tamara Hansen and Colleen Glynn encouraging the excited crowd to come out to next month’s Cuban Cultural and Film Night, on Friday Dec. 5th at 7pm at the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood House.	Report Back VCSC Monthly Cuba Cultural & Film Night! The Strength & Spirit of Cuban Women Featuring the film: 'Lucia' Click on photos to enlarge