My childhood in Cuba under the US blockade

For the past six years on this show, we've talked to working people from across the United States, from virtually every walk of life, about their lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles. But today, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to live and work in a country that has been designated a political enemy of US empire, a country that sits only 90 miles away from the US, a country that American politicians have resolved to strangle into oblivion for the past 60 years. In this episode, we speak with Liz Oliva Fernández from Cuba. Liz is an award-winning Cuban journalist with Belly of the Beast, an independent outlet covering Cuba and US-Cuba relations, and she is the presenter of two new documentaries, Hardliner on the Hudson and Uphill on the Hill. In addition to exposing the sinister interests behind, and the devastating real-world impacts of, the Cold War Cuban policy of Joe Biden’s administration, pushed by powerful hardliners like Senator Bob Menendez, former Chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the films also document Liz's experience as a Black journalist from the Global South coming to the US to confront the predominantly white politicians and interests waging economic war on her country. We talk about Liz's new films, and we talk about growing up in Cuba, becoming a journalist, and life for woking people in Cuba under the US-imposed blockade and designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.<br /><br />Additional links/info below…<br /><ul><li>Belly of the Beast <a href="https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bellyofthebeastcuba/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, <a href="https://instagram.com/bellyofthebeastcuba" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHbXMhkNaGIU7Cn4-rE8TIw" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">YouTube</a> channel</li><li>Belly of the Beast, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfRTNTWkPgY&amp;t=166s" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Hardliner on the Hudson</a></li><li>Belly of the Beast, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaKB3pSLmGU&amp;t=1722s" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Uphill on the Hill</a></li><li>Andrew Buncombe, The Guardian, “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/07/cuba-us-sanctions-documentary-uphill-on-hill-hardliner-hudson" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Two Cuban documentaries show effects of US sanctions on island nation</a>"</li><li>Ju-Hyun Park, The Real News Network, "<a href="https://therealnews.com/cubas-protests-and-the-long-crisis-of-us-intervention" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Cuba's protests and the long crisis of US intervention</a>"</li></ul>Permanent links below…<br /><ul><li>Working People <a href="https://www.patreon.com/WorkingPeople" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Patreon</a> page</li><li><a href="https://www.speakpipe.com/workingpeople" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Leave us a voicemail</a> and we might play it on the show!</li><li>Labor Radio / Podcast Network <a href="https://www.laborradionetwork.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LaborRadioNet/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, and <a href="https://twitter.com/laborradionet" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a> page</li><li>In These Times <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/inthesetimesmag/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, and <a href="https://twitter.com/inthesetimesmag" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a> page</li><li>The Real News Network <a href="https://therealnews.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">YouTube</a> channel, <a href="https://therealnews.com/our-shows-podcasts" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">podcast</a> feeds, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, and <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealNews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Twitter</a> page</li><li><a href="https://workingpeople.libsyn.com/liz-oliva-fernndez" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Working People Podcast show page</a>.</li></ul><br />Featured Music…<br /><ul><li>Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song</li></ul>Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez<br />Post-Production: Jules Taylor<br /><b></b><br /><b><a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.</a></b><br /><br /><a href="https://therealnews.com/eos-pod-subscribe" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for our newsletter</a><br /><a 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