Posted on 11/14/2004 7:15:32 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Flashback to early July: The "Havana Night Club" billboards were up all over Las Vegas, media ads were being purchased and the Stardust was promoting its new Siegfried & Roy-backed revue on its Website as the "one party you can't miss." The energetic Cuban production, which has played to audiences in 16 countries over the past four years, was finally coming to America.
But as the July 31 opening night neared, there were no dancers, no singers and no musicians. Simply put, there was no show.
Nicole Durr's dream was spiraling into an uncontrollable nightmare. But rather than throwing up her arms, packing it in and moving on, Durr was hard-nosed and fought to bring her traveling troupe to Vegas.
The performers of "Havana Night Club" were wrapped in the politics of a decades-old feud dating back to the Bay of Pigs. Their visas were denied and the show appeared to have been dealt a death sentence.
The timeline of events reads like a soap opera. And it was fodder for local gossip columnists who followed the roller-coaster ride at every point along the way. Even some national publications weighed in on the two-year controversy, which really came to a head in February when the United States clung to its tough Cuban policy that restricts performers with ties to the Cuban government from playing in America and denied the visas.
The problem, Durr discovered, was that the U.S. government didn't believe the group - from a country where most artists are paid by the Cuban government - was truly independent. So she went to work to prove it and picked up some heavy hitters to help her...
(Excerpt) Read more at lasvegascitylife.com ...
That's too bad. But it doesn't change the way I feel about the embargo of communist Cuba one tiny bit.
Relations will never normalize between Cuba and the United States until Fidel Castro is dead.
Drudge just indicated that the entire cuban troupe will seek political asylum en masse tomorrow.
Just announced that the crew of this show will personally all apply for refugee status on Monday morning. Drude show on radio announced it. He may have something up soon on his web site.
I really gotta start reading the threads before I post...lol
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