Obama pushes jobs plan as help for Hispanics

WASHINGTON (AP) - Courting Hispanics while promoting his new jobs plan, President BarackObama on Wednesday told a black-tie Latino audience that his $447 billion package of tax cuts and public works spending would put more money in the pockets of Latino workers and business owners and increase opportunities for Hispanics.

The president made his pitch to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 34th Annual Awards Gala. The event is part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Addressing an important constituency both in the voting population and in Congress, the president kept up his vigorous public relations campaign for his economic measures while also beseeching the crowd to help him pass his education and immigration agenda.

“Lift up your voices,” he told an audience that included Princess Cristina of Spain and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Make yourselves heard.”

Obama’s economic plan, the administration’s top priority, received polite applause from the crowd. People saved their loudest approval for the president’s assurance that he remained determined to pass a rewrite the nation’s immigration laws to offer a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Blaming Republican resistance, he said: “It’s been a long and frustrating road for all of us”.

Obama said changes in immigration law are key to economic growth and would fulfill what he called “the idea of America.”

“No matter what you may hear, in this country there is no ‘us’ or ‘them.’ There is only ‘us.’ One nation, under God, indivisible,” he said. “And immigrants are part of that American family and a source of our strength.”

In advance of his remarks, the White House said the jobs proposal would lower payroll taxes for about 25 million Hispanic workers and about 250,000 Hispanic-owned businesses, statistics cited by the president to argue his case. Moreover, the White House said the legislation could help the 344,000 Hispanics no longer working as carpenters or as construction laborers because of the recession.

“You know how hard this recession has hit families, especially Latino families,” Obama said.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute also presented its 2011 Chairman’s Award to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar

Source Marcus Atkinson

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Posted in 2011 hispanic economy , barack obama , BarackObama , hispanic economy , illegal immigrants , Immigration Law , latin economy

Arrests of Immigrants on U.S. Southern Border at 40-Year Low

The number of immigrant arrests on the border with Mexico stands at its lowest level in 40 years, undermining conservative claims that the zone is "out of control" and leading activists to insist the time is right for comprehensive immigration reform.

So far in fiscal year 2011, which ends on Sept. 30, 447,731 immigrants have been arrested along the southern border, a figure that represents a significant decline in the average of about a million arrests annually in the 1980s and '90s.

Figures compiled by the Border Patrol show that after peaking at 1.5 million in 1999, arrests of undocumented immigrants have declined every year beginning in 2006.

Although in the 1990s it was estimated that for every arrested undocumented immigrant two others managed to avoid the Border Patrol, now thanks to aerial monitoring, the greater number of Border Patrol personnel in the region and technological advances, calculations are that in the sectors of El Paso, Texas; Yuma, Arizona; and San Diego about 90 percent of all those who cross the border illegally are captured.

The point of view that the southern border was "out of control" intensified in the 1990s, creating the conditions for building the triple border wall along the frontier between Tijuana and San Diego which is currently pushing immigration flows eastward into Arizona.

Academic Joseph Nevins, author of the book "Operation Guardian," says that anti-immigrant sentiment crystallized in public political terms in 1994, when the Clinton administration implemented Operation Guardian in California, erecting new physical and legal barriers to undocumented immigrants.

As a consequence of Guardian, the number of Border Patrol agents in San Diego grew from 4,200 in 1994 to 9,212 in 2000, a situation that forced undocumented immigrants to shift their border crossing attempts to the often-deadly Arizona desert.

In 1986, U.S. authorities arrested 629,656 immigrants in San Diego, compared with 71,675 in Tucson, while so far during the current fiscal year 212,202 arrests have been made in the Tucson Sector compared with 68,565 here.

Activist Pedro Rios, with the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego, told Efe that although it is clear that the economic crisis has put the brakes on immigration, what has not declined is the number of people who have died trying to cross the border.

"The presence of (Border Patrol) agents makes the flow move to more dangerous zones and take more time. Bodies have been found up to 75 miles north of the border. We have about 6,000 dead people since 1994," said Rios.

"The border, as the low numbers of immigrant arrests show, does not need to be militarized any more. It's regrettable that there continues to exist a discourse that says that before getting started with immigration reform, the border must be secured, when now it is," said Rios.

Source EFE

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Posted in 2011 mexico illegal immigrants , barack obama , border patrol Arizona , illegal immigrants , illegalimmigrants deportation , Latin America , Mexico illegal immigrants

9/11 Stories Ten Years Later

During the year after 9/11 I went to counseling for post-traumatic stress. I went to a group that met weekly. The counselors explained that if we told our story over and over again, the story would have less power over us.

So I have been telling my story for ten years. I am lucky to have a blog, and an amazing community to tell my story to. And recently, as the 10th anniversary has been approaching, I’ve been telling my story again, to many news outlets.

I was there when the first tower fell. I was so close to it that I could not even see what had happened. I didn’t run. I ducked for cover. I got trampled. By the time I could stand up, everything was completely dark.

I remember the moment I realized I should close my mouth and stop breathing. Time got so slow. I remember thinking that if I had stopped breathing sooner, I would have had a few extra breaths right now. I remember thinking don't swallow, because there was too much stuff in my mouth.

I thought to myself that I had no idea what to do to save my life. I was in the dark and couldn’t breathe. I thought I’ll only be alive for maybe a minute longer, so I only have to keep trying to figure out how to save my life for one more minute. I told myself I can’t give up until I pass out. I remember that I hoped for a fast death.

Then something switched in me. I was okay dying. I felt okay with whatever level of pain I had before I died. I thought of my two brothers.  I wanted them to be okay. To be fine. And I hoped someone would help them deal with my death. I thought of my husband, and I was so disappointed to not see our life unfold together.

That evening, after I had been to the hospital, after I had both eyes patched up, my husband finally told me both towers fell. That evening, I still thought the time that I was in the dark was maybe ten minutes. Now I realize that the time when I could not breathe was probably less than a minute. I had accepted the pain and my death after only 30 seconds.

The first time I told that story was when I wrote it for Time magazine on the evening of 9/11. I can’t believe how much my story has changed. How much more I know.

Here’s what I know. I know that leaving New York City is really hard to do. I spent my whole life being a high achiever. I was a high achiever in high school, even as the police were taking me out of my parents house for abuse. I was a high achiever in college, even while I was in a mental ward. I was a high achiever in my 20s, even as I was doing the hard work of taking care of my two youngest brothers.

Here’s my World Trade Center story: Learning to give up everything. I am not a person who waited until the end of my life to slow down. I’m someone who stopped competing. When you leave New York City to move to Wisconsin it’s like a formal announcement that you are out of the competition.

In New York City, anyone who can manage living there with kids is doing something great in their career. For those who have kids, there is only room for high achievers in that city. And I am not there.

I live on a farm outside Darlington, WI, a very, very small rural community where most people are happy. Most people grew up here. Most people do not expect to leave. Most people do not expect to be the greatest at what they do. They just want to have a nice life.  I do not fit here, to be honest. I find myself continually obsessed with being great, making my kids great, finding the best opportunities.

What I learned from the World Trade Center, ten years later, is that it’s okay to pull back. It’s okay to stop competing. It’s the scariest thing I’ve done in my life. And I’m not great at it. I still drive eight hours round-trip so my son has a great cello teacher.

That 30 seconds when I thought I was dying gave me the strength to cut back on my fast-track life even though nothing else tells me that is a good idea. I have no friends who are on as slow a track as I am. I don’t know anyone who left New York City with kids to a rural farm.

It’s scary. What if I am giving up an interesting life for merely a peaceful life? What if the payoff for being together for three meals a day is not enough to compensate for the opportunities my kids miss?

The legacy of the World Trade Center is the stories of people who survived. And in those stories, I hear a symphony of assurances that it’s okay to get off the fast track. Because you can still feel fulfilled. It’s okay to earn half of what you’re earning now. It’s okay to put your kids in a bad school. It’s okay to have a mediocre career or a mediocre house. It’s okay even if you just rent forever.

All these things are okay. You would know that if you thought you had 30 more seconds to live.

Source penelopetrunk

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Posted in 9/11 , 9/11 celebration , 9/11 Stories , barack obama , New York City , twin towers

Mexico: Sharp Increase in Number of Immigrants Leaving the US

Mexico City –  The number of Mexican emigrants who opted to return to their homeland from the United States increased sharply over the past five years to almost 1 million, according to census data.

The deputy secretary of Population, Migration and Religious Affairs, Rene Zenteno Quintero, told a press conference that that figure was 2.7 times higher than the amount registered in Mexico's 2000 census.

The exodus of Mexicans to the United States has likewise been reduced, "seen in a net zero balance between emigrants and immigrants who return to Mexico, meaning we're experiencing a historic moment," he said.

The official also referred to a recent National Occupation and Employment Survey that shows a 70 percent decline in the rate of emigration over the past four years.

He attributed that situation to a variety of factors, including a U.S. recession in 2008-2009 and reduced expectations for an economic recovery in that country.

That situation has been compounded by a "hostile environment toward illegal immigrants, reflected in the more than 1 million deportees during President (Barack) Obama's administration and the proliferation of negative local environments in terms of political discourse, public opinion and legal overhauls," he said.

Douglas Massey, a sociologist and immigration specialist who also spoke at the press conference, said he is pessimistic about the possibility of immigrant-friendly legislation being approved in the United States in the near future.

Activists who work with emigrant communities also are discouraged by Obama's immigration policies, Massey said, noting that despite promising during the 2008 presidential campaign to enact comprehensive immigration reform "he's done almost nothing" so far.

The border has become more militarized under Obama's watch with more resources and more agents deployed, according to Massey, president of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences. He said deportations also have accelerated to levels not seen since the 1930s.

The expert added that he is hopeful the next presidential election will be the catalyst for some type of immigration reform that benefits the millions of - mostly Mexican - undocumented migrants in the United States.

Remittances from expats in the United States are Mexico's No. 2 source of revenue after oil exports.

Another topic addressed at the press conference was the northward migration of Central Americans, a phenomenon also affected by the United States' economic woes and especially a drop in the demand for labor.

"This is evident by the number of apprehensions along the border and National Migration Institute statistics, which indicate that in 2005 close to 450,000 Central Americans traveled through Mexico en route to the United States while in 2010 that number fell to 148,000," Zenteno Quintero said.

Source EFE

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Posted in barack obama , illegal immigrants , Latino immigrants , national migration institute statistics , National Occupation and Employment Survey , Rene Zenteno Quintero

Government Announces Undocumented Immigrants Without Criminal Records Can Stay in the U.S.

President Obama has been facing some serious heat lately over his handling (or lack thereof) of the immigration issue since taking office. Back in 2008, he promised the Latino community that immigration reform would be a priority during his first term, but unfortunately has not been able to get congress to meet in the middle over the controversial reform legislation. Since then, the Obama administration has deported more than one million immigrants.

But President Obama seems to have changed his approach. Senior White House officials announced today that illegal immigrants who are facing possible deportation but do not have criminal backgrounds will get to stay in the U.S. indefinitely and have a chance to apply for a work permit.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says authorities will be taking a closer look at the of hundreds of thousands of immigrants facing possible deportation and start a case-by-case review in order to truly make deporting criminals the priority of the ICE.

The news comes on the heels of national protests against the Secure Communities program, which many immigration advocates say has lead to the deportation of students and broken up families of immigrants who have not committed any criminal offenses.

Source  Mariela Rosario

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Posted in barack obama , Latino community , President Obama , top 2011 latino undocumented immigrants , US Undocumented Immigrants

Secure Communities: Latinos Take Immigration Battle to Obama's Footstep

Latinos in six cities railed against President Obama's immigration policies Wednesday – and threatened to turn their backs on him come Election Day.

The protestors criticized the president for his record on deportations and Secure Communities, the controversial program that requires local law enforcement to share information of people arrested with immigration officials. The Department of Homeland Security said earlier this month that it would expand the program nationwide by 2013.

The coalition of Latino groups simultaneously rallied in the following six cities: Chicago; Houston; Boston; Miami; Atlanta; and Charlotte. Organizers said they delivered petitions signed by tens of thousands of supporters.

Some 200 protestors even went to Obama's campaign office in Chicago to deliver the message, organizers said.

"We are here to try to save the Obama campaign from itself," said Roberto Lovato, one of the organizers. "If he continues with these massive deportations and Secure Communities, he's going to lose the election."

In a lengthy response, the White House said that DHS has for the "first time has prioritized the removal of people who have been convicted of crimes in the United States. It further defended its record of deportations, saying more than half of all removals are people with criminal records.

It said it was proud of Secure Communities, too.

"The Secure Communities Program is a powerful tool to keep the government's immigration enforcement resources where they belong – on those who fit within DHS's highest enforcement priorities, such as those who have committed crimes in the United States," said Cecilia Muñoz, the director of intergovernmental affairs for the White House.

The controversy over the program and its implementation has been criticized by politicians. Governors in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois – not to mention officials in other localities – wanted to withdraw from program.

In Los Angeles, meanwhile, The Associated Press said 200 people – carrying signs that read "Terminate Secure Communities" and waving Mexican and Brazilian flags – attended a public hearing on Secure Communities held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and called for an end to the program.

"Every day I live the nightmare of this program," Blanca Pérez, 38, who said she was arrested in February for street vending without a permit, told The AP. "Now I am facing deportation for the simple act of selling ice cream in the street."

On Tuesday, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network released a report condemning Secure Communities and calling for its termination.

"This report confirms what immigrant communities have long known. The program called Secure Communities results in the opposite," the National Community Advisory Commission said in a statement.  "Entangling local police in immigration enforcement is not just bad policy as the experts testify.

"Conscripting local police into immigration enforcement has provoked a massive civil rights crisis our country now faces," the statement continued. "The only suitable approach is to end Secure Communities."

The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, said in a statement that it has recently developed additional training for local law enforcement along with a new policy to protect domestic violence victims.

It also said it created the task force to make recommendations for other changes, recognizing "that there is room for improvement in the operation of the program."

ICE is currently running the program in 44 states and plans to achieve nationwide coverage in 2013.

Local law enforcement agencies routinely send fingerprints to the FBI for criminal background checks when an individual is arrested. Under Secure Communities, the FBI shares the fingerprints with Homeland Security to look for potentially deportable immigrants.

President Obama, whom the Latino community overwhelmingly supported in the 2008 election, has gotten mixed reviews. In recent months, he has made an effort to woo Hispanics, like visiting Puerto Rico and El Paso, and giving a speech before the National Council of La Raza.

At the Chicago rally, Oscar Chacón, executive director of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, said the White House has his priorities mixed up.

"Secure Communities doesn't contribute any tangible benefit to anyone, it has to disappear," he said. "What makes the communities unsafe is the bad state of the economy."

Source EFE

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Posted in barack obama , Immigration Law , Latinos , Latinos deportation , National Alliance of Latin American , National Day Laborer Organizing Network , Top best 2011 Immigration Latinos

Latinos Tired of Obama’s Inaction on Immigration Reform

For Emma Lozano, President Barack Obama’s hosting his birthday bash in Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom—the same place, set in a heavily Latino community, where acts like Los Tigres del Norte sing pro-immigrant songs—was “a slap in the face” to Latinos, to whom he’s promised much but come up short. So Lozano and 400 others staged their own bash outside the theater, complete with giant cardboard cake, signs that read “Obama, Don’t Deport My Mama” and “Obama 2010: Most Deportation in US History” and chanting.

“He was celebrating his birthday, but we can’t do that with our families, because he’s separating our families,” said Lozano, co-chair of the pro-immigrant Familia Latina Unida and pastor of the Lincoln United Methodist Church.

The event was hardly the only one showcasing Latinos’ growing disappointment and impatience with Obama when it comes to immigration reform. While speaking at the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference in July, Obama was interrupted by some members of the 2,000-strong audience chanting “Yes You Can!” in response to his statement that he would not act unilaterally on immigration reform by signing an executive order to stop deportations, a move the immigration advocates like Congressman Luis Gutierrez have increasingly called for.

This week, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda gave Obama a “C” grade on issues important to Hispanics, with chairperson Lillian Rodriguez Lopez telling reporters that "immigration is clearly an area where we say Obama overpromised and under-delivered" and calling the last seven months “disastrous.”

While backlogs for legal immigration have reached an all-time high, deportations have as well—despite several reports saying that the border is more secure than ever, after massive build up of law enforcement forces, and that immigration from Mexico is at an all-time low.

The latest blow to pro-immigrant groups: The Dept. of Homeland Security’s decision to make the Secure Communities Program mandatory last week. The program enables federal authorities to use local and state databases to find and deport illegal immigrants with criminal records. But several states, including Illinois and Connecticut, have said that the program nets too many immigrants with no criminal record.

For Latino leaders like Lozano, recent events mean that Obama has been speaking with a forked tongue: telling Latinos he’s working on comprehensive immigration reform on one hand but failing to do so, as promised on the campaign trail, even when he had a majority in Congress, and then implementing policies and enforcement that hurt immigrants. “It’s like he’s working for Republicans,” Lozano says.

The numbers seem to bear out Latinos growing anger at Obama. A June Gallup poll shows that the President’s approval ratings among Hispanics have dipped from 73 percent in December 2009 to 52 percent.

What alternatives will Latinos have when it comes to electing a president? Come the 2012 elections, will Latinos, two-thirds of whom voted for Obama in 2008, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, defect to the Republican party?

Laura Garza, Texas state director for the Latino conservative group Somos Republicans doesn’t think so, although with Texas Gov. Rick Perry—who Garza says “understands the Latino heart” likely entering the race, he holds out hope. “A month ago, given the choice between a lazy president who said he would help them and those who would round undocumented immigrants up and deport them because the Tea Party rhetoric had dominated the Republican Party, I would have said, they’ll stay with Obama,” Garza says. “Because it would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.”

“But with the tea party’s agenda waning,” because of its intransigence during the debt crisis, he added, “the Republican Party may not be quite as repulsive as it was.”

Lozano disagrees. “Latinos feel so betrayed that I think they’ll just stay home,” she says

Source Damarys Ocana

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Posted in barack obama , Gov. Rick Perry , Latin Immigration Reform , Latinos , Laura Garza

Larry King joins NOH8 campaign for gay marriage

Former CNN host Larry King has posed for a NOH8 photograph to raise awareness for marriage equality. He also filmed a soon-to-be-released advertisement calling on president Barack Obama to support the calls for gay marriage.

King is shown in the adverts with duct tape across his mouth and ‘NOH8′ written on his cheek. NOH8 is the name of the campaign against Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.

Earlier this year, the NOH8 campaign wrote a letter to president Obama which has been signed by gay celebrities including Rufus Wainwright, Ellen and Portia DeGeneres and Glee star Jane Lynch, together with straight celebrity Martin Sheen and Marc Pincus, the chief executive of Zynga, the home of FarmVille and CityVille.

Source Tom Downes

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Posted in barack obama , CNN Host , gay marriage , Larry King , Marc Pincus , Martin Sheen , NOH8 , NOH8 campaign , Portia DeGeneres

President Obama on Puerto Ricans: "People On This Island Don't Quit"

President Obama spoke to the people of Puerto Rico today, becoming the first sitting president in 50 years to visit the island nation (President John F. Kennedy was the last). Back in 2008, when he was the Democratic candidate for the highest office in the U.S., Obama made a promise to the residents of Puerto Rico that he would return as President, and today he kept his word.

Obama Promises to Address Status of Puerto Rico

"When I ran for President, I promised to include Puerto Rico not just on my itinerary, but also in my vision of where our country needs to go. And I am proud to say that we've kept that promise," he said.

President Obama made reference to the commission he assembled to address the issue of the future status of the current commonwealth. "In March, a report from our presidential task force on Puerto Rican status provided a meaningful way forward on this question so that the residents of the island can determine their own future," stated the Commander in chief. "And when the people of Puerto Rico make a clear decision, my administration will stand by you."

Puerto Rico Left Out of Healthcare Reform?

The President made an attempt to address the crushing unemployment, decaying educational system and economic uncertainty facing most Puerto Ricans who live on the island, saying he plans to include the commonwealth in the health insurance and economic policies that he will be passing over the next few years. "We’re not where we need to be. But in these challenging times, people on this island don’t quit," said the President to rousing applause.

He also took time out to acknowledge the many Boricuas who have contribute to the arts, culture and armed forces, saying, "Every day, Boricuas help write the American story."

Many have criticized the President for making what seemed to be a trip motivated by politics and felt that the visit was organized to pander to the Latino vote in the United States instead of to address the myriad problems Puerto Rico is struggling with.

But press secretary Jay Carney shot down those allegations, saying, "The president is making the first official visit since 1961 of a United States President to the island. He thinks the issue of resolving its status is very important, of dealing with the economic hardships on the island are very important, and he’s very excited about being here."

Source Mariela Rosario

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Posted in barack obama , Boricuas , President Obama , President Obama 2011 , Puert Rico , Puerto Rican , USA president

Obama Cracks Down On Companies That Employ Illegal Immigrants

During the Obama administrations recent crackdown on the hiring of illegal immigrants, increasingly tough criminal charges have been pressed against employers who hire illegal immgrants while less emphasis has been placed on criminal arrests of the workers themselves reports The New York Times.  The long-running investigations of employers have resulted in a combination of exponentially increased jail sentences and fines, convictions, and indictments.  This comes after months of criticism from Republicans who perceive President Obama as having relaxed immigration enforcement in workplaces.  In contrast to policies during the Bush-era, the newspaper reports that the number of criminal charges against unauthorized immigrant workers has dropped sharply over the last two years.

Two owners of Mexican restaurants in the Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler chain were among employers impacted by the tactics of Obama’s administration.  Known for its laid-back mood, the chain was raided in 14 different locations in Arizona and California.  Immigration agents detained kitchen workers and carried away boxes of payroll books and other pieces of evidence.  According to The New York Times, the chain owners, Mark Evenson and his son, Christopher, and their accountant, were the only ones who showed up at the arraignment.  If convicted on charges of tax fraud and harboring illegal workers, the father and son could face more than 80 years in jail.  Of 42 illegal immigrants caught in the sweep, only one was charged with a crime and thirteen were process for immigration violations and detained or deported.  The rest remained in this country to seek legal status or as witnesses.

Since President Obama announced that he would try to pass an immigration overhaul this year, his administration’s record on workplace enforcement has been fiercely debated.  “We have steadily increased our efforts to investigate and prosecute employers who violate the law on a serious and grand scale,” said John Morton, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Administration officials added that the next step is to open a passage that would allow illegal immigrants in the country to work and live in the United States legally.

Republicans have a bone to pick, stating that the decline in arrests of unauthorized workers is an indication that the Obama administration is failing to remove those immigrants in the workforce at a time when Americans are struggling with the country’s high rates of unemployment.

By Amaris Castillo

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Posted in barack obama , Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler chain , illegal immigrants latino , Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) , Mark Evenson

Good News to US Salsaleras: Obama Opens Gate to Americans to Freely travel in Cuba

Good News to US Salsaleras: Obama Opens Gate to Americans to Freely travel in Cuba.

I guess we should all be thankful that Cuba is the origin of the latest dance craze which is Salsa. For a very long time, the US government followed a strict permission guidelines for Americans to travel to Cuba for security reasons primarily because Cuba is a communist country.

But with Obama’s administration, just recently he announced exciting news that entails a celebration for US and Cuba as he issued new rules that will permits Americans to freely travel to the land of salsa dancing.

Expectedly, hearing upon this great news, the Cuban administration is getting pretty excited that there will be more Americans that will flood the cities of Cuba within months or weeks to shake their bootties and hips in the primary salsa clubs.

"This is travel to Cuba for literally any American," said Tom Popper, director of Insight Cuba, which took thousands of Americans to Cuba before such programs were put into a deep freeze seven years ago.

This program will be a rebirth of the past tourism package that Cuba offered before former President Bush restricted Americans to go to Cuba due to terrorists fear.

Before the announcement of this new US travel policy, many of the approved tours in the land are sponsored by museums and universities and centered only on educational theme, and only those wealthy Americans who are willing to spend thousands of dollars are the privileged ones that can afford the travel packages.

But now, although, tours to Cuba won’t go directly on jazz and salsa sessions and will have some lectures on Cuban’s history to justify the trips which are meant under the new U.S. policy, to bring regular Cubans and Americans together, there are no restrictions on age and education attainment as well as whether you’re wealthy or not, as long as you have the will and capacity to go to Cuba, then you can.  Americans are given the privilege to visit studios, galleries and museums to fully understand the Cuban culture.

"Soon Americans can go salsa dancing in Cuba — legally!" said happily one of the tourists.
According to reports, Cuban officials say privately they expect as many as 500,000 visitors from the United States annually, though most are expected to be Cuban-Americans visiting relatives under rules relaxed in 2009. That makes travelers from the United States the second biggest group visiting Cuba after Canadians, with Italians and Germans next on the list.

Many Cubans are positive that this new US policy is a big step towards democracy. 
"It's more liberal than in 2000-2003 in a lot of senses," said a resident.

Unfortunately, there are still many that are quite hesitant regarding this new policy.
"President Obama and the administration continuously say they don't want more tourism and that's not what they're trying to do. But that's exactly what's happening," said Miami Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who was born in Ft. Lauderdale to a prominent Cuban-exile family. He argued that more travel does nothing to promote democracy on the island.

"The only thing it does is provide hard currency for a totalitarian regime," he said.

Nonetheless, it was indeed exciting news that will surely entice Salsaleras to go down to Cuba and freely Salsa all night long!

By Joanna Rossi, www.salsacircuit.com

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Posted in barack obama , cuba , Cuba 2011 , Cuba salseras 2011 , cuban culture , Freely travel Cuba 2011 , US Salsaleras 2011