Travel

Dominican Republic

“Ernest Hemingway” Invites Barack Obama to Exhibition Baseball Game

July 2, 2014

Dear President Obama:

Greetings from “Ernest Hemingway” or, at least, from the “spirit” of Ernest Hemingway. For many years now, I have written of and portrayed the Nobel Prize winning author to the point that I am often asked to speak in his persona.

Today, I have the pleasure of addressing you from the headquarters of the House of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. I speak to you as a citizen of Canada, as a citizen of the European Union, as a friend of Cuba and as a friend of America. I also speak to you as one who loves freedom everywhere.

Unlike many others who have written to you with great passion and in the name of justice, I speak not of politics but of love. Ernest Hemingway opened a doorway that allowed me to discover the vibrant love of literature and people that is Cuba. He lived there for over twenty years until forced out by America’s fear of socialism. His spirit, however, is still there. I know that because when I meet the people of Cuba, as a writer and performer of Hemingway, I can feel it, deeply. His spirit exists in the people, in their hearts.

Hemingway has moved into legend. In Havana, in Holguin and in Santiago, I have had the pleasure of sharing that legend. I have portrayed Hemingway at the 50^th Anniversary of the meeting of Fidel Castro and Ernest Hemingway. They met at an international fishing tournament organized by Hemingway and where Fidel won the tournament trophy. I have appeared in Holguin at the Cuban 5 Colloquium, not only speaking in support of freedom but also relishing the joy of a great festival of the people called Los Romerias de Mayo and I have appeared in Santiago de Cuba, sharing my work with students at the University of Oriente and participating in the astounding International Festival of the Caribbean. In each case, my experience was intensely personal. In each case, Ernest Hemingway led me to and through an island that I did not know, to an island that now summons me to know more, much more. I hope that island will summon you as well.

Again, I will avoid the rhetoric of protest and politics. I will not speak of unjust imprisonments. I will not speak of trade sanctions designed to create “hunger, desperation and overthrow of government”, nor will I speak of military prisons on foreign soil and, finally, I will not speak of more than half a century of antagonism. I know you are familiar with these issues. I will only suggest some excellent, recent books that illuminate the relationship between America and Cuba:

• What Lies Across the Water by Stephen Kimber.
• Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion by Arnold August;
• The Economic War Against Cuba by Salim Lamrani.
• Cuban Solidarity in Canada by Nino Pagliccia, Ed.
• The Homerun Kid: The True Story of Ernest Hemingway’s Baseball Team by Cayuco Blas and Brian Gordon Sinclair.

Instead of polemics, I will speak of children gathered round, eager to hear the stories of Ernest Hemingway and I will speak of baseball.

Recently, I became the patron of the Ernest Hemingway children’s baseball team, known as the Estrellas de Gui-Gui or the Gigi All-Stars, in San Francisco de Paula, Cuba. The team was originally formed in the 1940’s to provide an activity for Hemingway’s sons when they visited their father. It was named after Hemingway’s youngest son, Gregory, also known as Gig and Gigi. During this time, Hemingway provided uniforms, equipment and drove the kids anyplace they could scrounge a game. At Christmas, the children were invited to Finca Vigia (Lookout Farm), the Hemingway estate, where Ernest would tell stories to the children and give each one a present.

Five years ago, the Director of Museo Hemingway and Oscar “Cayuco” (the Homerun Kid) Blas, the 86 year old surviving member of the original team, decided to revive the Gigi All-Stars. It has been my pleasure to assist with that revival. In December of 2013, I not only had the privilege of arranging uniforms and equipment for the team but I also revived the storytelling tradition along with the presentation of a gift to each child. One of the stories I told explained how the children stopped stealing mangoes from the estate when they had a positive alternative – the great American and Cuban pastime, baseball. The event was so successful that it will continue as an annual event as long as the team exists.

Mr. President, “Ernest Hemingway” now summons you to Cuba. I ask that you make this visit to honour the legacy of a great American writer. I also ask that you make this visit for the love of baseball, for the love of children and for the love of our common humanity. I guarantee, you will love the game; you will love the children and, by the end of your visit, you will love the warm, friendly, generous people of Cuba. This year, let us give the Gigi All-Stars a real present – a true and enduring freedom.

By the way, Mr. President, at Finca Vigia, we will be able to eat all the mangoes we want. We will also be able to end a blockade, free some prisoners and become friends. In the name of Ernest Hemingway, let us meet; let us do this. As a well known American president once said, “It’s the right thing to do.”

My kindest regards to you and your family. I look forward to your response in the near future.

Sincerely,

Brian Gordon Sinclair: “Hemingway On Stage”

PS: The Obama family did visit Finca Vigia, where they were presented with a copy of The Homerun Kid.

Holguin, Cuba

The “Che Guevara Brigade”

May 2012

Every arrival in Cuba feels like a spiritual return to a home where that special part of you has been too long away. Holguin is like that, a lot like that.

Recently, I had the pleasure of performing for Canada’s 20^th “Che Guevara Brigade”, a band of adventurous Canadians of all ages determined to experience the real Cuba. After the show, there was a deluge of questions. “What Hemingway books can I read? How do I start writing? How do I learn to speak in front of an audience?” Each question meant that a curiosity had been aroused. They also told me that I had demonstrated a very special love for Cuba, a love that they too hoped to share. If you have ever wondered what the mandate of Hemingway On Stage is, this is it.

A second show was for Los Romerias de Mayo (the Pilgrimages of May). This cultural festival celebrates the founding of Holguin and, over the years, has become both national and international. It all started with a parade. God, I love a parade.

They marched into the city square, heads held high, through hundreds if not thousands of spectators, cheering, mesmerized by the pageantry. In the presentation area, a choir of white shirted singers stopped to sing. “Ode to Joy” rose, not from their throats, but from their hearts. Silvered paper rained from a balcony and we felt the joy enter our hearts in that special, shivering kind of way. We were transported.

Next, a hoard of Harleys roared central, beautifully restored with flags flying in the morning air… then the band, red shirts stepping out, brass instruments shining, gleaming in the sun…followed by beautiful elegant girls, child and teen, draped in the flamenco finery of passionately graceful dance…vintage cars, trucks loaded with workers, revelers, all celebrating a day of joy…and all bringing joy to those, like me, who watched, spellbound.

The audience for my second performance consisted of many Spanish students of English. They were an exceptional audience, responsive and attentive. I knew their English was good because I could actually see the comprehension in their eyes. They smiled, they listened and some cried. You see, when you mix love and death, love of Cuba and the death of Ernest Hemingway, some people will be moved to tears. Later, in conversation, these students displayed a knowledge and an awareness of Hemingway that I can only wish existed in North America. They were warm, they were loving and they were smart. They said I touched their hearts. Well, they touched mine.

Allow me also to mention someone else who touched everyone in a truly wonderful way, Sandra Ramirez. Sandra was the epitome of Hemingway’s “grace under pressure.” No matter what the problem, no matter how tense the situation, Sandra kept the group not only focused and on task but also in a good mood. She made the difficult seem easy. Thank you to you and your fine staff. Well done, Sandra!

I am also pleased to report that Canada’s “Hemingway On Stage” Award was presented to ICAP.* Please watch for a separate article which will provide more details of the award.

*ICAP = The Cuban Institute for Friendship Amongst the Peoples

San Francisco de Paula

I just want to share an incredible experience. On May 12, I went to the fishing village of Cojimar for the 50^th Anniversary of the meeting of Fidel Castro and Ernest Hemingway. The celebration was held in Pesca Deportiva Ernest Hemingway and was attended by members of the family of Gregorio Fuentes…daughter, granddaughter and grandson. I was interviewed by the press who wanted to know if I really believed that Fidel had caught the winning fish. I also met several elderly fishermen who had actually known Hemingway. One presented me with a small hand crafted mask of Ernest’s face and told me about a fishing song that Ernest wrote. He is going to get me a copy. Afterwards, we travelled to the monument near the Castillo where a wreath was laid in honour of the anniversary. Finally, we went to La Terraza restaurant, where some special pictures had been newly hung. The management graciously served mojitos and daiquiris to everyone. I then gave Gregorio Fuentes grandson, Andreas, a drive to work in Havana where he teaches English.

The next day, May 13, was the magic day. I spoke as Ernest to the gathered crowd on the front balcony of Finca Vigia / Museo Hemingway right beside Ernest’s writing room. For the first time in my humble actor’s life, I was able to describe Finca Vigia while, at the same time, pointing to the real building, the big saltwater swimming pool and the mango trees while telling of the formation of the children’s baseball team. A gentleman named Jorge still operates that team.

At the end of the speech, which was offered in English with simultaneous translation by the fabulous Susan Hurlich, I was able to present to Museo Director, Ada Rosa Alfonso Rosales, five computer ink cartridges for the Museo printers and $1000.00 for the ongoing work of the museum. In return, the Director of Havana Club distilleries presented me with a special edition rum: Ron Vigia: Gran Reserva 18 Anos Produccion Limitada. It bears the Hemingway Finca Vigia crest. You know, I’ve always wanted to try 18 yr. old rum and now that I’ve got it, I don’t want to break the seal. Perhaps one day, with very special friends…

I then made one more speech about dedicating the Nobel Prize Medal to the people of Cuba and the fishermen of Cojimar while depositing the medal at the El Cobre Sanctuary. As Ernest, I said a small, sincere prayer of gratitude. As I did this, I swear, someone inside me said, “It’s good to be home.” Strange the things we sense but I do know that my voice cracked and I truly felt a presence. I concluded the prayer by crossing myself and saying “amen”. At that moment, every person in the audience, including the old fishermen and their wives, echoed me in a gentle, soul stirring “amen”. It was a holy moment. Just then, for one, brief, glorious moment, Ernest Hemingway had come home. Later Director Ada Rosa Alfonso Rosales looked in my eyes and said, “Ernest is very happy today.” The next day, because my appearance had been filmed, several million Cubans watched my work on the cultural segment of the national news.

As you may already know, I have agreed to create a new play for Museo Hemingway. The current title is, In Deadly Ernest. It will be presented at the 13^th International Colloquium Ernest Hemingway as a world premiere in June of 2011. The play will then travel to the Hemingway Days Festival in Key West for the North American premiere in July of the same year.

I am also pleased to add that I met with Cuba’s Open Space Theatre Co. in Old Havana and spent an afternoon discussing my play, Hemingway’s HOT Havana. I watched exciting dance routines, listened to exquisite singing and was totally charmed by the members of the company. We have all agreed, in principle, to create a new light musical version of my Havana play. Work would begin in Ernest/earnest right after the 2011 colloquium.

Thank you for letting me share this news with you. See you all in Key West this summer. Hemingway’s HOT Havana will return for 2 special shows: Thurs. July 22 @ 8 PM for the Key West Art and Historical Society (Reception afterwards) and Fri. July 23 @ 11:30 AM for the Hemingway Look-alike Society’s Scholarship Fund. Performances at the Red Barn Theatre, 319 Duval St.

Canada’s “Hemingway On Stage” Award will be presented after the July 22 performance.

Brian

Santiago

The Nobel Prize

Ernest Hemingway’s Nobel Prize Medal was stolen from the El Cobre Sanctuary, located just outside Santiago de Cuba, in the 1980’s. One version of the theft suggests that the thieves were not unknown to the local residents. When word reached Raul Castro, he reputedly issued an ultimatum, “Return the medal within 72 hours or face the consequences. I know who you are.” Although the medal was returned, it was never again put on public display and remained, in hiding, under the care of the Archbishop of Santiago. Rarely has it been seen. The last person I know to have seen the medal was Ernest’s granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway. On December 6, 2011, I was awarded the rare privilege of viewing, holding and performing with the medal. A film crew from Mundo Latino captured the event for use in a multi-part documentary about Hemingway in Cuba to be directed by Esteban Rios Rivera.

There is no proof that Hemingway ever accompanied the medal to Santiago; nevertheless, I have created a scene that depicts the arrival of the medal at the El Cobre Sanctuary. In discussing this scene with the staff of the Archbishop of Santiago, I explained that it was in the spirit of Hemingway but based on poetic license. Soon a message arrived from the Archbishop’s secretary, “We approve your ‘license’.”

What follows is a verbatim record of the scene as performed from memory and filmed in Santiago de Cuba with the Nobel Prize Medal of Ernest Hemingway:

After the war, I finally completed The Old Man and the Sea and I was almost killed in a plane crash in Africa. In 1954, for one or both of those things, I was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is part of what I said: (He picks up the speech and reads.)

“Writing at its best is a lonely life…A true writer should always try for something that has never been done before…Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed…It is because we have had such great writers in the past that a writer is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him.”   (He returns the speech.)

I dedicated my Nobel Prize Medal to the fishermen of Cojimar. Although I had told this story of an old man and his fish to the whole world, it is their story and they should share this medal.

A medal is worn close to the heart and my heart is in Cuba. The good people of Cuba have taken me into their hearts and caused me to live here longer than I have lived anywhere else. This is my true home.

Later, I traveled, with the medal, to Santiago de Cuba and entered the church. There, in the El Cobre Sanctuary, I knelt at the feet of the Patron Saint of Cuba and deposited the medal.   (He closes his eyes and prays.)

Silently, I prayed for the protection, the peace and the prosperity of the warm, friendly, generous people of Cuba.

In Cuba, the people accepted me unconditionally. I could breathe and be happy. It is my clear, well lighted place.   (He crosses himself.)

Amen.

Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK

Canada’s “Hemingway On Stage” Award Presented to Steve and Hilary Newman, Directors of the Stratford-Upon-Avon International Festival of Literature

The Shakespeare Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, 2008

Canada’s “Hemingway On Stage” Award is presented regularly by Artistic Director Brian Gordon Sinclair, as a special Canadian tribute in honour of the time that Ernest Hemingway spent as a reporter and foreign correspondent for The Toronto Daily Star during the 1920’s. The award is intended to foster literacy and recognizes the promotion of Canadian artists and writers according to the positive ideals of Ernest Hemingway.

Washington, DC

For the Love of Cuba and The Cuban Five

Washington DC was the site of a truly historic event. Hundreds of people rallied for the freedom of the Cuban 5 and I had the great pleasure of being there.

On April 20, I attended a luncheon hosted by the ever-gracious Chief of the Cuban Special Interests Section, Jorge Bolanos. I was particularly impressed by a conversation with Wayne S. Smith. Wayne was Chief of the American Special Interest Section in Havana under the Jimmy Carter administration; however, he found his government’s policy so misguided that he resigned rather than implement such harmful actions. His current attitude is no less clear. He said that the position of the American government today is positively “medieval” and that he was befuddled as to how bad American governments over half a century could maintain the same bad policies, doing the same thing over and over again and always getting the same result, the same negative result. By the way, Wayne, as a young staff member at the old American Embassy in Havana, actually met Ernest Hemingway.

That evening a large crowd gathered to hear several people speak of American injustice towards Cuba. Salim Lamrani, a French journalist and researcher, pointed out some of the more outrageous aspects of the American blockade. For instance, if a Mercedes automobile from Europe contained even five cents worth of Cuban nickel mixed in an alloy, that car could not be imported into the United States. If a French freighter brought a shipment of rice to Cuba, it could not enter an American port for six months after the delivery. Salim’s point was that America was illegally imposing its irrational behaviour on the rest of the world, a behaviour that has been condemned by the United Nations and by every human rights organization in the world. Much applause was reserved for Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers and still inspiringly active at the robust age of eighty. More applause greeted actor and activist, Danny Glover who spoke of justice and how it is spoken of, hypocritically, by America but not applied.

On Saturday, April 21, I awoke early, rehearsed my lines for Hemingway’s HOT Havana and then headed for the White House. When I arrived, I saw a modest number of people preparing to rally in support of the Cuban Five. At first, I thought, “Where is everyone?” Surely there are more people than this. I didn’t have to wait or wonder very long. My eyesight may be bad but my hearing is very good. In the distance, I heard what sounded like chanting. Within moments, I saw them, hundreds of them, flags flying, banners blowing, voices vibrant in their protest. “Obama, give us five!” They marched strong and proud and tall into the brightness of the sun and the heart of America. It was a moment of fierce pride as I felt the thrill of excitement run through my entire body. Words cannot express how glad and how proud I was to be there at that precise moment.

The closing event took place at the Bolivarian Salon of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. First came a truly tender performance by the DC Children’s Theatre Group who, in a way that can only be achieved by the honesty of young children, presented a dramatised tribute to Cuban doctors. Next came a speech by activist Cindy Sheehan, who reminded everyone that she is a true fighter for justice and has been willing to go to jail for her beliefs. Finally, I presented my play. The reaction was wonderful and I was humbled by both the standing ovation and the number of people who said they were moved by such an expression of love for Cuba.

My compliments to Alicia Jrapko and all the fine people who helped to prepare and organize this moment in history.

Major compliments to Ambassador Bolanos and all his excellent staff at the Cuban Special Interest Section for their hard work, for their many individual efforts and for the warmth, the gracious humour and the support they imparted to even the most difficult moments. On a personal note, special thanks to the staff volunteers who participated in Hemingway’s HOT Havana and the famous “rum carburetion” scene. Their applause was well deserved.

Finally, don’t forget the HEMINGWAY CHALLENGE: