Saturday, August 30, 2008

A Brief History of BUCL


Resurrecting the dead did not turn out too well for Dr. Frankenstein, but I fear the lesson has been lost on Henry Louis Gómez. I have already written BUCL's obituary on several occasions (see here, here, here, here and here). It seemed impossible to me that Babalú's militant arm could sustain so many successive defeats and be unchastened until I realized that success had nothing to do with its existence. BUCL (Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty) is an amateur show, literally. This and that act takes stage, bombs, but the show continues no matter how many times the gong is rung because the spectacle is, well, the spectacle.

The inaugural BUCL campaign took on the whole nation of Spain and attempted to revive the The Black Legend of odious memory. It chiefly consisted of tagging BUCL stickers on bus stops. They managed to stick one in particular within 14 blocks of the Spanish consulate in Miami, which they announced with no less fanfare than if they had defeated the Spanish at Lepanto. They also wrote (in Spanish!) a manifesto denouncing the Spaniards' explosión (they meant "explotación") of Cuba, which, if nothing else, refuted Castro's claim of 100% Cuban literacy.

Having failed to topple the Spanish government (though BUCL did take credit for Socialist setbacks in regional elections), it next launched its "Campaign for Sting's Soul." Unlike the "Campaign Against Spanish Explosion," it was conducted in English but not on that account more successful. Its goal was to turn Henry's boyhood idol Sting from a proto-communist to an anti-communist in time for a rumored free concert in Havana last year, where he hoped Sting would denounce the Castro regime. This campaign included the traditional protest in front of Versailles Restaurant and dinner afterwards. While there Henry fortuitously ran into Andy Summers, guitarist for The Police, who had come to the restaurant to eat but ended up being the highlight of the protest. Henry approached him for an autograph, engaged him in a brief tête-à-tête and flattered himself that he had made some progress with him. Certain that victory was in sight and to assure that it would be correctly attributed, Henry hired a crop plane with a BUCL streamer which circled the Miami Stadium where Sting and The Police performed. Sting didn't acknowledge the streamer. In fact, he didn't notice the plane.

It was a good long time before BUCL announced the CAMBIO Campaign , which defied expectations by being its most successful to date because it was its least embarrassing. No gimmicks, no grandstanding, no undue attention called to their own efforts or pretensions about them. Their efforts, though, were rather circumstantial. They unveiled on Babalú a painting of a clenched fist in three skin tones as the emblem of its Third Campaign. I never quite got the symbolism of that, nor why it was necessary to replace the already well-known CAMBIO bracelet. The CAMBIO Campaign never got beyond the launching stage. It was eclipsed by Henry's infatuation with the predictions of Nostradamus Dorshner.

If nothing else, the CAMBIO Campaign could have represented a graceful exit for BUCL. But no. After another long hiatus, BUCL returned with the launching this week of its Campaign to Free Gorki. This gave rise to a controvery that overshadowed the campaign itself. The BUCLers requested monies for a publicity initiative to bring the news of his arrest to a wider audience. Their first mistake was to presume that Gorki was an unknown figure outside of Cuba. He is not. The news of his arrest circled the globe without the necessity of privately-generated news releases placed on news wires for an exorbitant fee, the equivalent in journalism of vanity publishing. Their second mistake was to collect monies in Gorki's name without Gorki's authorization or that of his representatives, in effect, undercutting their efforts on his behalf at a crucial moment. There would have been no problem, I think, if the monies collected by Babalú had been donated to defray the costs of Gorki's defense, to support his infant daughter or to launch his almost completed album, "Porno Para Ricardo's" latest battle cry against the regime. But Babalú, as everybody knows, is opposed to providing any material assistance to Cubans on the island that would mitigate in any way their suffering and its ideological purity would not allow any exceptions.

When Charlie Bravo, representing the Cuban Underground, which handles "Porno Para Ricardo's" affairs in the U.S. and internationally, informed Henry that he was not authorized to collect monies using Gorki's name, Babalú, which could not deny that that such a practice is not only unethical but illegal, instead undertook a blog lynching of Charlie Bravo, once again violating its cardinal rule about not dumping on its own. Henry soon realized, however, that he had gone too far and at precisely the wrong time and deleted the censorious post and its even more offensive thread, which RCAB rescued and reproduced here. Henry then sought a truce with the Cuban Underground which was agreed to for the sake of not diverting attention from Gorki's plight with a "turf war" where neither Babalú nor BUCL had any competency.

BUCL's Fourth Campaign was mercifully interrupted by Gorki's release from prison. Now BUCL can claim another "victory" and conclude this charade once and for all. Having already predicted its demise on numerous occasions only to see it rise again with even more catastrophic results, I am sure that we have not heard the last of Babalú's militant arm.

20 comments:

Fantomas said...

Deja eso Manuel
#$&&)?"!%%

Al Godar said...

Isn't BUCL one of us?
Let them blog their way, make their mistakes and rectify them as we all do. By focusing too much on the wrong side we run the risk of missing the right one.
Each voice is important.
Saludos,
Al Godar

Fantomas said...

Lo de Manuel es una obsesion ya

El no entiende eso de que en la union esta la fuerza

Que coja credito el que quiera cogerlo

Para mi eso no es importante

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

fantomas:

What you are saying is that truth doesn't matter just results. Well, truth does matter. What doesn't matter are BUCL's results.

BTW, when they booted you from Babalú and removed your blog from its blogroll, did they let you keep your BUCL membership?

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Al:

It's the rectification part that BUCL has trouble with. Fortunately, they have me to take care of that department.

"Let a thousand flowers grow" by all means and I am glad that you are there to collect them. As for me, I am content to pluck the weeds.

Vana said...

Lol Manuel you gave me a good laugh, obviously the BUCLers love to resurect their dead Frankenstein over and over, the last one was a fiasco, they will not let an opportunity pass without collecting money.

Fantomas said...

BTW, when they booted you from Babalú and removed your blog from its blogroll, did they let you keep your BUCL membership?


the only way you can belong to ANY BUCL campaign es si pagas lo que pidan ... si no pagas no entras

Very simple

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Y'all did better off joining the free Gorki free campaign.
After all, their idol Andy Garcia was to cheap to support the freedom of a Cuban rocker, and didn't even joined a free effort, which by the way, was very successful.
There were only four Cuban musicians in exile that supported Gorki, the composer Jesus Piloto, Paquito D'Rivera, the master of punk, Julio Rey, and the rocker Tanya.
Where the hell well were all the others? We don't know. And I personally don't want to know.

Fantomas said...

Que hicieron los diaz Balart por Gorki, la unica que hizo algo fue Ileana que envio una carta

Fantomas said...

BTW, when they booted you from Babalú and removed your blog from its blogroll, did they let you keep your BUCL membership?


Removing my blog from their blogroll has brought me more than twice the amount of daily visitors

a blessing in the sky mansuelo

Fantomas said...

Mansuelo preparate que BUCL tiene otra asignacion

Denunciar el concierto y convocar al exilio cubano a que se presente en las puertas del teatro a protestar. Creo que esto seria un palo si logramos llevar 1000 o 2000 personas el dia de ese concierto, convovar a la prensa internacional y conseguir que nuestros hermanos de New Jersey y NY nos den una mano . Hablare con Rafael Martel a ver que se puede hacer desde alla, tu que estas en New Jersey podias dar una mano Mansuelo, cierto

Título: Concierto por la libertad de Los Cinco cubanos en Nueva York el 13/9/08- Enlace 1 - Enlace 2
Texto del artículo:

El Comité Internacional por la Libertad de os 5 Cubanos
ENLACE 1:
www.thecuban5.org
en colaboración con
El Centro Hostos para las Artes y la Cultura
Presenta

Cinco Estrellas y un Canto
Sábado 13 de septiembre , 7:30 PM
Centro Hostos para las Artes y la Cultura
450 Grand Concourse esq Calle 149th, Bronx, New York

Artistas participantes:
Danny Rivera
"la Voz de Puerto Rico"
Cantautor VICTOR VICTOR
y los
PUERTO RICO GOLDEN JAZZ ALL STARs
Con Enric Figueroa, Endel Dueño, Ramon Vazquez, Ritchie Flores and Alfredo De La Fe

Invitado Especial
Danny Glover

Fantomas said...

El Secretario Gutierrez hablo TOO LITTLE TOO LATE... AHORA SE QUIEREN MONTAR EN EL TRENCITO DE GORKI CUANDO YA PASO TODO... ASI ES BIEN FACIL. Y HENRY DOES NOT GET IT AS OF YET

Secretary Gutierrez Condemns Actions Taken By Cuban Regime
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez released the following statement on reports that Cuban security forces beat several peaceful protestors during a music concert in Havana. The security forces attacked the concert-goers for unveiling a sign calling for the release of rock musician Gorki Aguila and leading a chant of “Gorki, Gorki, Gorki,” among those attending the concert. According to press reports, one of Aguila’s fellow band members was arrested, while the other protestors were forced to flee into the crowd to avoid further injury.

Thursday’s peaceful protest was in response to the arrest of rock musician Gorki Aguila, Monday, on charges of “dangerousness,” “pre-delinquent behavior,” and behavior “contrary to the standards of the communist morality.” Aguila, who uses his music to denounce the regime’s repressive policies, was tried Friday and fined the equivalent of $28, which is approximately more than a month’s salary for an average Cuban.

“We condemn the regime’s violent attack on peaceful concert-goers and arrest of Mr. Aguila. These actions are clearly contrary to the UN covenant Cuba recently signed, which recognized the right to freedom of expression.* Mr. Aguila was unjustly detained and charged. The Castro regime has an obligation to respect the human rights of the Cuban people. These rights include free speech. The Castro regime must stop denying Cubans their rights.”

*The Cuban regime recently signed the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which specifies in Article 19 that “everyone shall have the right of freedom of expression.”

Secretary Gutierrez co-chairs the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a U.S. Cabinet-level commission formed to explore ways the United States can help hasten and ease a democratic transition in Cuba.


# # #

Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at 04:54 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Habla (0)

Vana said...

Gustav is buffeting the Isle of Pines, as a cat 4 seems the eye will also hit Pinar del Rio, our poor people now they will be homeless.

Fantomas said...

Vana Castro has 1.2 billion dollars in his personal account, se llama la caja del jefe

He can spare a couple hundred millions without a problem

will he?

Anonymous said...

Coño huevón, ocupate de Cuba que está siendo azotada por un huracán y tu sigues comiendo mierda con BUCL y Babalú.
Tu obsesión y envidia no tiene límite

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

anonymous:

You must have a very high opinion of me to think that I could command the elements to spare Cuba and they would heed me. Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can do to stop a hurricane.

Manmade disasters are another matter and the greatest harm to our country has not been done by Nature but by man.

Envy presupposes inferiority, and in nothing are Babalú's editors my superiors.

Fantomas said...

Mansuelo deja eso ya
#$/??$$#"&>@

Anonymous said...

ESTO REALMENTE DA GANAS DE VOMITAR

Hurricane Gustav
Right now, Im sure our friends and fellow Americans in Hurricane Gustav's way are too busy getting ready to or already getting out of Dodge, but I thought Id ask for all of us to keep those folks in our thoughts and prayers. Gustav appears to be a monster of a storm.


A Cat 4 or 5 hurricane is bound to cause some major damage and we'll all need to chip in somehow after the storm. Ill post links to charities and organizations and drives as soon as Ive gathered them up.




Posted by Val Prieto at 03:25 PM | Permanent Link to this Post | Habla (0)

Anonymous said...

Hay que ser descarao de verdad Ñico