March 3, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear President Obama:

We are artists, arts presenters, arts educators, cultural entrepreneurs and scholars, and cultural heritage and policy professionals from diverse political persuasions. We have been adversely affected by the cultural embargo imposed by the U.S. government against both Cuban and American artists and cultural institutions. We are writing to request that you make concrete changes in U.S. policy towards Cuba that will allow for the uninhibited flow of art, culture, information, ideas and debates, as well as travel by artists, cultural workers and professionals, and arts and cultural aficionados between the two countries.

U.S. policies towards Cuba – worsened many times over by the previous administration and criticized throughout the world – have prevented us from engaging in critical communication and collaboration with our Cuban counterparts, compromising our nation’s cherished ideals of freedom of expression and preventing cultural interchange between two societies that share a historic relationship lasting over two centuries.

In 2007 we requested policy changes from the Bush Administration so that respectful, critical dialogue and principled exchange could take place between the peoples of Cuba and the United States and our respective governments. Our petition fell on deaf ears. As citizens, artists, scholars, educators and cultural workers from all artistic practices and from advocacy and service organizations in the arts, we now call upon your Administration to:

1. open a respectful dialogue with the government and people of Cuba in accord with established protocols supported by the community of nations;

2. end the travel ban that prevents U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba, and allow for Cuban artists and scholars to visit the United States, thus eliminating the censorship of art and ideas, and;

3. initiate, by working with the U.S. Congress, a process that can result in the development of normal, respectful bilateral relations between our countries.

The artistic and cultural communities in the United States and in Cuba are catalysts of imagination and creativity. We are committed to serve as bridges for our fellow citizens. Now, we need our government to take leadership and re-open the pathways of exchange.

We look forward to working with you to advance the interests of the United States and of Cuba.

Sincerely,

2005 National Poetry Slam Championship Team (Hakim Bellamy, Carlos Contreras, Cuffee, Esme Vaandrager & Kenn Rodriguez), NM
Patch Adams, Arlington, VA
Maria Teresa Agozzino, Associate Director, American Folklore Society, Columbus, OH
Daniel Alarcón, Novelist, Center for Latin American Studies, UC Berkeley, Oakland, CA
Michael Alexander, Executive Director, Grand Performances* & Chair, California Arts Council*, Los Angeles, CA
Clifton Anderson, Musician, Bronx, NY
Mavis Anderson, US-Cuba Cultural Exchange, Washington, DC
Jorge Artiles, Music Event Producer, Havana Productions*, Miami FL
David Asbell, Executive Director, Lobero Theater Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA
Greg Ashe, Executive Director, Karamu House Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, OH
Stuart A. Ashman, Cabinet Secretary, State of New Mexico Cultural Affairs, Santa Fe, NM
Bob Augelli, Ph.D., Director, Rosa Blanca Project, Lawrence, KS
Stephen Bailey, Executive Director/CEO, Grand Opera House, Wilmington, DE
Philip Ballman, Co-Founder, Mondo Mundo Agency, Brooklyn, NY
Amiri & Amina Baraka
Sean Barlow & Banning Eyre, Afropop Worldwide, Brooklyn, NY
Harry Belafonte
Leslie Bernstien, Filmmaker, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences*, Pasadena, CA
Patrick Berry, President, Six Degrees Records, San Francisco, CA
Bev Bickel, Professor, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD
Laura Bickford, Film Producer, Los Angeles, CA
Mark Bingham, Musician, Piety Street Recording, New Orleans, LA
David Bither, Senior Vice President, Nonesuch Records, New York, NY
Anthony Blea, Professor of Music, CCSF, Castro Valley, CA
Larry Blumenfeld, Journalist & Music Critic, Brooklyn, NY
Richie Bonilla, Booking Agent, Manager & Promoter, Bronx, NY
Beth Boone, Artistic & Executive Director, Miami Light Project, Miami, FL
Jimmy Bosch, Musician/CEO JRGR Records, New York, NY
John Boutté, Singer-Songwriter, New Orleans, LA
Joe Boyd, Record Producer & Author, London, England
Robert Bozina, Professor of Music, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Bill Bragin, Director of Public Programming, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts*, New York, NY
Emerson Bran, CEO/Booking Agent, Emerson Bran Management*, Van Nuys, CA
Sonny Bravo, Musician/Arranger, Yonkers, NY
Carol Brightman, Author, Walpole, ME
Lisa Brock, Professor, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
Jackson Browne, Songwriter, Santa Monica, CA
Vinie Burrows, Actor & UN Representative, Womens Intl Democratic Federation, New York, NY
Joseph Cabral, Musician, The Iguanas, New Orleans, LA
Hugo M Cancio, President, Fuego Entertainment, Inc, Miami, FL
Judy Cantor-Navas, Journalist, New York, NY
Jim Cassell, The Berkeley Agency, Berkeley, CA
Regina Cervantes, 9/11 Rescue Worker, Cast of SiCKO*, Yukon, OK
Ever Chavez, Founder & Director, FUNDarte, Miami Beach, FL
Paul Chin, Executive Director, La Pena Cultural Center*, Berkeley, CA
Gabri Christa, Director, Danza Isa Film & Performance / CUNY/CSI, Staten Island, NY
Jimmy Cobb, NEA Jazz Master, Drums, New York, NY
Aaron Cohen, Music Journalist, Chicago, IL
Richard "Crazy Legs" Colon, Dancer, Rock Steady Crew, Jersey City, NJ
Johnny Conga, Musician/Educator/Folklorist, NARA/LARAS, Seattle, WA
Luis Conte, Musician, AFM Local 47*, Carpenteria, CA
Neal Copperman, Executive Director, AMP Concerts/¡Globalquerque!, Albuquerque, NM
Wilson Corniel, Musician, Richmond Hill, New York, NY
Maria Costa, Producer, Los Angeles, CA
Peter Coyote, Actor & Writer, SAG, AFTRA, Mill Valley, CA
Susan Criner, Owner, Gulf Coast Entertainment, Houston, TX
Jose Cruz, President, Jazz/Latino, Inc., Guilderland, NY
Hector Cruz-Sandoval, Filmmaker/Producer, Los Angeles, CA
Culture Clash (Ricardo Salinas, Herbert Siguenza & Richard J. Montoya), Actors, Los Angeles, CA
Barbara Dane, Musician, Oakland, CA
Eisa Davis, Writer & Performer, Brooklyn, NY
Walfredo de los Reyes, Musician
Jack DeJohnette, Musician, Golden Beams Productions, Willow, NY
Juan Dies, Executive Director, Sones de Mexico Ensemble, Chicago, IL
Charlie Dos Santos, Producer/Engineer, New York, NY
Lila Downs, Singer-Songwriter
James Early, Artists & Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity, Washington, DC
Emiliano Echeverria, Independent Scholar, Radio Producer, KPFA/Pacifica Radio*, San Francisco, CA
Jacob Edgar, President, Cumbancha, Charlotte, VT
Wallace I. Edgecombe, Director, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Bronx, NY
Jim Eigo, Publicist/Promoter, Jazz Promo Services*, Warwick, NY
Cynthia Elliott, Executive Director, Symphony Space, New York, NY
T.J. English, Author, New York, NY
Douglas R. Ewart, Professor/Composer/Musician, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis, MN
Diana Ezerins, Programming Coordinator, The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Rachel Faro, Music Producer, President-Ashe Records, New York, NY
Mitchell Feldman, Latin Jazz Radio Promotion & Publicity, Augusta, GA
Ariel Fernandez Diaz, Cultural Promoter/Journalist, Brooklyn, NY
Cory Fisher, Journalist/Field Producer, SiCKO*, Nevada City, CA
Charles Fishman, Executive Producer, Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, Washington, DC
Dale Fitzgerald, Arts Presenter, The Jazz Gallery, New York, NY
Juan Flores & Miriam Jimenez, Independent Scholars, Brooklyn, NY
Quetzal Flores, Musician/Producer/Pro-Activist, Quetzal, East Los Angeles, CA
Nnenna Freelon, Jazz Singer, Durham, NC
Gerald Fried, Composer, Santa Fe, NM
Tom Frouge, Manager/Presenter, Avokado Artists, Placitas, NM
Steve Frumkin, President, Jim Wadsworth Productions Agency, Cleveland, OH
Kathryn Garcia, Director of Programming, Arsht Center for the Performing Arts*, Miami, FL
Keith Ghion, President, Geodesic Management, New York, NY
Rob Gibson, Executive & Artistic Director, Savannah Music Festival, Savannah, GA
Verna Gillis, Producer, Soundscape, Accord, NY
Danny Glover, Activist-Actor
Larry Gold, Promoter, New York, NY
Tom Gold, Agent, The Rosebud Agency, San Francisco, CA
Gene Golden, African & Afro Cuban Folklore, Fairview, NY
Paul Goldman, Agent, Monterey International, Carmel, CA
Arturo Gomez Cruz, Public Radio Mgmt, Jazz89 KUVO-FM/DOCA Commissioner City-County of Denver, Denver, CO
Guillermo Gomez-Peña, Performance Artist and Writer, La Pocha Nostra, San Francisco, CA
David Gonzalez, Ph.D, Poet/Storyteller, Nyack, NY
Ibrahim González, Senior Producer, Pacifica Radio, New York, NY
Nelson Gonzalez, Musician, Bronx, NY
Peter Gordon, Composer/Musician/Educator, New Rochelle, NY
Jose Griego, Ph.D., President, Northern New Mexico College, Espanola, NM
Luis Guerra, Musician/Producer, Albuquerque, NM
Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, Musician, Writer, Cultural Activist, Boyle Heights, CA
Tom Guralnick, Executive Director, Outpost Performance Space, Albuquerque, NM
Charlie Haden, Educator/Musician, Agoura Hills, CA
Herbie Hancock, Musician/Chairman, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz*, Los Angeles, CA
Donald Harrison, Musician & Composer, New Orleans, LA
Havana NRG, Cuban Orchestra, Dallas, TX
Tom Hayden, Editorial Board, The Nation, Santa Monica, CA
Louis Head, US-Cuba Cultural Exchange, Albuquerque, NM
Anne Helmreich, Director, Baker Nord Center, Dept of Art History & Art, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Oscar Hernandez, Musician/Composer, Los Angeles, CA
Ariana Hernandez-Reguant, Cultural Anthropologist, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
Gloria Herrera, Attorney/Producer/Presenter, Los Angeles, CA
Danny Hoch, Playwright, Actor, Brooklyn, NY
Marguerite Horberg, Chicago, IL
HR-57 Center for the Advancement and Preservation of Jazz & Blues, Washington, DC
Invincible, Hip Hop Artist & Activist, Detroit, MI
Ralph Irizarry, Musician & Indie Label Owner, Brooklyn, New York
Suki John, Ph. D., Specialist on Cuban Dance, Ft. Worth, TX
Booker T. Jones, Musician, San Francisco, CA
Danny Kapilian, Producer, Brooklyn Academy of Music & National Geographic*, Brooklyn, NY
Mike Kappus, President, The Rosebud Agency, San Francisco, CA
David Katznelson, Music Producer, San Francisco, CA
Craig Knudsen, President, Knudsen Productions, Berkeley, CA
Robert Kraft, President, Fox Music, Los Angeles, CA
Kris & Lisa Kristofferson
Laszlo Kubinyi, Illustrator, Graphic Artists Guild*, Teaneck, NJ
Alexia Lalli, Heritage & Preservation Consultant, New York, NY
Greg Landau, Music Producer & Professor, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Saul Landau, Filmmaker, Alameda, CA
James Lepore, Professor, George Mason University, Arlington, VA
Vivien Lesnik Weisman, Filmmaker, Santa Monica, CA
Mark Levine, Musician/Educator/Author, The Jazzschool, Berkeley, CA
Sandra Levinson, Director, Cuban Art Space / Center for Cuban Studies, New York, NY
Lee Lockwood, Writer & Journalist, Weston, FL
Alison Loerke, Artist Representative, ALIA Productions, Seattle, WA
Ana Lopez, Professor, Tulane University*, New Orleans, LA
Kristina Lorson, Travel Manager, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA
Linda Lucero, Executive/Artistic Director, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, San Francisco, CA
Brian Lynch, Musician & Grammy Award Winner, New York, NY
Howard Mandel, Writer/Broadcaster/Educator, Jazz Journalists Association, New York, NY
Ev Mann, Executive Director, Center for Creative Education, Kingston, NY
Dave Marsh, Writer-Broadcaster, Editor, Rock-Rap Confidential, Norwalk, CT
Robert Martin, General Manager, Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe, NM
Bill Martínez, Arts Immigration Attorney & Presenter, Martínez & Associates, San Francisco, CA
Derek Mathews, Cultural Director, Gathering of Nations, Albuquerque, NM
Rebeca Mauleon, Professor/Musician, San Francisco, CA
Mervon Mehta, VP Programming, Kimmel Ctr for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia PA
Mickey Melendez, Radio Producer, WBAI 99.5 FM, New York, NY
Danny Melnick, President, Absolutely Live Ent, LLC, New York, NY
Pablo Menendez, Musician, Mezcla
Tomas Michaud, Musician, Alameda, CA
Ivor Miller, Author & Cuban Culture Specialist, Boston University, Cambridge MA
Marilyn Miller, Professor, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Tom Miller, Author, Tucson, AZ
Tom Miller, General Counsel, Send A Piana to Havana, Oakland, CA
Rick Mitchell, Artistic Director, Houston International Festival, Houston, TX
Juliana Mojica, Arts Promoter, Mojica Arts*, San Francisco, CA
Malaquias Montoya, Professor Emeritus, UC Davis, Elmira CA
Anthony (Kevin) Moore, Music Writer, Timba.com, Santa Cruz, CA
Robin Moore, Associate Professor, University of Texas School of Music, Austin, TX
Luis Moro, Writer & Producer, EveryThingCUBA.com, Porter Ranch, CA
Carlos Muñoz, Professor Emeritus, University of California*, Berkeley, CA
Catherine Murphy, Filmmaker, Tres Musas Productions, Portola Valley, CA
Kevin Murray, Senior Vice-President, William Morris Agency, Beverly Hills, CA
Graham Nash
Jorge Navarro, Artist, The Cuban Cowboys*, San Francisco, CA
Lukas Nelson, Musician, Paia, HI
William Ney, Executive Director, UW-Madison Multicultural Arts Initiatives*, Madison, WI
Hilary Noble, Musician, Dorchester, MA
Arturo O'Farrill, Musician & Founder, Afro Latin Jazz Alliance & 2009 Grammy Award Winner, Brooklyn, NY
Michael Orlove, Senior Program Director, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago, IL
Choco Orta, Female Salsa Singer, Brooklyn, NY
Eddie Palmieri
Jeffrey Parks, Director of Programming, Washington Performing Arts Society*, Washington, DC
Kat Parra, Musician/Music Educator, Oakland, CA
Tomas Peña, Music Journalist/Publicist, MusiMedia LLC*, Teaneck, NY
Juan "Papo" Pepin, Master Percussionist, Pepin Productions, Bronx, NY
Armando Peraza, Musician, San Mateo, CA
Susan Pereira, Musician, Sabor Brasil/Riony Records, New York, NY
Wendy Perron, Editor in Chief, Dance Magazine, New York, NY
Scott Price, Artist Manager, OTA Records, Oakland, CA
Dafnis Prieto, Musician, New York, NY
Becca Pulliam, Radio Producer, WBGO, Newark, NJ
Marc Quiñones, Musician, Q&A Productions/Allman Brothers Band/8yMas, Bronx, NY/New Jersey
Bonnie Raitt, Musician & Activist
Margaret Randall, Poet, Albuquerque, NM
Joe Randel, Director, ArtesAméricas, University of Texas Performing Arts Center, Austin, TX
Raices Collective of KUNM-FM, Albuquerque, NM
Vernon Reid, Composer & Guitarist, Living Colour*, Masque*
Michael Reyes, Attorney & Arts Presenter, Latino Arts Inc.,Waukesha, WI
Arturo Riera, Chairman of the Board, San Jose Jazz, San Francisco, CA
Awilda Rivera, Radio Personality, WBGO-Jazz 88, Newark, NJ
Ben Rodriguez-Cubenas, Chair, Cuban Artists Fund, New York, NY
Eddie Rodriguez, President, Latin Works Music Corporation, Tenafly, NJ
Tito Rodriguez, Jr., Musician, Tito Rodriguez, Jr. Orchestra, New York, NY
Ashleigh Rogers, Recording Artist, Batesville, AR
Ann Rosenthal & Cathy Zimmerman, Co-Directors, MAPP International Productions, New York, NY
Michele Rosewoman, Pianist/Composer, New Yor-Uba, New York, NY
Bernard Rubenstein, Conductor, Copland/Gershwin New Music Group, Santa Fe, NM
David Rubinson, Music Producer, San Francisco, CA
Bobby Sanabria, Grammy Nominated Musician & Educator, Manhattan School of Music, New School, Bronx, NY
Poncho Sanchez, Musician, Los Angeles, CA
Carlos Santana, Musician
John Santos, Musician, Oakland, CA
Bill Santiago, Comedian, New York, NY
Diane Schuur, Jazz Vocalist, Headsup Recording Artist*
Lilly Schwartz, Director of Pops and Programming, Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis, MN
Alan Roy Scott, Songwriter, Events Producer & Artist, Music Bridges, West Hills, CA
Pete Seeger
Tao Rodriguez Seeger
Cynthia Semon, Media Consultant & Promoter, Los Angeles, CA
Lian Calvo Serrano, Booking Agent, Tempest Entertainment, New York, NY
Laura Jean Shannon, Costume Designer/Film, Groton, NY
Bobby Shew, Musician, AFM 47 (Los Angeles), Corrales, NM
William Siegal, Gallery Owner, Santa Fe, NM
Brad Simon, Agent & President, Brad Simon Organization, Inc.*, New York, NY
John Sinclair, Poet, Journalist & Broadcaster, Detroit, MI
Todd Smallwood, Artist/Producer, No Borders Records, Ventura, CA
Bill Smith, Booking Agent, Eye for Talent, San Francisco, CA
Felipe Smith, Professor, Department of English, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Isabel Soffer, World Music Institute, New York, NY
Vicki Sola, Writer/Broadcaster, Teaneck, NJ
Scott Southard, Director, International Music Network, Gloucester, MA
Patricia Spears Jones, Poet/playwright, Brooklyn, NY
Mavis Staples and Yvonne Staples, Singers, Chicago, IL
Jean Stein, Writer, New York, NY
Ned Sublette, Independent Scholar, New York, NY
Greg Tate, Writer/Musician, Vibe Magazine*, New York, NY
Juan Tejeda, Educator/Musician, San Antonio, TX
Yosvany Terry, Saxophonist & Composer, New York, NY
Albert Torres, Producer & Choreographer, President, Albert Torres Productions, Inc, Los Angeles, CA
Kay Torres, Arts Promoter, Curuye, Monterey Park, CA
Clyde Valentin, Executive Director, Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Dave Valentín, Latin Jazz Artist & Grammy Award Winner, Bronx, NY
Manuel Valera, Musician, New York, NY
Jesse "Chuy" Varela, Broadcaster/Writer, KCSM-FM 91/SF Chronicle, Oakland, CA
Jim Wadsworth, Music Promoter, Jim Wadsworth Productions Agency, Cleveland, OH
Jack Walsh, Executive Producer, Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Bill Wolfer, Producer/Musician, Palm Springs, CA
Andrew Wood, Executive Director, San Francisco International Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA
Cindi Younker, Director of Programs, Buckman Arts Center, Memphis, TN
Isabel Yrigoyen, Presenter/Producer, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Elijah Wald, Author/Musician/Lecturer, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Chris Washburne, Musician, Author, & Associate Professor, Columbia University, New York, NY
Mark Weinstein, Musician, Glen Ridge, NJ
Pamela Yates, President, Skylight Pictures, Inc., New York, NY
Daisy Zamora, Poet, San Francisco, CA
Erica D. Zielinski, General Manager, Lincoln Center Festival, New York, NY
Howard Zinn, Author & Playwright, Boston, MA

* Organization listed for identification purposes only.

If you are a U.S. citizen ARTIST, ARTS PRESENTER, ARTS EDUCATOR, CULTURAL ENTREPRENEUR, CULTURAL SCHOLAR, CULTURAL HERITAGE PROFESSIONAL or CULTURAL POLICY PROFESSIONAL and agree with the content of the above letter, please take a moment to add your name to the signers' list below.

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