Artists, Dancers, Actors, Writers Call on U.S. for Better Cultural Relationship With Cuba

A few weeks ago, people as varied as Gloria Steinem, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Bosch, Cristina Garcia, Danny Glover, Sean Penn, Bonnie Rait, Bobby Sanabria, Carlos Santana and others sent a letter to President George W. Bush in support of another letter sent by Alicia Alonso, Prima Ballerina and Director of the Cuban National Ballet, and also Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The letter expressed the signatories' opposition to the administration's policies towards Cuba, saying they prevent cultural interchange between the U.S. and Cuba. The letter demands:

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 appropriate members of Congress, a process that can result in the development of normal bilateral relations between our countries.