Join us for a Zoom Event on August 25 at 7:30 pm for a discussion on the Cuba embargo and how this plays into the FL Senate race. The documentary film “Frenemies – Cuba and the US Embargo” will be made available for viewing by registered attendees prior to the event. The film provides essential background information for the meeting discussion with our panelists ( see below.)
Johannes Werner is an award-winning journalist who lived and worked in Germany, Mexico and the United States. In Sarasota, FL, from 2006 to 2016 he hosted a weekly radio talk show about current affairs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Johannes is a frequent visitor of Cuba and the editor and managing partner of Cuba Standard. He determines the agenda and edits content of a real-time news Website that sets the standard for business coverage of Cuba.
Albert A. Fox, Jr. is the Founder and President of the nonprofit organization Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation. He has organized and led fact-finding trips to Cuba for United States senators, congressmen, governors, American artists and religious leaders. Mr. Fox served as a senior congressional staff assistant in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.
Vicente Amor was born in Havana, Cuba in 1967 and served as a priest in Cuba for 18 years. He moved to Florida in 2004 and since 2006 Vicente devoted his time to learn about US-Cuba relations and policies, including meetings with high officials in Cuba and the United States. He is the owner of a travel agency and recently founded Ybor Art Factory, an international multicultural project that brings art to the Tampa region.
Joshua Weil lives in Orlando and is a progressive Democrat running for US Senate in 2022. Joshua is a high school math teacher in Osceola County, an active member of the local teachers union, and state teacher organizations. He claims that the year he spent teaching in Kuwait, had his perspectives of the world reshaped. Joshua decided to run for Congress moved by the need to transform our society into one that cares about the facts, the planet, and each other.
THE DOCUMENTARY FILM: Frenemies was produced and directed by Mirella Martinelli, and funded by the Sarasota Arts & Culture Alliance and the Puffin Foundation. This feature-length documentary tells the story of the close yet conflicted relationship between the United States and Cuba from the 1950s to the present. How much longer can this small Caribbean island survive the longest embargo in history?
Mirella Martinelli is an award-winning filmmaker, born and raised in Brazil. During her four-decade film career as an editor, screenwriter, director and producer, Mirella received funding from the Rockefeller and MacArthur Foundations and was awarded by American Cinema Editors. Also known as “Mica”, she is presently an At-Large Vice-Chair with the Sarasota County Democratic Party, the President of the Sarasota Democratic Hispanic Caucus and a member of the Sarasota Democratic Progressive Caucus.
