Fundraiser benefits Cuban organization

By Brad Fischer

Published March 20, 2007

On a day when most choose to celebrate their real or adopted Irish heritage, those at the Spanish Fly chose to dance the night away in support of the Cuban-American Undergraduate Students Association.

On Saturday night, CAUSA played host to Havana Nights at the Spanish Fly, a Latin dance club downtown.

The club gave the association a percentage of each person's $8 cover fee.

CAUSA Founder and President Nicolas Jimenez said the group plans to use the funds to aid journalists and their families in Cuba. The group raised $300.

CAUSA plans to use the money to help those involved in what Jimenez called the "Black Spring" of 2003, when the Cuban government arrested 75 "dissidents," many of them independent journalists, Jimenez said.

The independent journalists are not under the control of the government and are thus illegal. In the four years since the arrests, only 16 have been released.

"We are going to use the money to find some way to aid the families of the jailed journalists and to aid the active independent journalists," Jimenez said.

He said he could not discuss the methods CAUSA would use to send the aid because of the situation's complexity.

Jimenez founded CAUSA in April 2006.

"We aim to raise awareness about human rights issues and to promote the democratization of Cuba and the role of youth in the process," Jimenez said. "We work towards debunking the myths and erasing the stereotypes about Cuban-Americans and Cubans on the island."

CAUSA is affiliated with Raíces de Esperanza, a national network of Cuban-American student organizations. The name of the network translates to Roots of Hope.

Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority co-sponsored the event. Jimenez said the sorority provided help with printing promotional materials.

CAUSA held a similar event in December at the Spanish Fly to benefit the Ladies in White. The Ladies in White are the wives of the 75 men arrested during Black Spring.

The group marches in the streets of Havana on Sundays wearing white as a sign of unity in a peaceful protest of the imprisonment of their husbands.

The Spanish Fly has played host to events benefiting other campus organizations such as the Hispanic American Leadership Organization.

Club owner Joy Castillo said she wants to make the Spanish Fly important to the community.

"I want to make the Spanish Fly into more than just a bar," Castillo said. "There are not many places in Columbia for the Latin community to call their own. We offer free Latin dance classes and a bar with as many authentic Spanish-speaking employees as possible. We want to be a cultural center for the Latin community."