Attention: Lovers of all-things-Cuban

A little Cuban history.....

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (April 18, 1819 – February, 1874) was a Cuban planter who freed his slaves, and made the declaration of Cuban independence in 1868 which started the Ten Years' War. Céspedes was a landowner and lawyer in Eastern Cuba, near Bayamo, who purchased La Demajagua, an estate with a tobacco plantation, in 1844 after returning from Spain.

On October 10, 1868, he made the Grito de Yara, declaring Cuban independence, which began the Ten Years' War. That morning, after sounding the slave bell that indicated to his slaves it was time for work, they stood before him waiting for orders, and Cespedes announced they were all free men, and were invited to join him and his fellow conspirators in war against the Spanish government of Cuba.

For this, he is called Padre de la Patria (Father of the Country). In April 1869 he was chosen President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.

This is where Eric and I will be this Sunday. (Along with my first-born and the ever-present Sheila, but that's not important right now.)

We'll be celebrating the birth of the Father of the Country at an event that's billed as the Cuban Festival of the Century.

Okay, that might sound a bit extreme, but there will be fabulous Cuban music.....and fabulous Cuban food....and fabulous Cuban people honoring our history and sharing a love of freedom. 

In other words, the Trifecta of a Good Time.  =D

El Padre de La Patria Cuban Festival
Sunday, April 19, 2009
753 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014

"A la carga, Cubanos!"