Blanco is only the fifth poet to be asked to write for a presidential inauguration, making him a successor to the likes of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.Blanco has been receiving all sorts of great press that has highlighted his participation as an example of America's social and cultural diversity. Included in that publicity is this recent interview by PBS...
Unfortunately, Blanco's huge accomplishment has not been viewed as such by his fellow Cuban-Americans at Babalu Blog. Yesterday, Blanco's talent and contributions as a writer were discounted [via Google cache] by Babalu's Albert de la Cruz who harshly criticized him because he is not a Republican.
Blanco was selected because he personifies the almost complete opposite of practically everything the American left hates about Cuban Americans. The fact that he is a liberal and a supporter of President Obama pales in comparison to what the American left likes the most about Blanco; his palpable disdain for the "hardline" historical Cuban exile community they love to mock and belittle. The same community that courageously and tirelessly struggled and worked in a new country so they can give their children liberty and the opportunity to be successful. In other words, the freedom and opportunity that Blanco is enjoying right now. In essence, Richard Blanco was chosen because he is the opposite of what the Cuban exile community represents. Instead, he is the American left's version of the infamous enlightened "New Man."Babalu's George Moneo went even further in the comments...
Blanco joins other Cuban-American success stories and cultural ambassadors such as the Estefans and Fulbright scholar and former Miami Herald columnist Ana Menendez to be criticized and held in contempt by Cuban-American hardliners at Babalu Blog solely for their politics.
We wish Blanco well tomorrow as a product and example of the Cuban-American community here in Miami and of the great and varied palette that makes up today's America.
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And here it is....
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1 comment:
De la Cruz apparently has a hard time realizing that it's the bigotry of Cuban-American hardliners that is so repulsive to Americans in general. While he feels "hate" is coming from the "left," de la Cruz and his fellow writers seem to do more than their fair share of demeaning Cuban and Cuban-Americans right there at Babalu.
Their comments on Blanco is a fine example, in fact.
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