This
ding-dong claims they don't have
humor in Cuba, but that's indeed
a laughable assertion. You could
look at any number of examples
of Cuban humor quite easily,
from the weekly humor magazine
Pa'lante, to the daily toons in
Granma and Juventud Rebelde. I
hope that somehow this finds its
way to the Cuban humor magazine
Pa'lante and they submit
something to the contest.
Walter Lippmann
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
========================================
PA'LANTE WEEKLY CUBAN HUMOR
MAGAZINE:
http://www.palante.co.cu/
Cartooning adventures in Cuba:
http://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/2010/01/25/cartooning-adventures-in-cuba/
Cuban Funny Papers
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/dept/bildn/publications/documents/Cooper13_001.pdf
Erotic humor exhibition:
http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/02/20/9279/an_exhibition_of_erotic_humor_works_made_by_important_cuban_caricaturists.html
From the daily Granma:
http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/opinion-grafica/lapiz316.html
==================================================
Massachusetts
Humor Contest Draws World's
Cartoonists
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 29, 2010
WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) --
Chinese cartoonist Yang Xiang Yu
addresses freedom with a drawing
of the Forbidden City and a
medical mask over Mao's mouth.
Iranian cartoonist Mohammad
Fatehi Kahvarin sees images of
nuts and bolts lined up military
style while listening to a nut
giving a speech. Serbian artist
Milenko Kosanovic envisions a
man cowering behind a chair,
hiding from a television that is
broadcasting the word
''freedom.''
These are just a few samples of
political cartoonists from
around the world who have
submitted works on two themes --
freedom and the
late-Massachusetts Sen. Edward
Kennedy -- for an international
humor contest scheduled in
September.
Organizers of the first
Bostoon's Boston International
Humor Festival said about 400
cartoonists have submitted more
than 1,000 works before Friday's
deadline.
''We're getting them from all
over, from Africa to Poland to
the Middle East,'' said Mario
Barros, 56, of Wilmington, and
the brainchild behind the
contest. ''It's been hard to
keep up.''
A Cuban refugee and history
teacher at Somerville High
School, Barros came up with the
idea for the festival as editor
of a humor website, El Bus de
Lenguaviva. The two-year-old
website, whose name loosely
translates to ''The Bus of
Living Language,'' has content
mainly written in Spanish but
takes cartoon and photo
submissions from artists around
the world.
Barros said he noticed in recent
months that the website was
getting more cartoon
submissions, but he couldn't
publish them all.
''So I thought, 'Why not bring
them all to Boston and show them
to the public at a humor
festival?''' said Barros. ''The
work is amazing.''
Humor festivals are common in
other countries but rare in the
United States. A typical one
includes a cartoon and essay
contest, along with a night of
standup comedy.
Barros said he wanted to
recreate a humor event similar
to the ones he remembered in
Cuba, minus the censorship.
After making a few calls and
checking with his fellow
artists, Barros sent out a call
for entries. Cambridge College
then agreed to host the event
from Sept. 9 to 12.
The work of 200 finalists will
be shown at the college and
attendees will be able purchase
reprints of the best cartoons.
The winner of the freedom theme
contest will win $5,000. The
artist with the top Kennedy
caricature will receive $3,000.
The festival also will feature a
humor essay contest in Spanish
and humor workshops and lectures
for cartoonists and writers.
Barros' girlfriend, 59-year-old
Christine Hauray, said he has
been getting entries at all
hours of the night.
''He keeps telling me: 'Look at
this one,''' said Hauray, an
English teacher at Somerville
High School. ''They're
intense.''
Cartoonists from Serbia to China
have submitted drawings tackling
censorship and freedom of
expression. Others, including
some from Australia and Latin
America, have entered various
caricatures highlighting
Kennedy's work in the U.S.
Senate.
Barros said he added the Kennedy
contest to give the competition
a New England theme but also as
a way honor the late senator.
''He did a lot for a lot of
people,'' said Barros. ''But he
was also funny.''
Still, Barros said he's not
getting a lot of entries from
his native country.
''Not a surprise,'' he said with
a chuckle. ''Wouldn't expect a
lot of people in Cuba trying to
sneak out a cartoon about
freedom or a Kennedy.''
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