THE NEW YORK TIMES AND CUBAN BEMBE

Herbert Lionel Matthews (January 10, 1900 – July 30, 1977) was a

reporter and editorialist[1] for the New York Times who grew to

notoriety after revealing that Fidel Castro was still alive and living in

the Sierra Maestra mountains, though Batista had claimed publicly

that he was killed during the 26th of July Movement's landing.

Born in New York City, Matthews was a graduate of Columbia

University and reported from Europe during the Spanish Civil War

before returning to New York. His coverage of that war and later the

Cuban political situation were subject to substantial criticism for

showing communist sympathies, a charge Matthews rejected for

years. He even reported during the Italian conquest of Ethiopia in

1936; and then wrote "Eyewitness in Abyssinia: With Marshal

Bodoglio's forces to Addis Ababa" in 1937.

"When the world had given us up for dead, the interview with

Matthews put the lie to our disappearance."

Che Guevara, January 1958

His interview with Castro was negotiated by Ruby Phillips, then the

Bureau Chief in Havana. Cuban exile author Teo Babun ("The

Cuban Revolution: Years of Promise") mentions in a C-SPAN2/Book

TV segment that "Castro 'smuggled' Matthews, in early 1957, into the

Sierra Maestra in eastern Cuba" to cover the ongoing and

subsequent revolution against Batista. He also said that Che

Guevara later commented, "The presence of a foreign (American-

preferred) journalist was more important for us than a military victory."

Reflecting conservative displeasure at Matthews' role, the

conservative magazine National Review published a caricature of

Castro over the caption "I got my job through the New York Times."

(The caption was the tagline of contemporary advertisements

published by the Times touting its classified ads section. Matthews

has been compared to Stalin apologist Walter Duranty, a fellow

journalist on the New York Times staff, by the conservative

organization Accuracy in Media.

In July 1959, Matthews denied that Fidel Castro was communist,

saying: "This is not a Communist Revolution in any sense of the

term. Fidel Castro is not only not a Communist, he is decidedly anti-

Communist."

In February 2007, a Reuters report quoted Cuba's state news

agency as reporting that Cuba had unveiled a plaque in the Sierra

Maestra to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Matthews-

Castro interview. In his book The Man Who Invented Fidel, Anthony

dePalma describes driving in a four-wheeled vehicle in 2005 trying to

retrace Matthews trek to the site of the interview. Finally he found a

16-year-old who said he knew where the site was. After trudging two

hours on foot over rugged terrain, dePalma was ready to turn back

when the three-foot-high marker was pointed out to him. He writes

that the marker had the following words: "In this place, commander-

in-chief Fidel Castro Ruz met with the North American journalist

Herbert Matthews on February 17, 1957". The marker was erected

on the fortieth anniversary of the interview in 1997.

Bembes are a huge party for the Orishas. An particular Orisha will be praised during a bembe. Usually this is always very exciting especially to be at a bembe for Yemeya, Obatala and Ochun! During the bembe, you cant help but to move to feel the music and the energy through dancing, singing, and enticing the Orisha called on. Wearing colors, making offerings are all things the entice an Orisha to come down. Anyone would like to share their experiences with different bembes, feel free to do so.

One newspaper cannot be the best at everything, But overall the Times ranks so high in so many areas and this makes it hard to ignore. It does set the national agenda and and does a good job. The New York Times could certainly learn a lot from the Guardian. The Guardian's web site is very strong and original and it is more open to working with and crediting other media. It is second on the Web to the NYT. The Guardian 200,000, NYT 800,000. No one is close to the NYT!

It would be so wonderful to talk with you personally about Castro and the whole Cuban situation. I was in high school when it was all going down. I remember listening to Castro on the radio, trying to translate in my horrid Spanish (which I was never able to conquer, as hard as I tried.) There was so much more than I was ever able to comprehend.

very good composition and pov....congrats.

Excellent candid, good choice of angle.

Hi Jorge,

  Wonderful image's with great processing.  Take care, Patsy

Beautiful composition! Best regards/Sadegh

A simply exceptional photograph . . .  Your narrative is quite helpful and very informative.  Although I was living in North Miami Beach at the time of the Revolution, my awareness of the details was (and still is) pretty sparse.  As for Bembe, I was altogether ignorant until I read your explanation.  Now I must do some further research.

In any case, the photo stands on its own merits.  Clearly we can tell that the two men are engaged in dialogue even though their mouths are visible only from the side and above.  Surely they are discussing something they found in the Times.  Your composition and POV are masterful, and I love the detail in the wall and the bench.  

My best always,

michael

Nice and very pleasant, my dear friend, bravo!

Hi Jorge, although the colors are good, I think this picture would be more dramatic in black and white and with a stronger contrast. I like the angle of shot, and the interaction between these two men. I had never heard anything about bembes, but every day, we learn new things.

Kind Regards,

Rosario.

Beyond the very interesting history lesson,  the composition and image quality make this photograph fit enough to stand on its own feet.

a beautiful documentary shot. a very valuable shot!  what a scary time it must have been  in 1959 and The Cuban Missile Crises at that time. not just for the US and Cuba but  a worldwide anxiety.  i am lucky to have visited Cuba and its people are quite beautiful really but you still get a feeling of lostness of a wanting to escape a disconnection maybe?   an important photo for me