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Contents
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Introduction
Dr.
Jess G. Nieto was part of a historic effort in 1985 to promote
peace in Central America. It was during the memorable trip to
Mexico and to the Central American countries of Honduras, El
Salvador, and Nicaragua, that the Peace Delegation of 13
Americans, accompanied by Rep. George Brown, Chairman of the
House Intelligence Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives, traveled to these countries, including Cuba,
to ascertain the conditions of the civil wars in Central
America, to interview the various "players" (groups) of these
conflicts, and to assess the role that the United States was
playing in these struggles. It was a prime objective of the
trip to promote the "Contadora Peace Initiative" that had been
proposed by a number of Latin American countries but had been
strongly rejected by President Ronald Reagan and his
Administration. It was within this framework that the
Delegation traveled to the Central American countries and to
Cuba and met with President Fidel Castro and members of his
government in order to assess the role of the Cubans in these
conflicts (For a more complete report of the Peace Delegation's
trip, see "Report of the Peace Delegation to Central
America, July 1985").
Photo: Peace delegation members: (L - R) Dr. Armando
Navarro, Raul Ruiz, and Dr. Jess G. Nieto (far right) with President Fidel
Castro during the July, 1985 trip.
Dr. Nieto has made four other trips to Cuba, accompanied by son Diego, a biologist / entomologist of the University of California Santa Cruz on two instances and wife Peggy, teacher of a middle school in California, on one occasion, as part of a number of academic delegations to Cuba in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2007. Significant scholarly and academic relationships have been forged as a result of these trips.
In
July, 1999, Director Jess Nieto participated in an international scholars'
conference in Havana Cuba on the Chicano Movement: Yesterday, Today,
& Tomorrow," and on the Cuban Revolution. Chicano scholars from the US
and their Cuban counterparts were able to share their experiences from a variety
of political, historical, sociological, demographic, and cultural perspectives.
Dr. Nieto and his son Diego both contributed papers to the conference.
Heritage is currently developing educational and
cultural programs with the University of Cuba.
Photo (below): A Chicano /Latino delegation traveled to
Havana, Cuba and conducted a number of presentations on the Chicano experience
in the U.S. in an effort to help the University of Havana develop a Chicano
Studies program. Both Dr. Nieto and his son Diego made significant
contributions to this effort.
Photo (below): The sign of the Centro De Estudios
Sobre Estados Unidos (Center for U.S. Studies) (CESUE), Universidad de la
Habana, is in front of their Center.
In 2006 a U.S. Chicano delegation of educators went to
participate in a conference at the University of Havana in Cuba on the theme
"The Effect & Impact of Globalization On Immigration &
Education." In this photo, several members of the delegation
are seen posing in front of a photo of Fidel Castro at the Centro for Studies on
the United States.
(L to R) Ms. Peggy Nieto of the Beardsley
School District- Bakersfield; Dr. Jess G. Nieto, of Heritage of America
Educational & Cultural Foundation; Dr. Patrick Velasquez, of the
University of California San Diego; Dr. Armando Navarro of the University
of California Riverside; and Ms. Mary Ann Gonzales of the University of
California Riverside; unknown. |
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| During the 2006 trip to Cuba, several members of the
delegation (L-R, Dr. Armando Navarro of UC Riverside; Mary Ann Gonzales of UC
Riverside; the Venezuelan General Counsel in Havana, Peggy Nieto of Bakersfield;
Dr. Jess G. Nieto of Heritage of America- Bakersfield; the Venezuelan Assistant
General Counsel, & Dr. Gabriel Gutierrez of CSU Northridge) visited the
Venezuela Office of The Embassy In Havana to request assistance in planning a
trip to their country. This visit made possible an invitation from the
government of Venezuela to visit their country in April - May 2007. |
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The
sensational Tropicana dance troop.
Dr. Nieto and
son Diego in front of the University of Havana.
| Photo
(above): Cuban workers install a
sculpture in Havana's Revolution
Square in honor of revolutionary hero
Camilo Cienfuegos to mark the 50th
anniversary of his plane's
disappearance on Oct. 28, 1959. The
work includes his quote: "You are
doing fine Fidel." (AFP/Getty
Images / October
27,
2009) |
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In 1985, Dr. Jess
G. Nieto and Aris Anagnos of the Peace
Delegation met with President Fidel Castro,
members of his government, and his older
brother, Ramon Castro, who was in charge of the
dairy industry in Cuba.
Dr.
Nieto & Professor Ariel Aguilar Reyes, sociologist of the University of Havana.
Members
of the delegation at the Museum of the
Revolution. |
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More Photos
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Cuba
& the Tropicana Cabaret
Further Reading
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The Accomplishments of the Cuban Revolution and The
Failures of American Foreign Policy Towards Cuba,
April 1999 by Dr. Jess Nieto
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Jess Nieto,
"The Impact of Immigration on Future Public
Policy": A
paper presentation at the Chicano / Latino / Cubano Experience Conference :
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Centro de Estudios Sobre Estados Unidos, La
Universidad de la Havana, Cuba, July 13-15, 1999
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“Dialogue With
Cuba
Possible, Unlikely” The
Bakersfield
Californian Newspaper, July
2006 by Dr. Jess G. Nieto
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Could
Cuba’s future include a new political relationship with the U.S.?,
August 2006 by
Dr. Jess G. Nieto
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Cuban Embargo:
Nothing Succeeds Like Failure, October 2009, by
Saul Landau
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Update
on Cuba's Embargo Situation,
October 2009, by By Tracy Wilkinson
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