Cuban Refugees Hit The Streets Of Tampa To Show Solidarity

TAMPA, FL — For Rodrigo Delis of Tampa, the "SOS Cuba" marches in Ybor City and West Tampa Sunday and Monday aren't simply paying lip service to anti-communist rhetoric.

They're personal. Delis, 58, was a political prisoner in his homeland of Cuba for four years before fleeing to the United States 17 years ago.

He and dozens of others who fled Cuba's dictatorial regime have been regularly participating in marches for change since July when a shortage of food and medicine combined with a lack of internet access and surging coronavirus rates prompted protests in Cuba.

Joining him was Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, the son of Cubans who fled to America in 1960 when Fidel Castro took power. Viera proposed and passed a resolution in the city council to support the peaceful protests and the Cuban people's struggle for freedom.

While authorities have clamped down on protests in Cuba, the hundreds of Cuban refugees now living in Tampa are determined to march in their stead and be the voice of the voiceless Cuban people, said Delis.

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They lined up along Dale Mabry Highway and Columbus Drive, waving Cuban flags and shouting "Viva Cuba libre" (long live free Cuba) and "Patria y vida," (homeland and life), also the name of a hip-hop song recorded by exiled Cuban musicians that has become a rallying anthem for the Cuban people.

A similar protest took place simultaneously near the Cuban Club at 2010 N. Avenida Republica de Cuba in Ybor City, a community built by Cuban immigrants. This one was organized by Jose Batista, 47, a political prisoner in Cuba for six years.