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	Vol.7, No 49, November 23, 1999
	African, Cuban cultural history depicted in film  By Johnna Walker  Daily Forty-Niner Cal State Long Beach students explored the influence and history of Africans in Cuba at a screening Tuesday at the University Student Union. An untitled documentary directed by Gloria Rolando was shown, depicting the plight of Afro-Cubans and examining their ancestral lineage.  "It was refreshing to learn about Africans living in some place other than America or Africa," said Chas Harmon, a CSULB student. The All African People's Revolution Party, formed in the late '60s to unify people of direct African descent living worldwide, sponsored the film screening and following discussion. Moya Mzure Pambeli, a representative of the All African People's Revolution Party, discussed Afro-Cuban relations after screening the film. During the presentation, cultural and economic similarities between Afro-Cubans and African Americans were revealed, including diet and consistently lower socio-economic class status. A positive look at Africans was portrayed in the film, which is rare within the media, Harmon said. The film also noted the periods Africans arrived in Cuba, as well as the reasons for their migration.  Many people interviewed in the film said they came to Cuba because of a demand for labor in the sugar industry, which offered them a way to provide for their families. African involvement in the construction of the Panama Canal was also discussed. Several people interviewed in the documentary talked about their family's migration to Panama to help build the canal. "I never did have a clear idea of the part African people played in the construction of the canal," Harmon said.		Urgent signals may be blocked   Road construction near CSULB creates hassels   Legacy lecturer speaks of research   African, Cuban cultural history depicted in film   Engineering, business colleges get grant for labs Gaming debts erased   Apathy creates crime at CSULB Snoop stop Pepperdine ekes out hoops opener   LBSU dumps San Diego   Pepperdine nets 49ers   49ers upend Eastern foe Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.