The benefit features Dr. Raul Ruiz Miyares, a professor of Afro-Cuban culture and history at Casa del Caribe, Santiago de Cuba. His lecture, "Cuba & Africanismo: The Making of Revolutionary Culture", will include slides and a video. The benefit also includes: spoken word, an Afro-Cuban folkloric performance, a Caribbean dinner, and a Latin, World Beat dance party, all on Friday, May 2.6 p.m.
The 28 year old [Bingham], who grew up in Alameda and attended Encinal High School, first became interested in speaking Spanish at the age of 10. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Spanish Language and Literature, a co-worker informed her about the Latin American Medical Program in Cuba after she found it advertised on the Internet. She applied and got accepted in 2001. Kenya realizes that a lot of young people from the Bay Area and elsewhere in the U.S. still are unaware of the free medical program in Cuba, which was originally offered to 500 students in the U.S.. Some 200 applied and almost 100 are still enrolled. Kenya would encourage young people of color to apply for this program. "This is not some get rich quick scheme to get a free education and go and make money as a doctor. I am doing this to go back and serve the community," she said.
