The last night of the 5-day Gasparilla Film Festival featured the big-draw documentary “Man of Two Havanas” at Channelside Cinemas. It’s the heroic story of Max Lesnik, who went from idealistic insider in the Cuban Revolution against Fulgencio Batista to disillusioned ex-revolutionary to Miami exile trying — as a controversial journalist — to make the case for dialogue with Cuba. Dealing with South Florida death threats eventually became an inevitable way of life for Lesnik, who was in attendance – along with his daughter, Vivien Lesnik Weisman, the film’s director/producer.
Among those impressed with the movie – and its implications – was city councilwoman Mary Mulhern. She had read the eye-opening “Cuba Confidential” by Ann Louise Bardach and wanted to know more about the intrigues and politics that have saddled America with a Cold War Cuban policy for half a century.
“I was blown away by Lesnik – and the fact that he’s still alive,” said Mulhern. “And having the courage to do what he did.”
Mulhern, who moved here from Chicago 11 years ago, is now bringing herself up to speed on Cuban-American politics – including the attitudinal differences among Cuba-Americans in Tampa and Miami.
“It’s been a crazy policy that we’ve been stuck with for so long,” said Mulhern. “And the people in Miami make it so difficult. And here we are with the closest port to Cuba. We need to be talking about trade now. We’re trading with China. We in Tampa need to position ourselves for when Cuba opens up.”
During the post-movie discussion, she was moved and motivated to turn around and tell the patron behind her: “We’ve got to get a copy of this to Obama.”
The patron was Frank Sanchez, a key Latin American policy adviser to Barack Obama.