by Don Queen  

This winter, Associate Professor Alex Saragoza of UC Berkeley will return to OLLI @Berkeley to teach a course describing the economic and social aspects of post-Castro Cuba and their impacts on both Cuba and the United States.

Dr. Saragoza says: "What we will be doing in this course is basically raising the questions: What are the reasons? What are the consequences? What are the implications of the relationship between Cuba and the United States? Why do we still have an embargo despite the fact that we have diplomatic and economic relations with many countries with authoritarian regimes?"

Besides his University and OLLI classes, Professor Saragoza has led a group tour to the island with OLLI. He was a main consultant to Paradigm Productions for a two-hour documentary for PBS on the Mexican Revolution and has been a panelist on ABC News. He is a member of the system-wide UC-Cuba Initiative and of Berkeley's Cuba Working Group. Dr. Saragoza is researching the tourist industry in Mexico and Cuba and coediting a volume on tourism.

Professor Saragoza says that he grew up in a migrant worker family and graduated from Fresno State College. "I was inspired by the Sidney Poitier movie To Sir with Love and that idealism brought me to the Graduate School of Education at Harvard and my Master's paper was on the impact of the Mexican revolution on the educational system in the Caribbean islands. Then I went back to my undergraduate major, which was history, and went to study under a great Mexican historian, Ramon Ruiz at the University of California, San Diego." It was there that he obtained his Ph.D. in Latin American History with a specialty in Mexico and Cuba.

The course will begin with a thorough discussion of the 1959 revolution in its historical context. The class will then study the tremendous changes in Cuba today and what they will mean for Cuban society and culture. Of particular interest is the government's change in economic policy, a concerted effort to privatize the economy, such as by seeking to reduce the proportion of governmental workers from upwards of eighty percent to less than sixty percent. He states that a major source of private employment will obviously be a growing tourist industry where many Cubans are going to develop independent entrepreneurial opportunities, businesses and enterprises generating money to be spent in the private sector where ownership of private property will now be allowed.

The course will pay a great deal of attention to questions of racism in Cuba which is still a factor in social life which the Government has tried to eliminate since the revolution. The class will discuss the cultural implication of the government attempts to develop a "Cultural Project" to redefine notions of what it was to be Cuban, or "Cubanidad," consisting of radio, TV, music, and dance and to what extent it has been successful. Also Regionalism, as there are areas where despite its small size, there are economic variants as well as differences in the situation of women on the island.

Another aspect of the course will be Cuban music and dance including the resurgence of the famous Buena Vista Social Club and its music in Havana which promises to be an intriguing aspect of the class.

Alex Saragoza will be teaching "Contemporary Cuba" at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center on Thursdays from 10:00 am-12:00 noon from January 31-March 7.

I was born in Lodi, California--I am a California native! I joined OLLI eight years ago when it was part of UC Extension. I have been a member of the new OLLI since its beginning. When I'm not with my 5 grandchildren, I spend my time volunteering and traveling. I am on the board of a small liberal arts college and also chair an annual dinner to raise scholarship money for underserved students.

I've taken so many fabulous OLLI courses I can't really identify one favorite class. I have taken many of Michael Fox's film classes which are great!     

As an OLLI volunteer I've done many things. For the past several years I've worked with volunteers at the Open House at Freight and Salvage. I've been a Class Assistant for numerous classes, helped with social events and outreach. Basically, I try to help out where there is a need. Also, I sit on several committees; Annual Fund, Membership, and Lafayette Library Planning. There are many interesting volunteer activities going on at OLLI all the time.

By being an OLLI volunteer, I meet so many interesting, intelligent, and engaged people: OLLI staff, instructors, and members. There is always something new to learn.

Article by SharpBrains discusses benefit of the new Medicare annual wellness visit: Will Medicare's Annual Wellness Visit enhance physical & cognitive health? Probably--if people go  

Lynne Kaufman's new play is premiering at The Marsh in Berkeley. Acid Test is a one-person show about the life and times of Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, running from October 18-November 24, with previews beginning on October 4. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.themarsh.org/.

Kathryn Roszak is preparing to debut a new dance theater work for her company Danse Lumiere this fall based on the poetry of Nobel Prize-winning poet Tomas Transtr�mer. An open rehearsal and benefit will be held on Sunday, October 28 at 2:00 pm at the Osher Studio in the Arpeggio Building (2055 Center St, Berkeley). There will be a reception with artists following the program. For more information and reservations call 510.233.5550 or visit http://www.dlkdance.com 

On Friday, October 12, 10:00 pm PDT, on National Public Radio affiliate KALW-FM (91.7 FM, whistler and music critic Jason Victor Serinus will be the guest on Chloe Veltman's VoiceBox. The entire radio show will be devoted to the art of whistling. The show will be streamed live on KALW's website throughout the week, then available as at http://info.voicebox-media.org/search/label/podcasts.

FREE DOCENT-LED TOURS AT THE BERKELEY ART MUSEUM

The Berkeley Art Museum offers free docent-led tours on the Berry McGee exhibit on Thursdays (12:15 pm) and Sundays (2:00 pm) between September 27 and December 9. For more information, visit: http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/events/education 

EXPLORE THE WORLD OF SCIENCE AT BERKELEY LAB ~ OCT 13 

BERKELEY SYMPHONY

Known as Bay Area's most adventurous orchestra, Berkeley Symphony and Music Director Joana Carneiro bring you their most Defiantly Original season yet in 2012-13 as the orchestra explores the innovators, rebels, illuminators, and idealists of the symphonic world. Each Zellerbach Hall concert will feature a new work by one of the most compelling composers of our time, uniquely paired with great masterpieces.

We invite you to join us and experience these one-of-a-kind symphonic concerts right here in Berkeley. OLLI members receive $5 off single tickets for the 2012-13 season. For more information, please visit http://berkeleysymphony.org/about/community/#olli.