 Thank you all very much. I don't think I'll say anything. I can't top that. Well, well, Buenos Dias. I know that you've been briefed already by members of the administration on economic and defense issues now, and I don't know whether there's anything left for me to say. But today we gather to commemorate Cuban Independence Day. 86 years ago, the people of the United States joined with the people of Cuba and helped them free themselves from the yoke of colonialism. After a brief period of transition on May 20, 1902, as you well know, Tomás Estrada Palma was sworn in as Cuba's first president. I was not there, but looking over this gathering today, I can't help but feel at least some gratitude to Fidel Castro, because without him the United States would be deprived of the talents and the creative energy of some of our best citizens. What you've accomplished here in the United States over these last 25 years is a tribute to this country's freedom and also to the character of the Cuban people. The abysmal economic plight of Cuba today, with its dependence on a massive subsidy from the Soviet Union, does not reflect a failure of the Cuban people. It reflects a failure of communism. The Soviet subsidy that I just mentioned amounts to nearly $4 billion annually in economic and military assistance making a mockery of Castro's claims of Cuban independence. It's no coincidence that Cuban troops by the tens of thousands are doing the bidding of the Soviets in the far reaches of the world, propping up dictatorships in Africa is perhaps the most glaring example. What's happened to Cuba is totally inconsistent with the values and aspirations of the people of this hemisphere. Colonialism at its worst has been reimposed on the descents of Martí, Gómez, and Marseille. And if what I sense in this room is any indication, then just like the colonialism of the past, Soviet domination will one day be cast off. One day the Cuban people will once again breathe the fresh air of freedom and celebrate genuine independence. But Castro has not only used his people as Soviet carn de canone, he has rammed an alien ideology down their throats. He has smothered the personality of a people whose creative genius was admired throughout the world. Cuba before Castro had its problems, but from its family emerged great artistic talent. In the field of music, which is so indicative of the soul of a people, Cuba produced such greats as Ernesto Lacuena, a composer who gave us Sibona and always in my heart and many others. There was Miguelito Valdez, the famous Mr. Babalu, and Celia Cruz, now affectionately known to American audiences as the Cuban elephants Gerald. I remember during my time in Hollywood entertainers like Desi Arnaz and Cesar Romero, to understand the tragedy of communism and the suppression of the human spirit that it represents, one needs only to compare the colorful artistic freedom and accomplishment before Castro to the dull gray of communist Cuba today. In stark contrast to the years when people throughout the world danced to music, written and performed by Cubans, since Castro imposed communism on Cuba, major musical figures are no longer emerging. Consistent with what has happened in most communist dictatorships, the creative arts are used as a tool of the state, not as a means of free expression or just healthy entertainment. Poets and other artists have been thrown into prison or forced to flee. Some would have us believe that revolution requires such cultural brutality. Well, don't you believe it? Jose Marti, a revolutionary in the truest sense of the word, was also a poet and a lover of the richness of life, giving us poetic lines of feeling as memorable as his political writing, lines like, oh my soul, poor and done, seared by the fire of its own sun. One can't help but wonder if Marti were in Cuba today, if Castro would condemn him to a damp cell as he has done to so many free-thinking poets and artists. Some of the repression about which I'm speaking has been documented in a new film entitled, Improper Conduct. I haven't seen it, but that film and films like Moscow and the Hudson, which I have seen, are beginning to focus on the most dramatic story of our time. Communist repression and the struggle of courageous individuals to be free. And it's about time that Hollywood noticed this story. Last year, when I met with some of you in Miami to commemorate Cuban Independence Day, I mentioned the tremendous achievements of the Cuban American population as compared with their brothers and sisters who were left behind. What awesome evidence of the relationship between freedom and the quality of life. Nowhere is this more evident than in the arts. Even while your native land remains culturally stagnant, today the Cuban community in the United States, continuing in its rich tradition, is producing outstanding entertainers and artists. Some of them with us today, Lisette and Willie Cerino, Gustavo Rojas, Enrique Beltran, and Julio Gutierrez. Now, I'm sorry if I've missed anyone, and I hope I haven't. If I have, please sing out, but when you're with a group of Cuban Americans recognizing this kind of talent, there's bound to be more people to recognize than in just about any other group that I can imagine. We have so much to be grateful for in this blessed land. Today we're facing a serious threat in Central America. It's a threat to the people of that region, and if not corrected, it will be a direct threat to the security of our country. I hope I can count on you to help me alert the American people to the danger. I believe it's essential to help those trying to build democracy in Central America to meet the threat to their security. Our opponents, rather than confront our arguments about the disastrous consequences of not meeting the military threat, continue to suggest that our program ignores the social and economic problems of the region. Well, I keep repeating, and I've done so in almost every speech I've made on the subject, that our program is balanced and indeed is weighted very heavily toward our commitment to solving social and economic problems. Yet some simply close their eyes to the long-term threat that we face. They prefer to attack a straw man of their own making as an excuse to undercut efforts to provide our friends the means to defend themselves. I'm grateful to the bipartisan coalition in the House which redacted this less than forthright approach to the debate. One of the tactics that's especially repugnant is the vilification of anyone fighting against a communist regime. And you know, that is not by accident. Quite a number of years ago, long before I was ever here, it was uncovered by our own intelligence that the communists decided that their response was going to be to subtly make being an anti-communist unfashionable that sort of be looked at as a crackpot of some kind if you were anti-communist. And they've done a pretty good job. Those who oppose the Sandinista dictatorship now face the same lies that you confronted when as opponents of Castro, you were labeled disgruntled supporters of the Batista dictatorship, a charge made out of whole cloth. Well, the overwhelming majority of the Contras had nothing to do with Samosa. Many actually fought against him. The crisis in Nicaragua is a result of the attempt by the Sandinistas to replace one dictatorship with another their own. The opposition is fighting for freedom of speech and religion. They want democracy and human rights. They are Mosquito Indians who suffered genocidal attacks. They're small farmers whose land is being confiscated. They're Catholics and Protestants who are bearing the brunt of the Marxist-Leninist hatred of religion. Can anyone think of anything more uncivilized than parading a holy man, a bishop of the church, through the streets of the capital, Managua, naked, to humiliate him as completely as they could? In short, the Contras, the massive propaganda campaign against them notwithstanding are freedom fighters in the truest sense of the word. They are helping to stop the flow of weapons to Soviet-backed guerrillas in El Salvador, and they deserve our respect and our support. The Soviet Union has committed enormous resources to this drive in Central America. If the United States does not help those who believe in democracy to counter this power play, the people of this hemisphere, and that means all of us will pay dearly for our vacillation. If liberty is to survive, freedom-loving people in the Western democracies, especially here in the United States, must stand together in the face of tangible threats to our security. Communicating with our fellow citizens, making them understand the magnitude of the danger will take a tremendous effort on all our parts. And now that you're here, I'd like to ask a favor. You're especially equipped to communicate with other Hispanic Americans, those from Puerto Rican and Mexican family backgrounds about the challenges that we face. I hope in the months ahead that you will make a special effort to meet with them, get to know them, and share with them a few of your insights. You know the importance of a strong American meeting its responsibilities in the world. You've already done much. Now is the time for us to do what we can together and as individuals. Jose Marti, a man who also found refuge here from a tyrannical government, once said that Americans are one in origin, hope, and danger. And he added, I am America's son. To her, I belong. Well, he belonged. And even before he came here to this country, because this above all is what we must come to develop and believe that from the tip of Tiara Del Fuego in the south, all the way to the Alaskan North slope, we are all Americans in this hemisphere. You know, I thank you very much. I took this message down through Central and I took this message down through Central and South America. And I have to tell you, I sometimes regret, you know, we are the United States of America. Well, the result is we can't go around saying I'm a United States. So we use the term to describe ourselves as Americans. And sometimes I fear that all our neighbors, particularly to the south, possibly think that we're claiming that title as our own. And what we have to pass the word is no, the boundaries between our countries where that is concerned mean nothing. You can cross from one into the other country. You're still in America. Thank you. I think that's a dream we all share. Well, Jose Martí, he knew that this that we have this common heritage. And you in the Cuban community can be a bridge to the rest of the hemisphere and carrying this word. So let us work to build those bridges and to ensure that freedom will not only survive but also prevail. You know, one of our last teams that was down observing this last election in El Salvador found a 15 year old boy who was working, working all day, all through those long hours at the polls and helping there. And some of our people went up to him and, you know, 15 years old and said to him, you know, why are you doing this? Probably expecting some flip 15 year old answer. And he looked at them kind of puzzled for a minute. And then this boy said, because I feel it in here. That's good enough for me anytime. Thank you. God bless you and Viva Una Cuba Libra. Thank you. Thank you. God bless him. Mr President. Just, just a handshake for you and God bless you. Thank you.