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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item Cover PageAGENDA ITEM COVER PAGE File ID: #9058 Resolution Sponsored by: Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Commissioner Manolo Reyes, Commissioner Joe Carollo, Commissioner Jeffrey Watson A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CO -SPONSORING THE SHOWING OF THE FILM TITLED "PLANTADOS" AT THE HISTORIC OLYMPIA THEATER, MANUEL ARTIME COMMUNITY CENTER & THEATER, OR ANY OTHER CITY OF MIAMI OWNED FACILITY ON A DATE TO BE DETERMINED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER ("EVENT"); WAIVING THE FACILITY RENTAL FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVENT. GSY v City of Miami *'y IS°1°1 f1 A'fto Legislation Resolution Enactment Number: R-21-0208 File Number: 9058 City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Final Action Date:5/27/2021 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CO -SPONSORING THE SHOWING OF THE FILM TITLED "PLANTADOS" AT THE HISTORIC OLYMPIA THEATER, MANUEL ARTIME COMMUNITY CENTER & THEATER, OR ANY OTHER CITY OF MIAMI OWNED FACILITY ON A DATE TO BE DETERMINED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER ("EVENT"); WAIVING THE FACILITY RENTAL FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVENT. WHEREAS, in 1961, the Cuban penal system introduced a progressive "rehabilitation" program for those who opposed the Communist Revolution of Fidel Castro ("Castro"); and WHEREAS, prisoners who participated in the "rehabilitation" program willingly attended political indoctrination classes and performed manual labor, and in return, received better treatment, were allowed more visits, and released from prison sooner; and WHEREAS, according to Miguel Sanchez, author of Vivencias Cubanas: Recuredos de una Tierra que Llevamos en el Corazon (Cuban Experiences: Remembrances of a Land That we Keep in our Hearts), "Los Plantados," translated as the "Immovable Ones," refers to Cuban political prisoners who opposed forced labor and refused to accept the "rehabilitation" programs of Castro and were characterized by maintaining an iron, vertical, firm, unbreakable position of stoicism and rebellion without giving up; and WHEREAS, despite the prison authorities' demands, the Plantados refused to wear the same uniforms as criminals because they believed that they were political prisoners and not common criminals, leaving them imprisoned with nothing but underwear and those who tried to keep their clothing were brutally beaten; and WHEREAS, due to the Plantados' lack of cooperation, resistance against forced labor, and general rebellion to the Castro Communist dictatorship while imprisoned, the Plantados endured the harshest punishments of all prisoners including repeated beatings and inhumane tortures; and WHEREAS, Plantados, a movie directed by Lilo Vilaplana and filmed in the City of Miami ("City"), "depicts the horrors of political imprisonment in Cuba... and recounts the most horrible tortures that these men preferred to suffer before negotiating with the Castro regime"; and WHEREAS, the City and the Greater Miami area received approximately 500,000 Cubans in the fifteen (15) years following the Castro Communist Revolution in Cuba; and WHEREAS, the City and the Greater Miami area received approximately that same number of Cubans after 1980; and WHEREAS, the Cuban born and Cuban American population is a significant portion of the population in the Greater Miami area; and WHEREAS, Plantados tells the story of many Cubans living in exile today and is generally about the Cuban refugee experience, of which the City is emblematic; and WHEREAS, the Historic Olympia Theater, located at 174 East Flagler Street in Downtown Miami ("Olympia Theater'), is a jewel of Greater Miami's arts and entertainment facilities; and WHEREAS, the City owns the Manuel Artime Community Center & Theater ("Manuel Artime Theater'), which is named in honor of Dr. Manuel Artime Buesa, a hero of the Cuban Brigade 2506, and which is in the center of an area transformed by immigration into what is now commonly referred to as "Little Havana"; and WHEREAS, the Olympia Theater, Manuel Artime Theater, or other City -owned facility will serve as the venue for a viewing of Plantados ("Event") on a date to be determined and approved by the City Manager; and WHEREAS, the City desires to sponsor this Event and waive all City costs and fees for the rental of the approved City -owned facility, exclusive of third party fees ("Rental Fees"); NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. The City Commission hereby co-sponsors the Event to take place on a date and at a City -owned facility to be determined and approved by the City Manager, subject to availability. Section 3. The City Commission hereby waives the City's Rental Fees for the Event. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: 1 Una ndez, City Httor iey 5/1712021 Pursuant to the resolution, this item became effective immediately upon adoption by the Commission.