Into the Fires of Mambi

Will Miguel Saavedra become a sacrificial lamb to save the image of hard-line exiles?

This morning, on her Radio Mambi show, Lourdes D'Kendall (real last name is Bertot) made some interesting comments about what happened between the Bolivarian Youth and Vigilia Mambisa. The issue came up when a caller tried to justify the attack on the Bolivarian Youth, but D'Kendall made it clear that while she feels the Bolivarian Youth was guilty of provocation, she still insisted that all citizens are protected by the US Constitution to protest publicly. Furthermore, D'Kendall became more outraged as the topic got rolling and described those who attacked the Bolivarian Youth as "chusma" (riff-raff).

D'Kendall made it clear that she was opposed to the actions of that day, but also said that she didn't know the details of the whole story, such as if Saavedra was provoked or not. I find her ignorance on the story suspicious because other programs on Radio Mambi, such as the one right before hers, have commented about it and the station has received many calls about it too. Also, for her to be uninformed is strange because her show is all about local happenings.

But, its possible. She may be deliberately dismissing the whole story, and waiting for the heat to settle. But, today she not only called those who attacked the Bolivarian Youth as "chusma" but also was upset at how the Cuban-American community "se deja dominar por esa chusma" (allows itself to be dominated by that riff-raff). And, just when I thought she was through, she states that riff-raff like that "se han infiltrado aqui" (have been infiltrated here). Wow. Yet, she doesn't know the details.

I'm thinking that Lourdes D'Kendall is preparing her listeners (and some in the Cuban-American community) for an eventual abandonment of members of Vigila Mambisa. The tragedy here is that Vigilia Mambisa has been a huge supporter of D'Kendall's public campaigns, such as supporting the book ban on "Vamos a Cuba" and a recall of Rudy Crew, superintendent of the Miami-Dade school board. Yet, given D'Kendall's arrogance and bigotry, she may not care at all about Saavedra and making him a convenient scapegoat.

I find it tragic though. Saavedra and Vigilia Mambisa worked so hard for the book ban and other causes at the school board, which Lourdes D'Kendall favors wholeheartedly, to be dumped by so-called friends. Its unlikely that D'Kendall is totally ignorant of what happened at the Jan. 19th demonstration, when in fact Saavedra and his group are very involved in local politics and have called D'Kendall's show before.

One time, I actually called during D'Kendall's show to comment. This was on the day after the school board voted to ban "Vamos a Cuba". Other callers were rejoicing at the decision because D'Kendall had dedicated plenty of time in support of the ban. I called in and, when I finally got picked, mentioned that WSVN7 local news had an online poll last night where 60% voted in disapproval for the ban.

D'Kendall went defensive and said that those who voted online were "misinformed". I asked "what do you mean misinformed?" She ignored the question and said that the real vote shall come in future elections for the school board members.

Lourdes D'Kendall, if you listen to her many commentaries, has little respect for the public. She supports elections, but if you vote wrong, then you are "misinformed". In her world there are many dumb people.

Her bigotry may be the hand that pushes Saavedra into the volcano.