The following list is one we’re all familiar with because we’ve all fielded it. Whether at a dinner party, saddled up alongside a bar with your mates, or just hanging on the couch with others, you’ve been asked with which people you would like to have over for dinner. It’s inevitable. If you’ve never had this question, then I guess either you had shit teachers or your friends suck.
I created the following guidelines for myself: people could be alive or dead; your average table is four-sided with four chairs, so assuming one chair is for myself, only three others could attend; they had to be actual people, no fictional characters allowed. That’s it. Simple, innit?
Without further ado, my three dinner guests.
1) Subcomandante Marcos. I find this man highly intriguing. No one knows his identity. His face is always covered with a ski mask of sorts. He’s often on horseback or delivering a speech, and you will always see him with his trusted pipe. Subcomandante Marcos admits he came from a middle class family, the son of two educators, but later in life he became a revolutionary figure in Chiapas (the southernmost Mexican state). Following the Tlateloco massacre, Marcos adopted Marxism and relocated to Chiapas to organise the locals in revolution against the wealthy and the federal government. It took some time before the people signed on, but once they did, they formed the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (Zapatista Army of National Liberation). They fight the good fight for the impoverished and the indigenous of Mexico, but they do it without violence and through education and demanding rights and justice. The man has 21 published books and hundreds of essays decreeing his personal beliefs and political theories. I’ve read a few and the brother is heavy. Definitely not light reading. Plus, Marcos has even written a book for children, centred on the creation legend of the Maya. I could give you many a reason to love Subcomandante Marcos, but I’m going to leave you with this one: his reason for always hiding his face in a plain black mask is to serve as a mirror for all oppressed and forgotten people.
2) Patrice Lumumba. First elected prime minister of Republic of Congo, and less than three months later thrown out in a coup. Following his ousting, he was locked up and then executed by firing squad. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the USA played its part in that execution. Good ole USA intervention. He came of age in Congo during Belgian rule, attended parochial schools, and made good marks. He had all the qualities of becoming a good negro but eventually he looked around his nation, formed a political movement and changed his outlook during a pan-African conference where he came in contact with Kwame Nkrumah, former president of Ghana. During some time in prison for rioting, his National Congolese Movement won election and its delegates raised enough hell to get Lumumba out, allowing him to attend the Brussels conference. The result of the conference ended with Congo getting its own declaration of independence and establishing another election. Lumumba’s party won yet again and he became the first prime minister of Congo. Not to be outdone by King Baudouin of Belgium, who threw a celebratory get-together for the press and his people, Lumumba spoke to his Congolese constituency and declared that his people were no longer Belgium’s monkeys. Of course, this met the ire of the western world. Fast forward, Patrice Lumumba decided to up all government employees pay…but not the military. (You can see where this is going, right?) Series of small rebellions sweep through Congo, sending white people fleeing back to Europe. Katanga province seceded from Congo, and this was all that Belgium needed to see before deciding to get back in the game for control of Congo and its resources. Eventually, Lumumba was arrested and promptly executed. We’d later find out that his pan-African ways were not in line with what Belgium and the USA wanted, so it’s not surprising to find out both countries aided in his assassination. Even Dwight Eisenhower demanded Lumumba’s death. Anyway, although guys like Garvey and Nkrumah get all the limelight in the pan-Africa discussion, Patrice Lumumba was right there with them. He could have become Africa’s Simon Bolivar, leading the charge to rid the continent of colonial forces and imperialism. If you need to know why this man is so important, it’s simple. Malcolm X called him the greatest black man who ever walked the African continent. A few short years after his murder, Ernesto Guevara, with the help of Fidel Castro, attempted to help Congo in their fight for liberation. Ultimately, it was unsuccessful.
3) Camilo Cienfuegos. First thing I must say, I've already lived longer than Camilo. That's astonishing in itself. He's on my list, definite dinner guest, and the man died at 27. (But then again, Lumumba died at 35.) The early life isn't so important with him, outside of one thing--he grew up under two anarchist parents who emigrated to Cuba from Spain just before the civil war. Camilo discovered his political side when he became involved with underground student movements against then president Fulgencio Batista. After some kerfuffles in Havana, he moved to New York City before being kicked out after his paperwork expired. He then found himself in Mexico, and it would be here where he'd meet Fidel Castro and would set sail to Cuba on the Granma to start the revolution. He would be come a key figure in the Cuban rebel army and a right-hand-man of sorts to both Castros and Che Guevara. It was Cienfuegos' column that defeated the Cuban army in Yaguajay, leading to a surrender of the garrison there. On this same day, Guevara led another column that also won its battle, both leading to an end of the revolution and victory for the guerrillas. Post revolution, Castro placed Cienfuegos in high command over the new Cuban army and in charge of numerous activities, including squashing all anti-Fidel movements. So yes, I'm quite sure he's killed innocent people; paranoia and power can be a deadly combination, but the man was highly loyal to the revolution and its principles. The circumstances around his death are murky, and some even suggest Fidel put a hit out on Camilo Cienfuegos but most historians dispute this. Camilo was such a figure in the history of the new Cuba that Che named his son Camilo. To this day, his life is honoured every 28th of October, where Cubans throw flowers into the sea, commemorating his death which took place (?) on water. (Remember, I told you the circumstances around his death are murky.)
So there you have it. My three dinner guests. If it's not apparent to you already, I'm a Marxist, I believe that the way to fix the western world is through armed struggle, I stand for any and all oppressed people, be they African, Latin, indigenous, female, whatever. The common bond is these three people were all about revolution, be it peaceful like Marcos or wrought with war like Cienfuegos or in the middle like Lumumba. All three envision a world where the ignored take a stand and change their surroundings for the better. To be able to sit down with three titans of liberation would be a mind orgasm. The fact that all three are to the extreme left or at least far left (Lumumba can't quite be nailed down on the spectrum), that's a bonus. I mean I guess Ben Franklin is a revolutionary too, but to me that's like saying Elvis is rock and roll.
Feel free to tell me who would be your dinner guests. My ears are open.
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