MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- A Cuban citizen with unique ties to the mid-state will be in Murfreesboro this evening to deliver a lecture on the rapid changes the island nation is undergoing.
Rodrigo Gonzalez has been coordinating student and faculty visits to Cuba for Middle Tennessee State University for about a decade. Travel restrictions to the communist nation were loosened in 2011.
Dr. Ric Morris teaches Spanish at MTSU and has been working with Gonzalez for years. He says Cuba remains a mystery for most Americans.
“It’s complicated, but there’s very rapid change taking place. And it’s information that Americans really don’t have much access to. Our news reports tend to focus on the failures of Cuba and its government, rather than focusing on the positive changes.”
Morris says that Cuba’s new president is experimenting with a mix of policies that incorporate some capitalist elements into its more traditional socialist programs.
Rodrigo Gonzalaz will speak Monday evening beginning at 6 p.m. in the MTSU College of Education building. The event is open to the public. A Q&A session and a catered reception will follow.