BY MADELINE BARO DIAZ
  South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  MIAMI - KRT NEWSFEATURES

  (KRT) - For two decades, Cuban-Americans often spoke with a single anti-Castro voice, that of Jorge Mas Canosa, the charismatic and mercurial leader who
  made the Cuban-American National Foundation a powerful lobbying group.

  Through the foundation, Mas Canosa accomplished the tightening of U.S. policy toward Cuba, most notably through its trade embargo on the island. Many
  considered him the most influential Cuban exile in the country and believed he could be the next democratic president of Cuba.

  Those dreams died with him, however, on Nov. 22, 1997.

  In the five years since his death, the Cuban-American community has changed, especially in the wake of the Elian Gonzalez saga, which many believe left
  South Florida's Cuban-American community in need of a reputation overhaul. The foundation, now headed by Mas Canosa's son Jorge Mas Santos, has
  changed as well, taking positions that have irked members of South Florida's hard-line anti-Castro community, such as welcoming the second Latin Grammy
  awards to Miami and supporting the Varela Project in Cuba, a movement to change the island's institutions from within.

  Though those positions have angered some members of the foundation, Mas Santos says his father would also have been receptive to change.

  "Jorge Mas Canosa was a man who had vision. He took the struggle to a different level," Mas Santos said. "I think Jorge Mas Canosa would be very proud
  to see the direction the foundation has taken."

  Not everyone agrees, particularly Cuban exiles who disapprove of moderate stances toward Fidel Castro's government.

  Ninoska Perez Castellon, who spent years working with Mas Canosa, is among those disappointed with the foundation's current direction. Perez was the
  voice of the foundation as its spokeswoman and on the airwaves, as host of the Voice of the Foundation, a now-defunct shortwave radio broadcast to
  Cuba.

  Within two years after Mas Canosa's death, however, Perez said she saw the foundation changing - and not for the better. The breaking point came in
  2001 after she says Mas Santos made a series of decisions without consulting her and other foundation directors.

  The most high-profile decision was Mas Santos joining Miami-Dade's host committee for the Latin Grammys last year, a controversial move because many in
  the anti-Castro community opposed the presence of Cuban musicians from the island. The ensuing uproar led Latin Grammy officials to move the awards
  show to Los Angeles. The ceremony, scheduled for Sept. 11, 2001, was never held because of the terrorist attacks.

  "Even though Jorge Mas Canosa was always accused of being the person who made all the decisions, those decisions were made by the board," Perez
  said. "The foundation had no business getting involved (with the Grammys)."

  As a result, Perez said, the foundation no longer speaks for her or other Cuban-Americans. In the aftermath of the controversy, she and other directors left
  and formed their own organization, the Cuban Liberty Council.

  "Mas Canosa was the kind of person that wherever he spoke the exile community felt he was talking for them," she said. "I don't think that applies to the
  foundation any more."

  The changes in the foundation and the Cuban-American community in the past few years were set in motion by the custody fight over Elian Gonzalez.
  When it was all over and the U.S. government returned Elian to his father in Cuba, outraged Cuban-Americans who had adamantly opposed the boy's
  leaving were dismayed that many other Americans had sided against them - and that Cuban-Americans had a poor reputation across the country.

  To fix that, Mas Santos decided to refocus the foundation's mission and improve its public image.

  "We got used to preaching to the choir," said Joe Garcia, executive director of CANF. "When we turned around, the church was empty."

  The foundation's mission remains the same, to work toward a democratic Cuba. Today, however, supporting the dissident movement in the island is a
  priority. Also, the embargo is no longer front and center when foundation leaders try to rally support around the world. It is a battle they've already won,
  they feel, so they concentrate on talking about human rights and other issues.

  The foundation's support of Cuba's internal opposition was once taboo, since many exiles were suspicious of dissidents on the island. Even today, CANF's
  support of the Varela Project, a movement in Cuba that seeks a referendum on government reforms, has been criticized. Exiles who oppose the Varela
  Project say it seeks to work within a Cuban constitution they do not recognize as legitimate.

  But Oswaldo Paya, architect of the Varela Project, had visited Miami and spoke to Mas Canosa about the nascent idea before his death, according to Mas
  Santos and Garcia. Mas Canosa was willing to work with him, they said.

  Garcia said the controversial moves Mas Santos has made are in keeping with his father's approach.

  "When Jorge Mas brought the Latin Grammys I thought it was the same thing," Garcia said. "Jorge brings a sort of business approach to things or
  pragmatic approach to things, much like his father."

  Mas Canosa was also known for making decisions that didn't sit well with everyone in the anti-Castro community. Although Cuban-Americans are usually
  identified with the Republican party, Mas Canosa worked with and contributed money to Democrats, too. In 1996, his decision to debate Cuba's National
  Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon also drew criticism.

  "(Mas Canosa) was hated by other Cuban-American leaders," Garcia said. "Today their mouths are filled with praise for him."

  Some Cuban-Americans and Cuban exile watchers say another notable development since Mas Canosa's death has been the increased maturity of the
  Cuban-American community with regard to diverse views. That has allowed other voices, including those of moderates who favor change in the U.S.
  relationship with Cuba, to be heard, say Cuban-Americans who oppose the U.S. trade embargo against the island.

  Silvia Wilhelm was among the organizers of a conference earlier this year that brought together more than 200 people, most of them Cuban-American, who
  favor dialogue with Cuba and an end to the embargo. Such a gathering would have been unthinkable just five years ago, said Wilhelm, whose group
  Puentes Cubanos promotes person-to-person exchanges with Cuba.

  "The Cuban American community tended to speak with one voice and he tended to be that voice," Wilhelm said of Mas Canosa. "His death left a void and
  now what you're seeing is a community that is not a monolithic one and is able to convey that message to the rest of the nation. Now people feel freer to
  voice a difference of opinion which they did not feel free to voice when Mas Canosa was alive."

  ---

  © 2002 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.