Hundreds pay tearful tribute to exile leader

By ELAINE DE VALLE
Herald Staff Writer

Hundreds of people stood at Jorge Mas Canosa's grave Sunday, a day before the first anniversary of his death, to honor the man, the husband, the father and the Cuban community leader who devoted his life in exile to his homeland.

Friends, relatives and people drawn to the cause cried as they carried white roses, a symbol of sincere friendship as expressed in a poem by Cuban patriot Jose Marti. They parted to let Jorge Mas, the oldest son, reach his father's final resting place at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Little Havana.

While some lamented the loss of a great leader, others claimed that Mas Canosa, who founded the Cuban American National Foundation, left a legacy bigger than the void his death created.

``A year ago with all of you here, we buried the physical body of my father, of a son of Cuba,'' Mas said, as he turned to address the grave. ``Today, in the name of my family, my mother, my brothers, my wife, your grandchildren and nephews, I am here to say that your spirit lives. That your spirit is untakable. That it lives in the hearts of all Cubans here and on the island.''

As he spoke, Leonor and Juan M. Rodriguez, both 69, wept.

``He always gave us that faith that Cuba will be free, and that doesn't die. That never dies,'' Leonor Rodriguez said.

``Mas Canosa hasn't left,'' said Amelia Lastra, 79, who stood between the grave and a wreath of the Cuban flag. ``He is among us, and his struggle, above all, continues. Cuba has to be free, now more than ever.''

Earlier this year, the son was elected as the foundation's vice president. Supporters say he has taken his father's role with equal passion and command, albeit not charisma. Others were less sure.

``Poor him and poor us Cubans,'' said Emilia Rodriguez, 80. ``The void he left has not been filled, and it will be very difficult to fill. The proof is in all this that is happening to soften the U.S. position on Cuba.''

Influence evaluated

In Washington, where the Cuban American National Foundation was a political heavyweight, opinions vary on whether the group's leadership will remain as powerful without its founder. U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) -- while calling Mas ``irreplaceable'' -- said the foundation ``has no rival'' in the nation's capital.

``It was a legitimate concern to wonder if the foundation could have the same political strength without Jorge Mas Canosa,'' Torricelli said last week. ``I myself wondered -- but it has recovered in remarkable fashion.''

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Miami) -- who went to Sunday's wreath-laying wearing a crisp, white guayabera -- agreed.

``The cause is in very good hands,'' Ros-Lehtinen said. ``The foundation's cause is bigger than one man, one individual. And in Washington, the foundation enjoys great respect and is still considered the premier exile organization.''

Mas, she said, ``is vibrant, articulate and as impassioned for freedom in Cuba as his father.''
A loss of access?

But Maria Elena Toraño, a Miami businesswoman who has advised President Clinton on Cuban affairs, told El Nuevo Herald last week that the foundation -- led now by President Pepe Hernandez and Chairman Alberto Hernandez -- may have lost some of its pull with lawmakers.

``The access Jorge enjoyed and his personal and institutional leadership have left a huge void that Pepe and Alberto will find very difficult to fill, because that kind of leadership is irreplaceable,'' Toraño said. ``Jorge Mas Jr. is not the same. Things in Washington have changed -- if not dramatically, then gradually.''

Susan Kaufman Purcell, vice president of the New York-based Council of the Americas, a business organization that promotes regional economic integration, free trade, open markets and investment, is convinced that change is palpable now that Mas Canosa is gone.

``He was a political genius, in the way he engineered U.S. policy toward Cuba, in the way he removed the problems from Miami's small stage and took them to Washington,'' Kaufman said. ``It is probable that, without his leadership, the foundation will lose influence in important decisions of American policy toward Cuba.''

Mas, the son, doesn't think so: ``The foundation's lobbying retains its presence in Washington in terms of status. We continue to count on our friends both in the House and the Senate. We have been effective in our work in Washington, although we've had no initiatives that can compare to the 1996 Helms-Burton Act or the Torricelli Law, as the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act is known.''

Lobbying continues

One example Torricelli pointed to was the defeat in the Senate of the Dodd amendment, which sought to overturn some provisions of the embargo on Cuba.

``I worked with Jorge Mas Jr. [against the amendment] in the same way I worked with his father, and we were similarly effective,'' he said.

Alberto Hernandez, the foundation's chairman and Mas Canosa's closest friend and personal doctor, concedes that Mas Canosa is irreplaceable.

``He was an exceptional man who left a void, no question about that,'' he said. ``But the foundation has recovered from that brutal blow. And we'll carry Jorge Mas' legacy to its final conclusion -- the liberation of Cuba.''

How the son has stepped up to the plate is one example, Hernandez said Sunday.

``Jorge's death does not signify the end of his work. Many times, such a legacy can inspire new generations,'' Hernandez said. ``In fact, many of us have probably asked ourselves since his death, `How would he react if Jorge was in this situation?' And the answer is in the question. He keeps guiding us.''

`Patriots to spare'

Mas said he is not alone in following in his father's footsteps.

``Cuba has patriots to spare,'' he told the crowd Sunday at Woodlawn Park in Little Havana.

``The spirit of Jorge Mas Canosa lives and is in all of our hearts and in all of our lives, day to day.''

His father still leads Miami's Cubans, he said.

``He will rest his hand on our shoulders and show us our way to liberty.''

If his father were there, the son said, he would have words of encouragement.

``His message would be the same as it always was: a message of faith, a message of homeland, a message that the Cuban soul can never be defeated.

``The message today to his brothers, to his foundation and to his friends is one: Forward, Cubans, because the future of our fatherland is in our hands.''

A memorial Mass for Mas Canosa will be said at 7 p.m. today at St. Michael's Church, 2987 W. Flagler St.

El Nuevo Herald writers Charles Cotayo and Pablo Alfonso contributed to this report.