Armando Valladares is a poet and artist with a day job in a postal office in 1950’s Cuba. For refusing to place a sign on his desk in support of Fidel Castro, he is sentenced to 30 years in prison. While in prison, Armando refuses to cooperate in a political re-education program. His fight to maintain his beliefs results in years of torture. During this time, he ingeniously smuggles poetry about his experiences – both harrowing and hopeful – to his wife, Martha, who publishes it to international and critical acclaim. AND MY PRISON BARS BLOOM: THE TRUE STORY OF ARMANDO VALLADARES is a testament to the depths of freedom that one can find in the human spirit. Armando said of his experience, “Though my body was in prison and abused, my soul was free and flourished. My jailers took everything from me, but they could not rob me of my conscience.”

Panel: “Escape from Communism” Li Schoolland, Adrienne Levy, Jeff Gasser; Hawk Jensen, mod.

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