Hello there,
Frank Pais: Architect of Cuba’s Betrayed Revolution which was written and edited by Jose Alvarez, Agustin Pais and myself, Melinda Esquibel for my company, Mundo Maravilla, and was actually published first in April 2008 under the name Frank Pais: The Untold Story of the Cuban Revolutionary by Mundo Maravilla on Lulu.com. This book belonged to myself, Melinda Esquibel and Agustin Pais, Frank Pais’ only living brother. Side note: Jose Alvarez was asked in 2007 to help us write the book. A second draft of the book was published in November 2008 (six months before Jose “Pepin” Alvarez published his book Frank Pais: Architect of Cuba’s Betrayed Revolution). I copywrote the book in November of 2008 after the 2nd publishing. Mr. Alvarez had his attorney get my book removed from the site that was publishing it saying there was a copyright infringement.
This is Jose “Pepin” Alvarez he is a professor in Florida. (I wonder if he teaches copyright infringment to his students? hmmm).
In July 2011 I googled Frank Pais to see what other tricks Jose had up his sleeve. What I came up with was a documentary he was making based on the book (MY BOOK) that he stole. So now he was making MY DOCUMENTARY. I have since gone back on YouTube and the “trailer” has been taken down.
To understand how we got here, it is important to start from the beginning….
In the early 2000′s I met a girl named Anna Mercedes Rodriquez who happened to be the great grand neice of Agustin, Frank and Josue Pais. She was a filmmaker. We met through a mutual friend through another project. While we worked together on another project, Anna invited me over to her place for dinner and she kept talking about he great uncle’s and how they were involved with the Cuban Revolution. The story she was telling me sounded so far out….to be honest it was hard to believe. I said, sure sure. You know. Its hard in Hollywood to really know who is telling you the truth, so I ususally take stuff with a grain of salt.
Well after hours of food, wine and stories, I think it was clear I didn’t really believe what she was saying, so she told me to hold on tight and went into a back room and brought me these very OLD looking books. Some were from Puerto Rico and I guess some had made their way out of Cuba and she said. This is my uncle Frank Pais. I want you to make a documentary and movie about him.
When I took the books, the hair on my arms little stood straight up. It was that second that this journey began. We decided to do a book in ENGLISH, since all the books about Frank and his brothers were in SPANISH. She felt it was important for the English speaking world to know the history of the PAIS brothers and what really happened during the Cuban Revolution. From the Urban Underground to the death of Josue (Frank’s youngest brother) and Frank to the exile of Agustin and the reason for it.
The next thing to do would be to film a documentary and a feature film on the same subjects. In 2004 the paperwork was completed and the three projects were copywritten. A book, documentary and feature film.
I came to know Jose “Pepin” Alvarez in 2006. Jose was working on a book entitled “Principio Y Fin Del Mito Fedelista.” PRINCIPIO Y FIN DEL MITO FIDELISTA
He had reached out to Agustin to get his input in the book. Being that Agustin had signed over the license for the project on what we had imbarked on, he naturally sent Jose to me to deal with. I reached out to him to see what he wanted and told him that we could NOT help him because of the projects we were working on. In turn Jose sent me the following email:
Hi, Melinda:
Thanks for your message, which arrived when I had no hope of maintaining contact with you and Agustín. Although our short relation should end here (your message is a “NO” despite what you say), I want to clarify some points and react to others you make.
Agustín is “unsure of what to do”:
a) I sent him everything I am doing. I showed him ALL my cards. (I have no hidden agenda.) If that was not enough, the best way to be convinced is having a face-to-face dialogue where we can interact.
b) I told him very clearly that his input would be portrayed as he wanted.
c) The issue of the interference with your project was perhaps not clear and I think this is the most important point, not only for Agustín but also for you. I am going to be more explicit because now I have more information than before. The caveat here is that you know everything about mine while I am in the dark about yours.
The two projects are very different in purpose and scope for several reasons:
1. Mine is only an academic and historical effort. As a matter of fact, I just realized (and started working on it) that I had to split it into two books: one dealing with the historical facts (for the academic community), and the other with the fiction/non-fiction historical novel (for the general audience). In addition to portray Frank’s role in the Cuban insurrection, yours appears to be a big marketing endeavor composed of three parts: documentary, book, and a clothing line.
2. My project (the two books) is about the entire process. It encompasses the myths that were created, the lies, the propaganda machine, the foul plays, the until now unrevealed sources and flow of the huge financial resources at Castro’s disposal (that I am still documenting), etc. Yours is about Frank. Here the books may overlap but my objective is to deconstruct Fidel himself, while yours is to tell Frank’s story. You are building; I am destroying. As a matter of fact, the information I need from Agustín (although very important) would not represent one percent of what I have already done –and I am not finished yet. In other words, my project would not be based on Agustín’s information.
3. My efforts will end with the publishing of the two books. Perhaps I may select specific parts to submit to refereed journals. I have no further plans, except –if the occasion arises– an involvement in a future truth commission which I already described to Agustín. (History needs to tell who were the real murderers of David and Daniel.) I am an academics, not a businessman. In other words, I AM NOT A COMPETITOR FOR YOUR PROJECT.
I have spent several hours in your website and want to give you some feedback. First, during all these years, my wife has been telling me that I live in the past. Your email and website made me believe she may be right. It was a shock I was not prepared for! It is difficult to explain and I don’t want to hurt your feelings. Take my criticism as a constructive one since I really want your project to succeed. Please, realize that we come from different backgrounds. I read a lot about you on the web, which I could not do before because I was searching your last name with a “v” –I thought you were of Cuban descent– not with a “b.” There is also a generation gap, and huge differences in idiosyncracy, age, and personal experiences. Believe me: Belen, New Mexico, and Santiago de Cuba, Oriente, are quite two different places. That does not disqualify you for leading the project (your brief bio –you are really young– portrays a dynamic and capable professional –and a very beautiful one!– with an impressive list of accomplishments.
The majority of those who survived are going to be turned off after visiting your website and finding the documentary tied to the commercial efforts and the support of a lot of people who may be your friends and may provide a good help to promote the documentary in certain circles, but those who still “live in the past” may react the way I did. It is hard to see Frank’s image and his last name on articles for sale (by the way, my wife loved the logo, and so did I). I immediately associated your effort with the marketing of Che Guevara. One could not find two more different persons.
Melinda, I sincerely hope that you take my comments as a product of my memories, which still hurt. I am not a marketing expert, let alone a guru on movie matters. But I am a passionate student of the history of my fatherland. A history we need –and intend– to rewrite, and should avoid negative reactions due to perceptions, which are what really count.
I wish you and the País family a great success with your project, which seems to be in its final stage. I hope you will invite me to the premiPre of the documentary and the launching of the book. If before that you happen to come to southern Florida, do not hesitate to let me know and maybe we could meet. Finally, as a last attempt, I am sending Agustín an invitation to get together and talk about everything (el monotema), except our projects, like old compaZeros who never met.
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PRINCIPIO Y FIN DEL MITO FIDELISTA
