US slave ship replica sails into Old Havana harbor

[Judi Lynn]

US slave ship replica sails into Old Havana harbor
By WILL WEISSERT
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 25, 2010; 3:13 PM

HAVANA -- A U.S. replica of the 19th-century Cuban slave ship "Amistad" glided through the millpond-calm waters of Havana Bay on Thursday, a reminder of the countries' intertwined past and a gesture toward a brighter shared future.

Built in Connecticut, the black-hulled, two-masted re-creation of the schooner, whose name means "Friendship," flew the American and Cuban flags - as well as the blue flag of the United Nations. It was one of the few times a ship under the Stars and Stripes has called on the island in 51 years of estrangement since Fidel Castro took power. As it neared shore, the crew of 19 Americans lowered the U.S. flag and ran Cuba's up the main mast.

"It feels like a promise fulfilled," said Gregory Belanger, the CEO and president of Amistad America Inc., the nonprofit organization that owns and operates the ship. "It was built here originally. Its sail is from here. Now it is here."

U.S. movie director Steven Spielberg made the story of the original Amistad famous with his 1997 film of the same name. The ship set sail from Havana carrying a cargo of captives from Sierra Leone in 1839. The Africans rebelled, commandeering the ship on a zigzag course up the U.S. coast until it was finally seized off the coast of Long Island.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032502058.html