Team Work (VOA Connect Ep 198)

VOA – CONNECT EPISODE # 198  AIR DATE: 10 29 2021   TRANSCRIPT Draft 10 22 2021 Draft 10 25 2021    OPEN ((VO/NAT)) ((Banner)) The Art of Cigars ((SOT)) ((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars)) Lidia, the Torcedora, Cuban cigar roller, her cigars are simply magnificent, magnificent. ((SOT)) ((Lidia Marcio Guerra, Cigar Roller, Federico Empire Cigar Factory)) I have been making cigars for 35 years. I love tobacco. It’s the only thing I know how to do. I don’t know how to do anything else. ((Animation Transition)) ((Banner)) Urban Wildlife ((SOT)) ((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) The duck doesn’t see urban and rural. The duck sees habitat and here in D.C., we have a lot of it. ((Animation Transition)) ((Banner)) Capturing Life ((SOT)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Oh, you got to be kidding me. My ultimate goal is to be a historian.  When I take a photograph, it's about truth. What you see is what it is. ((Open Animation))   BLOCK A    ((PKG)) THE TORCEDOR, “CIGAR MAKER”  ((TRT: 05:49)) ((Topic Banner: The Torcedores ((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Jeff Swicord)) ((Map: Little Havana, Miami, Florida))    ((Main characters: 1 Male, 1 Female))   ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars)) Little Havana is the center of Cuban culture in Miami. You always hear music. Drinking coffee. Playing dominos. Versailles is the icon, the most famous Cuban restaurant in the entire world. Cigars are at the center of the Cuban culture which means that tourists come here. Yes, they come to eat, they come to enjoy, but the main thing they come to buy, the main product they come to purchase, cigars, cigars. ((NATS)) ((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars)) Welcome to Little Havana. Come into my shop. I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. My grandfather used to be a cigar roller in Cuba. You cannot get Cuban cigars because of the embargo and that’s just into politics. We consume more cigars than the entire world combined. The lighter the color, the milder the cigar. The darker the color, the stronger the cigar it is. So, for example, this is what we call Connecticut Shade. Connecticut Shade because the first leaf was cultivated in Connecticut, USA and it came out like almost yellow. And this is a mild cigar. Then from here, we jump into the medium body cigars. And this is what we call medium body Habano Shade. So, this leaf here is from Ecuador, Habano Ecuador, Ecuadorian Habano, and is aged for five years. That’s why it turns like medium brown. Then, you come over to the full body. As you can see it’s darker, the leaf, because it is aged for about seven years. And this one come from, from Mexico, San Andrea, Mexico. It’s on the sweet side. ((NATS/MUSIC)) What makes a good cigar is: a) - the quality of the leaf…b) the quality of the Torcedor, the cigar roller. The Cuban Torcedores are the best in the world, period, hands down. Lidia, the Torcedora, Cuban cigar roller, her cigars are simply magnificent, magnificent. ((NATS)) ((Lidia Marcio Guerra, Cigar Roller, Federico Empire Cigar Factory)) I have been making cigars for 35 years. I love tobacco. It’s the only thing I know how to do. I don’t know how to do anything else. A good cigar is the one who has a good pull, that has good flavor, that is not bitter. But in my opinion, that depends on the taste of the person who is smoking it. Look: mild, medium, strong. Making cigars is an art form. Since America was discovered and the Spanish found the Indians making cigars, they were made in the same way as today. The only thing that has changed is that we have incorporated the molds and the press. But everything else is the same. The Torcedores are privileged and have a good salary in Cuba. I can tell you that when I was in Cuba, I earned more than a doctor. The tobacco course lasts nine months. In nine months, you become a [cigar maker]. But today, it is an artisan handwork. I became a tobacco maker after six months. After six months, they pass you to where the older and more experienced cigar makers are, that goes for export. I came to the United States in 2014 and now I am a permanent resident in the United States. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars)) The Torcedores, we respect them. And whenever an American sees a cigar roller, or a Torcedor making a cigar, he stops, takes a picture. Even though he or she has seen it 20,000 times, he is always intrigued by the way it’s made, and appreciate it, enjoys it, and is willing to pay whatever it is, in order to have a good cigar. Smooth, the way I like it! ((NATS/MUSIC)) TEASE ((VO/NAT)) Coming up ((Banner)) Saving the Birds ((SOT)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) The birds that we find are typically neo-tropical migrants. The birds are migrating at night. The light is distracting to them. It draws them into the glass.   BREAK ONE                                                                   BUMP IN ((ANIM))                           BLOCK B    ((PKG)) URBAN WILDLIFE  ((Previously aired June 2021)) ((TRT: 07:30)) ((Topic Banner: Urban Wildlife)) ((Reporter/Camera: Jeff Swicord)) ((Map: Washington, D.C.))    ((Main characters: 3 Female))  ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Text on screen: The non-profit City Wildlife runs several programs to protect wildlife in Washington DC)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) I got interested in wildlife because I grew up in a household full of animals. ((Text on screen: LIGHTS OUT DC)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) My father was a veterinarian. We did a lot of birding as a family and camping.  ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) What Lights Out DC does, we are looking for birds that have collided with windows. The birds that we find are typically neo-tropical migrants. ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) They winter over in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. And then, in the spring, they are flying North to there where they breed. The birds are migrating at night. The light is distracting to them. It draws them into the glass. ((NATS)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) So, this is a building that we were finding a significant number of birds colliding with the glass. And we talked to the building managers and they agreed to dim certain lights. And we noticed last fall, we didn’t monitor for the whole year last year because the pandemic, but in the fall, there was a significant reduction at this building because they had turned off the lights, we found less birds.  ((NATS)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) When we find a dead bird, we want to be sure to document what we can about it. You can see it is bleeding from its beak. ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) Obviously the date, the time in the morning we found it, something about the location, particularly of the bird.  ((NATS)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) It’s the state bird of D.C. Because usually it’s a particular piece of glass or part of the building that is problematic to birds.  ((NATS)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) Okay, can I grab your… ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) And then we record all this information to use for advocacy purposes. So, if it is injured, if it is stunned, if it’s hit the glass, then we transport the bird to City Wildlife where there is a veterinarian who examines the bird.  ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Lisbeth Fuisz, Lights Out DC, City Wildlife)) Since 1970, we have lost a huge number of birds in North and South America. So, we are really trying to sort of work with people to change patterns of building, to have them turn off their lights at night, to treat the windows. There’s ways that you can mitigate. You can make glass visible to birds. So, there is a whole range of things that we can do to solve this problem. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Text on screen: CITY WILDLIFE)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) I’ve always been interested in helping animals since I was very young.  ((NATS)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) Yeah, it’s bad. I’m sorry little buddy. Being a wildlife veterinarian in particular allows me to help conservation efforts and preserving natural wildlife that we have here in the District.   ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) We currently have 96 patients. Fortunately, most of our problems that we see are directly human-related. We do see a lot of trauma cases, hit by cars, birds that have flown into windows, attacks by domestic animals, cats, dogs. You can see around the edges of her shell right here where it’s really irregular. Those are dog bite injuries.  ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) We also do see toxicities, lead. The pigeon that we are treating for lead toxicity, the pigeon came in not able to walk, definitely not able to fly. Took some x-rays, didn’t see any evidence of broken bones or any other injuries. So, we took some blood, did a test for lead and came back extremely toxic dose. Treated for chelation therapy. The bird can now walk, still a little bit wobbly, and can fly, which is an incredible improvement over when he first came in.  I think restricting access to pesticides is a big step that we need to start taking. Less of these toxic products in the environment would be a good next step. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Text on screen: DUCK WATCH)) ((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) I’ve always been interested in ducks. My mother would take me to a lagoon to visit ducks and geese and swans when I was little. Duck Watch is one of City Wildlife’s community programs. And our main purpose is to facilitate our urban waterfowl’s natural behavior. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) For instance, we escort mama ducks and their ducklings from their urban nesting sites to water. The duck doesn’t see urban and rural. The duck sees habitat and here in D.C., we have a lot of it. We have landscaping. We have lots of planting around the city. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) When we see a nest or somebody alerts us of a nest, we first assign a volunteer to just take a look. When it gets close to hatching time, they can be around to provide an escort, which just means walking behind or to the side of the ducks, stopping traffic, maybe helping the ducks get up curb. We want to build a community of people who know how to appropriately interact or not interact with the wildlife.  ((NATS)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) She is brooding her ducklings. They have been swimming and she probably brought them up that ramp right there and now she wants to get them dry and warm. She also has a brood patch from when she was nesting. And so, she can generate quite a bit of heat and make like a little warm-up space for them.  ((NATS)) ((April Linton, Duck Watch, City Wildlife)) Ducks are very charismatic animals and people think they are cute. They like to watch them. They like to take their children to watch them. And we think that by providing a little more education about what the ducks are doing, people will enjoy their bird watching experience more. And I think it will also translate to the way they look at other wildlife and the way they see the, you know, abundant wildlife that actually share the city with us.   ((NATS/MUSIC)) TEASE  ((VO/NAT)) Coming up ((Banner)) Manhattan Life ((SOT)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) He owes me 20 dollars. That's the one that owes me 20 dollars. BREAK TWO                                                                  BUMP IN ((ANIM))                         BLOCK C ((PKG)) TIGER HOOD   ((Previously aired April 2021)) ((TRT: 6:00)) ((Topic Banner: Capturing New York))    ((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))  ((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))  ((Editor: Kyle Dubiel)) ((Map: New York City, New York)) ((Main characters: 1 male))  ((Sub characters: 2 female; 1 male)) ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Come on baby. Ah, shucks. Real men ride pink bikes, baby. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) My name is Patrick Q.F. Barr. I'm a photographer, photojournalist, restaurant worker and a urban golfer. I play golf with milk containers. ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) I don't know if you go through lights, but I do. I don't play golf every day, but I can play it whenever I like, which is the beauty of it. ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) As a photographer, what makes me stop and press the button right away is, some shots are just, you know, it's situational. So, it's just a feeling. It's instantaneous when you just see something happening and you say, “Well, I got to capture that for the record, you know.” ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Some shots are like that and some shots you have to really like think about. ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Are they going to be important in 20, 30 years, you know? ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) He owes me 20 dollars. That's the one that owes me 20 dollars. I remember seeing that car on McDougal. Couldn't miss it with that damn paint job. Are there any moments or photographs or situations that have captured my interest? ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Well, wow. One of them is Sebastiamo, Sebastiamo Monte. He was a restaurant owner on Bleecker street, 281 Bleecker street, Osteria Fiorentina. ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) He used to stand out there all the time, you know, just standing out there like, you know, just casually looking at people, trying to pull into the restaurant. At night, I used to walk by him all the time. But then, when I got serious about the pictures again, I walked by him one day and I said, “You know what man, you're beautiful. And I got to get a picture of you one day.” And then I walked away. A couple of weeks later, I saw him standing out there again and I just said, you know, “Don't move.” As many times as I walked by him before, when I saw him standing out there again, it got me excited. ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Another situation was when, when I was walking by the park and I saw a fireball from the side of my eye and I said, “Wow. Okay, I know who that is.” ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) And I haven't seen him in years. Tony “The Fireman” Vera. And he's been entertaining people in the park for years. So, when I saw that fireball from the side of my eye, which I haven't seen in years, I said, “Wow, got to get that, got to get him.” And you know, I was really lucky to get him because that was his last week of performing in New York and he retired after that. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) This guy was walking by when I was playing golf one day ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) and we got to talking and I got around to find out he was a golfer and he has a really good swing. ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Oh, you got to be kidding me. Snap out of it. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) I got started playing golf when I found a golf club in a garbage can ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) and I had a tennis ball on me. So, I started hitting the tennis ball against a building that was under construction, but it didn't come back down after a while because there was so much scaffolding, and, you know, it just stopped and got stuck someplace, but I didn't want to stop. I like the feeling of swinging. And so I said, “Okay, I've got to find something else to hit.” So, I got some milk containers and I just started hitting them. And you know, it's better than hitting a ball because they don't roll away. ((NATS)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Wow, look at you. ((Speaker 1)) Oh, I thought you were looking at me. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) I am looking at you. ((Speaker 2)) What's in there? Can you tell us what's in there? ((Speaker 1)) Yes. This is a Senegal parrot. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) I play golf with milk containers on the street. That's what these are for. They're milk containers stuffed with newspaper. ((Speaker 1)) Okay. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, photojournalist and street golfer)) And I hit them towards the box. ((Speaker 1)) I see. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Yeah. I go by the name, Tiger Hood. ((Speaker 1)) Very good. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) See, Tiger Hood. ((Speaker 1)) I hope you're as...well… ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) The name Tiger Hood, it was a no brainer, to be honest with you. I mean, I'm in the neighborhood. So, one of my favorite golfers, the favorite golfer of mine, Tiger. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) I was born in Kingston, Jamaica and I came here when I was four years old. I'm Jamerican. We lived in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Strong Island for a while, moved down to Atlanta, Florida and got homesick for New York, so I came back. ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Come on, come on, come on, come on. Follow me. Come on, you got it, looking good baby, come on. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) The rules to street golf are just: Always be respectful, ABC - Always be careful. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Playtime's over baby. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) I used to carry four cameras. Black and white, color, you know. Like I would have ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) two Pentax K1000s or two Cannon AE1s, whichever one, I would put black and white film in one, color film in another, so I can compare the shots. ((NATS) ((Taco)) I think it's amazing. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Thank you. ((Taco)) I love the story which you are telling about like what inspired this and that and who that man is. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Yeah. I appreciate that. Thanks. Yeah. ((Taco)) I'm just, yeah. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) He's going to be… ((Taco)) Never mind. I'm just a bit nosy. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) No, no, no. I appreciate that. Thank you. Oh, Tiger Hood, NYC. Tiger Hood. Oh, yeah. Tiger Hood. Yeah. I play golf with milk containers on the street. So, yeah. ((Taco)) Tiger Wood? ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Hood. ((Taco)) Oh, Hood. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Yeah. Girl, I'm from the hood, man.  ((Taco)) Oh, you're from the hood. I'm from the hood too. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Shoot. Okay, you're sure not Richmond? ((Taco)) The South African hood though. It's all the same. The hood is all the same. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Yeah. ((Taco)) So which one is you? ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) That's me kissing my mom on the cheek there on top. Yeah, I think that would be it. And yeah, Patrick. ((Taco)) My name is Taco, by the way. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Nice to meet you, Taco. ((Taco)) Beautiful work. ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Yeah, stay in touch. ((Photo Courtesy: Patrick Q.F. Barr)) ((Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) My ultimate goal is to be a historian, photojournalist. When I take a photograph, it's about truth. What you see is what it is. ((NATS: Patrick Q.F. Barr, Photojournalist, Street Golfer)) Okay, come on now. Come on. Come on, baby. Playtime's over. There we go. Woo. All right. ((NATS)) CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM)) voanews.com/connect   IN COMING WEEK / GOOD BYE ((VO/NAT))                            ((Banner)) Weathering the Storm ((SOT)) My daughter’s name is Gaby, that’s what the G’s for. This is my son’s.  After the storm surge went down there was water everywhere, as far as that I could see. Even covering the road.  To say that my house got taken away by a hurricane, that is caused by fossil fuel energy production and energy use, I don’t think it’s a fair behavior on the part of those who criticize energy consumption when they too are users. So, unless they’re completely off the grid, I don’t believe that energy production is anymore to blame than energy consumption.  I like being warm in the winter time, I like being cool in the summer time.  If there were a better way for our planet to allow people to do that, then I think that we would all be pursuing it.  And so, if an energy transition is what can bring that about, I’m all for it.  ((SOT)) I feel like you’ll have to be pretty willfully ignorant to say that  nothing is changing about our climate. So, I definitely think fossil fuels has a part in climate change, but a significant portion of our community relies on the oil and gas industry for their job. So, it’s definitely important for our area, thousands of jobs.        CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM)) voanews.com/connect   ((PKG))  FREE PRESS MATTERS  ((NATS/VIDEO/GFX)) ((Popup captions over B Roll)) Near the Turkish Embassy Washington, D.C. May 16, 2017 President Erdogan’s bodyguard attacks peaceful protesters “Those terrorists deserved to be beaten” “They should not be protesting our president” “They got what they asked for” While some people may turn away from the news We cover it reliably accurately objectively comprehensively wherever the news matters VOA A Free Press Matters BREAK THREE                                                                      BUMP IN  ((ANIM))                           SHOW ENDS