Edgar Veytia believes words can help build a new bridge between Cuba and the United States -- something that is going to be needed when Castro finally falls.

The 47-year-old New Orleans native now living in Los Angeles, has cranked up a website aimed at getting people to examine, and hopefully change, some of their hard-line views on the island. But he says the bottom line is talking, exchanging words and ideas about Cuba now and the Cuba that will be.

The year-old site, Cubanos.org, gets about 200 hits a day and, Veytia says, lots of return visitors. It features sections including the ``Resource Directory'' and ``Current News,'' along with an ``Acción'' page, where Veytia encourages people to write their elected officials.

It also has ``e-cards'' with traditional Cuban music.

But Veytia's ``progressive'' view on the embattled island is not without its critics.

Some postings on the site hammer him for ``betraying the community'' and questioning the present U.S. posture toward Cuba.

Veytia doesn't mind -- he is doing what he thinks is right.

``I am compelled by a sense of urgency to stimulate any kind of broader dialogue about Cuba out of which new thinking will come,'' he says.

Veytia funds the site with money from his business Elixir, a manufacturer of herbal medicine products.

He says he came up with the idea after taking a few trips to Cuba.

``I was hearing more exciting post-Castro ideas from my conversations with Cubans in Cuba than from talking to Cubans in the United States,'' Veytia says.

Veytia was born in New Orleans but lived in Cuba until he was 5. Then his family moved to Miami. He graduated from Coral Gables High School and the University of Florida.

The website is a new venture, and right now it's not listed on any search engines such as Yahoo.

So he relies on word of mouth and links from related websites. Still, he hasn't been laboring in the dark.

Cubanos.org has received recognition from other social-activist websites such as the Latin American Working Group -- www.lawg.org -- which describes Veytia's site as ``an impressive site because it promotes dialogue and does not exclude or dismiss any viewpoint.''

Like many younger Cubans,`I am compelled by a sense of urgency to stimulate any kind of broader dialogue about Cuba out of which new thinking will come.'

-- EDGAR VEYTIA,
Cubanos.org founder

They came to the United States fleeing the Castro regime with hopes of one day returning. They, Veytia says, have strong and unalterable views on Cuba, which Veytia believes are outdated and need to change -- mainly because they represent an obstacle to progressive relations with Cuba.

Veytia believes his website can give birth to the kind of dialogue that will ``make us stronger and deserving of a leadership role in the days ahead.''

Although he's no fan of Castro, Veytia believes the Cuban conflict needs a middle ground with an eye toward the future.

``That sets the agenda for the new Cuba, the post-Castro Cuba,'' he says.