CUBAN TRANSITIONS

On the dance floor, when the sway of my hips and the movement of my feet were more fluid than expected for a tourist, salsa songs were often followed by a Cuban asking “oye, de donde tu ere?”

“De Nueva Yol, pero soy Dominicana y Puertorriqueña.”

It was a distinction that, at first, came instinctually and eventually transformed into a conscious decision. I came to cherish the nearly instant connection that happened when I spoke in Spanish, properly rolling my double r’s, switching many of my “r’s” to “l’s,” chopping off “d’s” and “s’s.”

Conversations were smoother, franker. A 17 year old young man we met commented that we (I was with Ishaira, a Puerto Rican classmate) spoke like he did, referring to our Caribbean-accented Spanish. It was a comment that set the tone for a conversation during which our worlds mingled and collided, revealing aspects of our lives and homes. In Mabel’s paladar in Cienfuegos, I had an even warmer experience. Not only was it the best food I had in Cuba, but Mabel’s home and restaurant had a welcoming atmosphere. She talked with us, told us to feel at home, and danced a Bachata song with me, making me the happiest and most comfortable I had been my entire time in Cuba.

Mabel and her family granted us a photo before we left their paladar

My dark curly hair and café con leche complexion set me apart from the tourist world I felt uncomfortable in, providing me with a veil of ordinariness when I was surrounded by other people from our group who were often read as Cuban that left the menu-wielding restaurant and paladar staff on Obispo uninterested. It was a little refreshing, actually.

The way I looked, however, was also a burden sometimes. The longer we were in Cuba the more painfully aware we were of the misunderstandings that could result from it. One night, on our way back from La Floridita, the salsa club and bar we grew fond of in La Habana, our group had dwindled to the Black Hispanic members of our class. Two of the Black young women in our group often read as Afro-Cuban were drunk. Almost at the hotel, one of the Hispanic young men in our group yelled: “F*ck! All the white people left!” At the time, we couldn’t handle our laughter. Upon entering the Hotel Plaza, however, the tension in our group rose. We realized how the scenario could be interpreted: the men in our group were tourists taking Cuban jineteras up to their room. The hotel staff knew our faces by now, though, and they allowed us to walk up to our rooms uninterrupted.

I felt strangely at home in Cuba. It began to fulfill the need for a return to my ancestral lands. It brought me a little closer to a life my mother and sister knew in the Dominican Republic but which I only share by virtue of blood and heritage.

In my presentation for our class, I talked about the musical identity crisis that many young Cubans are facing due to the influx of American and European music to the island. But what does that mean? What does this new wave of music identity bring the island and it’s people? What are the messages that are being sent and received by these “foreign” ideologies and what is the impact? As a part of ongoing reflections of my time in Cuba, I’ll try to decipher what I’ve seen and heard and how I feel it impacts the Cuban culture.

Day, or should I say night, one when we entered Cuba, I was extremely surprised to be greeted by Lady Gaga in the lobby of our hotel. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed her “Monster Ball” tour playing on the hotel lobby televisions, but I was immediately captivated by the sight and wrote it down in my journal as my first ‘foreign music’ experience. This would not be the last time I ran into Lady Gaga on our trip. It wasn’t long until I had my second experience – Dunielle’s mp3 player was blaring Alicia Keys, Jay Z and Rihanna as soon as we had free time on the road. I was amazed! Partially because I came to the island with the assumption that a lot of foreign music probably didn’t get around very much – boy was I wrong.

In retrospect, I wonder how much blinder I could’ve been. DUH SHANE, the rap consciousness in Cuba came to be because of foreign, American hip-hop and the struggles it represented! Knowing that, I should’ve surmised that American and European music did enter the island and DID have an effect on the Cuban people. It was still amazing to me, though, that throughout the trip I felt such a strong representation and response to American and European music – especially by the younger people. At the Beny More School, Emily & I got the chance to talk to some school children and ask them if they listened to music from the US – they all quickly nodded their heads and looked excited to talk about such matter.

“And who do you listen to the most?”

“LADY GAGA!” said multiple voices with excitement

Apparently, it seems that little monsters (the affectionate term Gaga has given to her fans) are truly spread across the world. When we asked what genre of music they listened to the most, many kids excitedly said “rock music”. I thought this was rather interesting and led to further thoughts on my part à was rock music popular in more educated and affluent places and hip-hop represented in more urban and working class environments?

Another strong moment from my recollections: when we had our hotel rooftop chat with Hermanasos and the female singer told us they were actively trying to incorporate more sounds into their music, specifically soul and R&B, two forms of music that were created through different movements in the US. Obviously they recognize that this is a US influence on their music and they still don’t mind mixing those genres.

I think by the end of the trip one thing was clear to me: the influence of American/European music on the younger generations was present – and strong. To me, these foreign sounds were becoming a normalized part of the culture just as salsa and sol were. And I think that’s fantastic! With Florida in such a prime location to Cuba, there was never any doubt that some influence would be felt on the island. I guess I just wasn’t expecting such a strong, and naturalized, one.

While most of us decided to explore the woods at Varahicacos ecological preserves in place of the dolphin show at the delfinario in Varadero, Cuba, I decided to be one of the 5 or 6 people to go explore it.  I suppose numerous students decided not to go since they could not tolerate adorable creatures being held in captivity.  Others did not go because they did not like the sanitary conditions in which the dolphins were held and so did not want to support it.  Also, some were simply more interested in exploring the ecological preserves.  Although these reasons might not reflect all the reasons why most of us opted-out of going to the dolphin show, they were still evident amongst the group.   I was somewhat confused by the decision of some to not go since this was not the first time on our trip we observed or unintentionally participated in the unfair treatment of animals.  For example, half of the class (including myself) took the horse-drawn carriage to one of our destinations.

Delfinario de Varadero, Cuba

OR

Varahicacos Ecological preserves

As a neuroscience & behavior student, I was drawn to learning about the behavior and cognitive abilities of the dolphins.  Even though I do not support paying to see animals being held in captivity to amuse people with their tricks, I found this to be an enlightening experience.  Since the tickets were already paid for, I didn’t think it made much difference whether or not I went.  I had learned in books and science journals that dolphins were capable of higher cognitive abilities, but seeing it with my own eyes made me realize the high capacity of intelligence in these dolphins.   Dolphins have been found to have a brain size much larger than humans when corrected for their body mass.  This suggests their possession of complex cognitive functions.  Some cognitive abilities found in dolphins include, self-awareness, problem-solving, and tool-use.

At the delfinario, through classical conditioning, hand gestures, and rewards, the dolphins had learned countless tricks (even better than humans) which included, jumping through hoops, playing basketball , singing, dancing to reggaethon music, ball tossing, and acrobatics.  The dolphins seemed happy and content as they leaped up to hug, kiss, or shake hands with their trainers or to reach for their treat.  They also seemed very healthy and energetic.  Some of the dolphins had been at the delfinario since its inception, while others were pregnant and gave birth to their young at the delfinario.  Some of the dolphins that were part of the show were Geelie, age 9, Cachita, age 19, and Christina “the superstar of the delfinario”, age 39.  Christina was the most trained, intelligent, and the oldest dolphin at the delfinario.  During the performance, the younger dolphins were being trained on one side of the platform and were also given treats for their hard work.   Dolphins were not the only creatures that waited alongside the platform for their well-deserved treats, pelicans and seagulls also anticipated and were rewarded food treats for their patience.

Here is a video I took of the dolphins dancing to Reggaethon:

Dolphins showing off their skillful acts with the acrobats

The bright side of the delfinario is that it sparks realization in others like it did in me about how intelligent dolphins are and raises awareness about the importance of conserving their environment.  Also, since most of the dolphins were born at the delfinario they have become pretty comfortable performing in the fenced in mangrove lagoon.  Individuals who do not support the captivity of the dolphins will be happy to know that money raised through the show is used to protect the dolphins and preserve their natural environment.  Additionally, individuals will be somewhat pacified to know that the dolphins are kept in semi-captivity, in which case they are allowed the opportunity to swim out to sea.  This condition is better than some delfinarios in America where the dolphins are kept in an unnatural environment of a tank.  This semi-captivity may not cut it for some, for this reason, we might need Commandante Bernardo to take action in making a delfinario in Cuba where instead of dolphins being kept in captivity to entertain humans, individuals are transported out to sea to observe the dolphins perform in their natural environment.  Also, you can support and protect the dolphins by signing the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans on Zan’s post.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173112.htm

http://www.comparativepsychology.org/ijcp-2010-3/08.Mercado_DeLong_FINAL.pdf

I am a very serious fan of ice cream. My father worked for Häagen Dazs for the first twelve years of my life and, needless to say, ice cream was always abundant in my house. I’ve eaten more of it than is healthy. No matter where I am, I will find ice cream and so, after hearing about the famous Heladería Coppelia in Havana, I immediately put it on my list of places that I absolutely must visit in Cuba.

Much to my pleasure I managed to make the 40 minute trek from Hotel Plaza to Coppelia twice during the trip. Coppelia is a chain across Cuba but the original store is located on La Rampa, or calle 23 (cross-street L) in the Vedado district of Havana. It opened on June 6, 1966 under the order of Fidel Castro, who is apparently also an avid ice cream eater (something we can bond over if/when we meet). It is named after a famous ballet often performed by the Cuban National Ballet- actually it is the ballet some of us saw performed early in our trip. The ballet theme is also reflected in the ice cream parlor’s logo, featuring ballerina’s legs.

When it originally opened, Coppelia proudly offered 26 flavors and 24 combinations. Customers could even purchase an Ensalada de Helados or  “ice cream salad,” a bowl with five of your favorite ice cream flavors. Such a dish would be utterly impossible today, as only two or three flavors are served each day. This is due laregly to the economic difficulties during the Special Period during which access to milk was extremely limited, causing the quality and variety of the ice cream to decrease. Still, people would buy tubs of Coppelia ice cream and sell it on the streets as something of an underground, black-market ice cream business.

Though there weren’t many flavors the two times I went, the ice cream I got was delicious. Both times I paid about 4 CUC for a two scoop sundae covererd in graham cracker crumbs, syrup, and cookies. It was quite delicious and certainly passed my test as an amateur ice cream connoiseur. That is to say the sundae as a whole was delicious; the ice cream itself was pretty good but nothing I would brag about. Still, I really enjoyed both of my experiences at Coppelia.

There were some aspects of the Coppelia experience that I feel like I missed, though. I didn’t notice either time I was there that there are designated lines for people paying in CUC’s and those paying in moneda nacional. This was probably because there were no lines when I was there, another trademark of Coppelia that I missed out on. Apparently on crowded days half the fun is watching people on the line and enjoying the crowds. I also was unable to try the famous combination of fresa y chocolate (strawberry and chocolate), made famous from the movie Fresa y Chocolate in which the main characters meet at the Havana Coppelia. I’ve never seen the movie but there were posters for it and for the fresa y chocolate combination inside the shop.

Coppelia seems to me to be one of the only ice cream shops in Cuba. It was the only one that I saw, anyway, and I was certainly always on the lookout for ice cream. I saw and bought ice cream on the street, Nestlé pints and bars from tourist stores, and even a cone from the side of a building in Cienfuegos. The ice cream I got at Coppelia, however, was certainly the best and the novelty of its popularity among Cubans and tourists alike probably contributed to that. I’m now happy to find out that there is a location in Miami and another due to be open in Venezuela after a deal was made between Castro and Hugo Chavez ealier this year. It is good to know that I won’t have to illegally sneak back into Cuba if I want another taste of Coppelia ice cream.

Sources:

translatingcuba.com/?p=10506

http://www.trabajadores.cu/news/2011/08/19/coppelia-la-catedral-del-helado

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/world/americas/coppelia-popular-cuban-ice-cream-headed-to-venezuela.html

When the Cuban Revolution triumphed, one of the main goals of the new government was to eradicate racism from Cuban society. The revolutionary government made several strides in creating structural equality, especially in terms of employment access, education, health care, and access to public spaces. When Cuba entered into the Special Period, however, inequalities between the races began to become a part of daily life in Cuba once again. This renewed inequality was due partly to differential access to jobs in the tourist sector. These jobs pay a great deal more than jobs in the state sector. Afro-Cubans were prevented from obtaining these positions for reasons that were indicative of underlying prejudices that had survived the Revolution. [1]

While in Cuba, we saw several striking examples of these lingering racial prejudices. One of the most striking, however, was the portrayals of different races in souvenirs marketed for tourist consumption. One particular souvenir stand sticks out in my mind when I think back to the racially marked souvenirs that I saw while in Cuba. This stand was located in a a craft market in Havana and was called “Artesania Muñecas.” As the name suggests, this souvenir stand specialized in dolls.

Souvenir Stand in Havana Craft Market

The difference between the white and black dolls sold in this store were very apparent. Dolls with light-colored skin were made of porcelain or a similar material. Their dresses were elaborate and highly decorative and their facial features were delicately crafted. These light-skinned dolls gave off an air of poise and elegance and seemed meant to adorn a mantel rather than for play. The dark-skinned dolls, on the other hand, were made of cloth. The outfits on these dolls are similar to those that are commonly associated with santería ceremonies. The eyes and lips on these dolls seem slightly exaggerated in comparison to the fine features of their light-skinned counterparts.

The sign above this shop includes the phrase “Soy Cubana. Soy popular./ I’m Cuban. I’m popular.” The inclusion of this phrase is interesting in relation to the racial stereotypes that it portrays. What the souvenirs in this stand show is that racism and prejudice are still very much a part of the Cuban reality and what it means to be Cuban.

Sources:

[1] Alejandro de la Fuente, “Race and Income Inequality in Contemporary Cuba,” in NACLA Report on the Americas44:4 (Jul/Aug 2011), 30-33, 43.

The global capitalist project has already created severe inequalities among the countries of the world as development in one country requires the underdevelopment of many others. The population in these developed countries have the privilege of escaping their reality to bask in the artificial tourist environment in Latin America. Some have more of this privilege than others in developed countries. I call this a privilege because a vast majority of the inhabitants of this world do not have the opportunity to escape their reality to sunbathe on white sand, swim in pools and clear blue ocean water, and dance in nightclubs. We, as students of a prestigious college in one of the richest countries of the world, have the privilege of escaping our reality of books, lectures, discussions, essays, and exams, while poor people of the world must face their harsh reality of poverty. All they can amount to in this world are peasant farmers or exploited workers never to experience how we rest during a vacation doing absolutely nothing but eating, drinking, and sunbathing.

In nearly every hotel we have stayed in, we have running hot water, a flushing toilet, air conditioning, unlimited electricity access, with no worries of starvation. Yet, I have witnessed how the campesinos live in Nicaragua. They have nearly nothing in comparison. A small house made of mud brick, wooden sticks, and sheet metal with little to no access to running water, electricity, and communication systems. There is no fridge, no gasoline, no flushing toilet. Their toilet is a hole in the ground. Their bathtub is a nearby river. Their stove is a stack of wooden scraps on fire. Every meal is made from scratch with handmade tortillas, locally grown vegetables, and meat and dairy from the family’s livestock. It is a simple life, yet just as fulfilling. The most amazing was their humility and conviction that they were just as happy with their lifestyle as any other individual in developed countries. I was frustrated because I am aware of the standard of living of middle class United States citizens and I know how far this class goes to live a comfortable life. In our quest to increase our standard of living, we have marginalized communities across the world, forcing them to live in terrible conditions. For this fact, I could not completely “enjoy” this experience in the tourist resorts of Cuba. The matter is further complicated by my background as a socioeconomically disadvantaged individual. I felt out of place in the tourist environment, especially in Varadero, and in general it is difficult for me to adopt my role as a tourist. In essence, as tourists we must be critical of our role as a tourist, understand our privilege of escaping our reality, and realize that a majority of the world’s population cannot do the same.

While traveling in Cuba, we heard many times Cubans speak with pride of their outstanding free education and medical care. Unfortunately for me, I got to experience the Cuban healthcare system firsthand.

As a child, I seemed to make a habit out of getting sick while on family vacations. I had the flu in Lake Placid, strep throat in San Francisco, an ear infection in Nova Scotia, and a stomach bug in Paris, among other various coughs and colds. It was just my luck that this trend continued in Cuba. For a few days I had been feeling sick, then better, then sick, then better again. But while we were checking in to the Hotel Barlovento in Varadero, I knew that I was seriously ill and needed to see a doctor. So, I took my bags to my room, got all my important papers, and then was herded onto the bus, along with Yoel, Adriana and Ishaira. I was taken to a tourist medical clinic not far from the hotel, the Clinica Internacional Varadero. It was bright and clean, and when we arrived, around eight o’clock, there were no other patients in sight. I sat down for less than a minute in a waiting room, then was called into a patient exam room. The doctor, Dra. Cruz, was a friendly women, probably somewhere in her forties. She spoke English fairly well, but mostly Yoel translated for me as I described my overall feelings of weakness in my limbs, a bad cough with lots of mucus, and chills that came and went. A nurse came to take my temperature. It was 39°C, or 102.1°F. Dra. Cruz listened to my breathing, then she told me that I had acute bronchitis. She said that the nurse would give me a shot to lower my fever, and she prescribed me different medications. At this point, I was mildly freaking out and doing my best to maintain my composure, but I was fighting a losing battle against my own tears (being really sick in a foreign country is scary!). After receiving the shot, I was taken to the pharmacy, which was connected to the clinic. I was given three different prescriptions   – two antibiotics and a cough syrup with a strong expectorant, each of which I had to take three times a day. My bill came to just under 100 CUC. The doctor explained to me that back in the US I could take the bill, along with my travel affidavit, to be reimbursed through the US interests section. With all my medications and instructions from the doctor, I returned to the Hotel Barlovento to sleep and recuperate.

Two of the medications prescribed to me in Veradero

Over all, I was impressed with the Cuban medical system. I received treatment quickly and easily, and I almost entirely better by the time we left Varadero. But there were some peculiarities that I noticed in the Cuban tourist health industry. The clinic I went to was run by Cubanacan, the government tourist industry. It struck me as strange that rather being run through the government health ministry, the clinic fell under the control of Cubanacan. In certain ways, the Cuban treatment was somewhat old fashioned. The nurse wore a starched white nurses’ uniform with a neat blouse and skirt, complete with a little white hat pinned to her hair. (Two days later, I noticed that the nurse who treated Ishaira in the Hotel Plaza wore a similar traditional uniform, except with the addition of pretty floral printed tights to add some personal character to the ensemble). The thermometer used to take my temperature was a glass underarm model, not a digital under the tongue model as is typical in the States. Also, for my shot, the nurse used a glass syringe with a big long needle, not a disposable plastic syringe. Our class had been told that due to the embargo, Cubans make a lot of their own medications in Cuba. However, of the three prescriptions I received, two were made in Argentina and one was made in Columbia.

As an American tourist, I experienced only a small segment of the Cuban healthcare industry, and I know that the process for Cubans receiving medical treatment is quite different than what I experienced at an international tourist clinic. But from the treatment I received, I can see why the Cuban healthcare system is such a point of pride for Cubans. Even though I didn’t get to see the beautiful beaches of Varadero, I at least left the peninsula feeling much better than I did when I arrived.

On our last day in Havana, my research group visited several pharmacies and polyclinics to do interviews for our project on Cuba’s healthcare system. We wanted to ask questions about the healthcare problems Cuba faced during the Special Period and about the government’s current healthcare priorities. While walking through the hospital, however, I was surprised to see many printed signs saying “departamento libre de humo,” or “smoke free department.” Even in a major tobacco-growing country where smoking seemed to be permitted almost everywhere, indoors and out, it seemed strange that signs would be needed to remind people not to smoke in a hospital. Later, during our interviews with some of the hospital staff, we were talking about Cuba’s focus on preventative healthcare, in which an emphasis is placed on identifying and limiting causes of illness. I asked one of the secretaries we were talking to whether the signs in the hospital were part of a larger effort to reduce smoking in Cuba. I was shocked when she replied that smoking is not even an issue that Cuban doctors really consider. Furthermore, she said, the ban on smoking in hospitals had only been put in effect a few years ago.

Coming from the U.S., where smoking is heavily stigmatized and has been considered a major public health concern for several decades, the relative lack of attention to the issue in Cuba was striking and made me want to find out more about the place of tobacco in Cuban society. When I looked more deeply into the Cuban government’s stance on smoking, it turned to be a bit more complex than the person I talked to made it seem. First of all, there has been a government effort to reduce smoking, which led in 2005 to a law that banned smoking in all workplaces and limited the locations in which tobacco products could be sold.[1] Early reports on the effects of the law, however, noted that most Cubans were either unaware of it or simply disregarded it completely, which would explain the conversation I had about it.

Cuba’s internet encyclopedia, EcuRed.cu, contains a fairly detailed article on “Tabaquismo” in Cuba, with a fairly detailed analysis of the difficulties Cuba faces in terms of tobacco use. It notes that while rates of smoking have declined steadily over several decades, smoking of both cigarettes and cigars is heavily engrained in Cuban culture. In 2001, the nationwide prevalence of tobacco use was 31%, with men smoking significantly more than women. One of the major problems Cuba faces in any effort to reduce tobacco use is its status as a major tobacco-growing country and its fame for producing some of the best cigars in the world. Any attempts to limit smoking therefore have challenge one of the few industries outside of tourism that the Cuban government can rely on to provide hard currency from exports and jobs for Cuban workers.

The crucial link between the Cuban government and tobacco production becomes especially evident during the yearly cigar festival Cuba hosts in Havana. The “Festival del Habano” is one of the world’s largest cigar industry trade shows and draws aficionados, especially the super-wealthy, to Havana for what is basically a massive celebration of smoking culture. The most important event is a $500 a ticket dinner and auction hosted by Habanos, the Cuban government entity in charge of cigar exports.[2]  It’s not only selling tobacco that makes money for Cuba, though – cigars are part of the image that sells Cuba as an exotic tourist destination. And let’s not forget the fact that the young Fidel Castro was almost always photographed with cigar in hand, though he supposedly stopped smoking in the mid-1980s. In terms of smoking prevention, this creates a massive conflict of interest for Cuba because it is unlikely that a government that makes so much money from tobacco would be seriously willing to limit smoking.

This indeed seems to be the case. While we were in Cuba, I did not notice a single public space, outside of the hospital, where smoking was explicitly prohibited. There seemed to be Cubans smoking at every turn, in bars, restaurants and hotels and our guide Joel would never miss the opportunity to light up as soon as we stepped off the bus. In contrast to the ubiquitous anti-smoking rhetoric in the U.S., there’s something quaint but refreshing about the easy-going attitude Cubans have towards tobacco. Nonetheless, this attitude represents a major challenge for the healthcare system in Cuba, which would undoubtedly save many lives and a great deal of money if smoking were less prevalent. It seems unlikely, however, that the Cuban government will seriously attempt to change perceptions of tobacco use at any point in the near future. It is instead content to have fairly strong anti-smoking policies on paper without actually enforcing them.

On morning of March 8,  a group of sleepy college students climbed onto a bus ready to make the long bus trip to Mantanzas. Once we were all settled in and role call had been taken to make sure that no one had hit snooze one too many times on their alarm clock, our tour guide, Yoel, got on the microphone to tell us a little bit about the plans for the day as he did every morning. On this day, however, he first took a minute to wish us a “Happy Women’s Day!” It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. It wasn’t until I reached back into my memories of a conversation from a women’s studies class that I had taken that I realized that March 8 was International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day has a history that dates back to the early 1900s and is rooted in the socialist movement. In 1909, the Socialist Party of America observed the first National Women’s Day as a means of bringing attention to issues surrounding the oppression of women. Over the next decade, countries around the world began organizing similar events. International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 in commemoration of a strike led by Russian women on this date in 1917. Today, International Women’s Day is officially observed in 27 countries around the world, including Cuba. In many of these countries, men use this day to honor the women in their lives with tokens of appreciation. [1]. We saw this tradition when Yoel purchased a small bottle of scented oil in a gift shop at Las Terrazas the day before or his mother.

Billboard in Havana

Throughout our stay in Cuba, I began to notice billboards and posters throughout the country promoting International Women’s Day. Interestingly, these seemed to be among the few government sponsored images that were focused towards women.  These billboards and posters generally depicted women alongside words that are generally associated with strength and femininity such as “valor” (braveness), “firmenza” (steadiness), and “pasión” (passion).

At the end of the day, many of us found ourselves at a discoteca at the Hotel Playa Girón where we were staying for the night. In the spirit of International Women’s Day, this discoteca was hosting a promotional event to celebrate the women in attendance that included raffles and prizes.

Hotel Playa Girón

Even though International Women’s Day is celebrated in the United States with events focused on activism and raising awareness for women’s issues, it does not have the same connotations in the United States as it does in Cuba. In Cuba, International Women’s Day is used to appreciate women for who they are.

Sources:

[1] http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp

On one of our last days in Cuba, while leisurely perusing books in the Plaza de Armas with Kelsey, I came across an interesting book entitled La Ultraderecha Cubano-Americano de Miami, translation The Cuban American Far Right in Miami. Which got me thinking about the relationship between Cubans and their counterparts in Miami and what Cubans really thought about them.

While we were in Cuba we were constantly berated with images and knowledge about the Cuban 5, their innocence and negativity surrounding Cubans in Miami but I never really fully understood why the relations between Cubans and Miami based Cubans had gotten so tense.

According to the book reasons for the tense relations between Cubans and Miami based Cubans begin with the movement of Cubans to Miami directly prior to the revolution and a continued migration of anti-revolutionist Cubans to Miami ever since. With such a large group of politically involved and economically stable cubans in the Miami they become a threatening political force in the United States, a fact which worries Cubans who believe they will continue to suppress the revolution and its ideas.

The book continues on to discuss the Helms Burton Act and its success as an far right conservative victory. The Helms Burton Act is a US federal law that stands to strengthen the US embargo against Cuba. The law sprung forth from the Brothers to the Rescue tragedy when 2 private planes operated by anti-Castro refugees support members were shot down by the Cuban government. The book talks about this spying and aide and other acts by the Cubans in Miami as acts of terrorism and manipulation by the far right anti-Castro organizations. The last couple chapters have names like The problems with the far right, terrorism, and a distinctive future for Miami, all indicative of the content contained, although informative, that tends toward biased and anti-american government sentiments.

Under the Problems with the Far Right chapter the book discusses the heavy corruption and manipulation that Cuban americans in Miami have inflicted on the United States government particularly dealing with electoral corruption. The chapter goes on to discuss how Miami based Cubans have literally infiltrated the political systems in Miami and influenced the political outcomes of the United States against Cuba.

La ultraderecha cubano-americano de Miami is a typical example of the opinions of political Cubans towards Cuban Americans and a perfect example of the subtle propaganda that is circulated through literature in Cuba.