Will History or Their People Ever Absolve Them?

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In 1635, the Spanish dramatist, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, staged his masterpiece, Life is a Dream. In this drama, Calderón proposes that, in an age of European absolute monarchical power, the struggle between King Basilio and his son Segismundo was to be framed within the dynamic relationship of just monarchical rule vs. people’s revolt against unjust rule. Closer in time, the Nobel-Prize-winning Guatemalan writer, Miguel Ángel Asturias, published in 1946 his landmark novel, Mr. President, where he exposes the negative social consequences of political repression. Asturias’ novel is unique in that it suggests that the dictator also is a victim of the climate of terror that engulfed Guatemala during the long lasting dictatorship of Manuel Estrada Cabrera. Since then, Latin America has had to endure more tyrannical rule as shown in the following partial list of dictatorships: the Anastasio Somoza (father and son) in Nicaragua, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in Dominican Republic, Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay, François Duvalier in Haiti, Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Manuel Noriega in Panama, Jorge Rafael Videla in Argentina, and Fulgencio Batista and the Castro brothers in Cuba. Although the power and number of Latin American dictatorships had diminished by the end of the 20th Century, and despite the fact that most tyrants escaped the hand of justice, there were a few who either had to face judicial proceedings against them (Pinochet, Noriega and Videla) or paid for their crimes with their own lives (the Somozas, and Trujillo).

It is with this Spanish and Latin American historical legacy of tyrants who wield absolutely corrupted and self-serving government power, in spite of their peoples’ suffering, that current events in the so called Arab Spring offer a sobering example to the remaining Latin American repressive regimes; foremost among them, the government of Fidel and Raúl Castro. Coincidentally, an October 21, 2011 article titled “The Ends,” the Cuban dissident blogger, Yoani Sánchez comments in her blog, Generation Y, on the death of Muammar Qaddafi, and in doing so she echoes the fear at the top with which Asturias had haunted the tyrant of his El Señor Presidente. She says, “They always have a hidden door, a secret passage through which they can scurry away when they sense danger,” and she adds, “[…] they fear that the same people who applaud them in the plazas can come for them when they lose their fear.” Ms. Sánchez goes on to argue for the need to hold trials for tyrants such as Qaddafi, instead of allowing them to escape as martyrs with their claims of legitimacy unchallenged. In case someone misses the real point of her article, she insists that, “Better that they survive, that they stay and realize that neither history nor their people will ever absolve them.” This, of course, is a clear linkage of the Libyan dictator’s fate to Fidel Castro’s defense following his trial for attempting the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship. The title of Castro’s speech is History will absolve me.

Cuba: arte y literatura en exilio

The Florida International University’s Cuban Research Institute [CRI] and Spain’s Legua Editorial co-sponsored the official presentation of a new Cuban research anthology at the FIU Modesto Maidique campus on April 25, 2011. The anthology gathers selected texts that were originally presented at the IV Congreso Internacional sobre creación y exilio “Con Cuba en la Distancia,” held in Valencia, Spain, November 17-21, 2008. The anthology is divided into six chapters detailing the poetic career of Manuel Díaz Martínez, ideological and cultural issues, Afro-Cuban and Chinese-Cuban cultural expressions, theater and cinema, creativeness in exile, and the contemporary scene in art and communications.

Speaking from the podium of the MARC International Pavillion, Prof. Uva de Aragón officially welcomed the anthology on behalf of Florida International University and the Cuban Research Institute. She was followed by Director of Legua Editorial, Grace Piney, who reviewed past Asociación Cultural Con Cuba en la Distancia congresses and seminars, held in Cádiz and Valencia since the year 2000; and who offered the publishing services of Legua Editorial in supporting academic research on Cuban and Latin American issues. Prof. James Pancrazio, co-editor of the anthology, reviewed the selection and editing processes; while Prof. Madeline Cámara commented on its unique features; such as, Chinese elements in Cuban art and literature, AIDS, and the blogosphere. Finally, the well-known journalist, Carlos Alberto Montaner, reminded the audience that Cuban literature has had a marked historical tendency toward its being written abroad, as evidenced by the very anthology. Given the half century schism that separates Cubans in and out of the island, Montaner went on to ponder if Cuban culture is splitting into two distinct manifestations. Questions such as these were discussed in a lively Q & A segment that followed the presentation.

Prof. Madeline Camara, Grace Piney Roche, Prof. James Pancrazio, Carlos Alberto Montaner

Carlos Alberto MontanerProf. Uva de Aragon

Prof. Yanira Angulo-Cano, Prof. Sonia Bravo Utrera, Prof. Uva de Aragon, Grace Piney Roche, Prof. Madeline Camara, Prof. Gabriel Cartaya Front row: Prof. Carlos J. Cano, Prof James J. Pancrazio

*Piney, Grace y Pancrazio, James. Cuba: arte y literatura en exilio. Legua Editorial: Valencia, España, 2011. ISBN: 978-84-938358-6-6 pedidos@leguaeditorial.es

Fiesta Manguitense

El pasado sábado 18 diciembre, los manguitenses se reunieron en el Tropical Park de Miami, Florida, para reanudar amistades, recordar experiencias compartidas y conocer las nuevas generaciones de cubanos-americanos con raíces en el matancero pueblo de Manguito.

A pesar que la celebración se vio en peligro ante las inclemencias del tiempo —lluvia y viento frío— la nutrida concurrencia demostró el ansia de los hijos de Manguito en reunirse en la fecha acordada. La caseta donde se celebró la fiesta estaba saturada de concurrentes que, debido a la lluvia, estaban obligados a mantenerse bajo el escaso techo. Podría decirse que el acoso climático sirvió para unirnos más.

La exquisita comida fue un éxito rotundo. Degustamos de un surtido de platos tradicionales: lechón asado, congrí y maduros, arroz con pollo, croquetas, ensaladas, diversos postres y un maravilloso cake con los colores nacionales.

Como resultaría muy difícil nombrar a todos los presentes en una breve reseña como ésta, me limito a mencionar tres casos excepcionales: Esther Alayón, quien se trasladó desde Madrid para estar presente en nuestra fiesta “pueblerina”; Argelia “Gela" Gómez de Vázquez, galardonada de reconocimiento público, no sólo por ser la manguitense de más avanzada edad, sino también por su apoyo a tantos de sus antiguos vecinos llegados a Florida; y muy en especial para mí, la presencia de mi hijo, Carlos, quien hacía su primer contacto con la comunidad manguitense en el exterior y a quien espero poder inculcarle el amor por Manguito.

Por último, a nombre de todos los manguitenses, nuestro más sincero agradecimiento a la dinámica Milán López y familia por la organización y realización del evento; especialmente, por la preparación de la comida, la decoración y la música que amenizaban el evento. Todos los que tuvimos la suerte de llegarnos hasta Miami estaremos eternamente agradecidos a Milán López por el exitoso reencuentro de los hijos de Manguito.

A continuación comparto algunas imágenes del evento para recuerdo de los asistentes e información para todos aquellos que aunque no pudieron llegar (desde Alemania, España, California, Albuquerque, Nueva York), estarán ansiosos de ver caras conocidas. Más fotografías se encuentran en la página de Manguito en Facebook.

Reunión de manguitenses

En memoria de Orestes Sánchez Alfonso, 1914-2010

Hilda Gómez Abreu y Orestes Sánchez Alfonso, 31 de agosto, 1946

Uno de los dos familiares más queridos que me quedan en Manguito, mi abuelo, ha fallecido hoy. Junto con el dolor evoco tantos recuerdos de mi niñez. En ellos mi abuelo es una constante. Como he pasado mi vida adulta fuera de Manguito, las palabras que aparecen aquí surgen de la memoria de esa niña que en algún momento fui. Mis recuerdos de mi abuelo también giran alrededor de ese hogar mágico, hermosa casa estilo Art-Déco que construyera sin ayuda de un plano. Pienso en los lugares donde nos reuníamos a jugar, a estudiar o a conversar. Para cada actividad había un espacio reservado. Estudiar se realizaba únicamente en la mesa de cristal del comedor, mientras que los sillones del portal servían de escenario para sus cuentos.

Mi abuelo era muy hábil contándome cuentos, su repertorio era inagotable. Los inventaba al momento y siempre que los repetía, a petición mía, eran un tanto diferentes. Mi favorito era el de Algodoncito Seco. Mi afición a la literatura hoy sin duda se debe a sus muchos esfuerzos en desarrollar en mí el gusto por la literatura infantil. Al mismo tiempo, debido a su formación en la imprenta, me inculcó la importancia de la buena letra y cuidar la ortografía en interminables tardes de dictado. Bien recuerdo los cuadernos que me preparaba, encuadernados por él en la imprenta que había sido el negocio de la familia. Mis cuadernos eran siempre diseñados en rojo o en negro con mi nombre en letras doradas. También guardo el recuerdo de una noche de apagón en Manguito mientras mi abuelo me repasaba las tablas de multiplicar.

Espero en algún momento poder reunirme con mi abuela en Manguito. Pero sé de antemano que la casa familiar me resultará extraña simplemente porque en ella faltará la presencia de Orestes Sánchez Alfonso, mi querido y entrañable abuelo.

A Failed Experiment

Last fall I was asked to give a presentation at Eckerd College on Marxism in Cuba. The presentation coincided with the assigned reading of The Communist Manifesto to 500 students enrolled in Western Heritage classes. My presentation was entitled The New Man in Marxist Cuba. I began my talk with a picture of my Pioneer School identification Card (Carnet de Pionero). My students, who were in the audience, later expressed their keen interest and puzzlement about the degree of political involvement to which elementary school children were subjected.

In Cuban schools indoctrination began early, and by the end of the sixth grade, we were separated from our families. It was then that we were sent to the horrific rural schools. While confined in these settings, we were supposed to combine traditional academic experiences with manual agricultural labor. Every two weeks all of us looked forward to a weekend pass with our families.

Seremos como el Che…"Being like Che" was our motto, which considering how his life ended in Bolivia it’s a very somber and dreadful objective for young children.

I have saved this card as a reminder of the failed experiment.

Tampa – Havana: Bridging the Divide

Full-page ad published in the New York Times, May 1980. Donated by the Hispanic community of Tampa, Florida

30 years ago several disasters caught the attention of the Cuban-American community in the Tampa Bay area. The volcanic explosion of Mount St. Helen in Washington State, and specially the collapse of the Skyway Bridge at the entrance to Tampa Bay were very unsettling; but these disasters were quickly dwarfed in magnitude by the 10,800 Cubans who took refuge in the Peruvian Embassy in Havana. This event would become the opening act for the Mariel Boat Lift that brought approximately 130,000 Cuban refugees to the United States. Those leaving the island in dire conditions were freeing themselves from the stifling dictatorship that prevented them from exercising their civil and human rights.

Cuban-Americans in the Tampa Bay area were watching all of these events and naturally wanted to respond to the developments in Havana. In an unprecedented show of solidarity with the Cubans who had taken refuge in the Peruvian Embassy, Cuban-Americans gathered at the West Tampa Little League Field in McFarland Park. Eye-witness accounts speak of the emotional upheaval generated by over 10,000 exiles gathered at the park, under the rain, seeking an opportunity to help their compatriotas in Havana. Ultimately, the community’s effort was channeled in two directions. First, it sought international condemnation of the Cuban government by means of a media offensive. With the strong support of Woody Garcia and Puly Sequeira of the Spanish-language radio station WYOU, a call went out for donations to place a full-page protest advertisement in The New York Times. Within 48-hours the local community had contributed the $17,000 dollars needed. After this sum was obtained, donations continued to pour in, despite repeated exhortations to cease donating, until it reached $100,000 by week’s end. Local Cuban-American artist Henry Serrano designed the ad which showed Cubans climbing the walls of the Peruvian Embassy in Havana. Journalist Mario Quevedo and my husband Dr. Carlos J. Cano composed the accompanying text. Second, the Cuban-American community mobilized its resources to help resettle and assimilate the several thousand Peruvian Embassy refugees that arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica. Jorge Astorquiza accompanied a shipment of three containers of food and clothing destined for the refugees now settled in San Jose. The remaining funds were used to assist the 1,000 refugees that eventually arrived in Tampa. The assistance consisted of cash and medical check-ups provided by local Cuban-American doctors. The community’s efforts were supported by state and local governments, which provided additional funds for assistance in health issues, resettlement and retraining. Cuban-Americans served in various committees and task forces that were created to help with the assimilation efforts. Private businesses also offered employment opportunities for many refugees.

Cuban-Americans at the time were very optimistic that the unfolding events in Havana would lead to radical changes in the Island. No one could have imagined that we were less than half way through the half century of the repressive Castro dictatorship. Rebuilding a new bridge across Tampa Bay and life coming back to the devastated slopes of Mount St. Helen has proven a lot easier than reuniting the divided Cuban family cast a sundered by the dictatorship.

What now?

Currently the debate among Cuban exiles is precisely about this question. Some would like to establish a process of reconciliation, while others would insist on punishing the culprits. We have to assume that, after half a century of ever increasing deterioration in the quality of life and human rights, the regime cannot survive much longer. What happens after its collapse reflects the on-going controversy of pursuing reconciliation or seeking retribution. Time will tell what strategy is the right one for rebuilding bridges across the Florida Straits, but I’m hopeful that we can finally come sooner rather than later to the end of the nightmare.