NOTES & COMMENTS

ONE PARTICIPANT’S VIEW OF

Jose Calderon Pitzer College

On July 10–17, 1999, I was part of a delegation to Cuba. Travelling under the auspices of a research exemption, the delegation included 57 professors, lawyers, students and clergy. The main purpose for the visit focused on developing closer relations between U.S. Chicanas/ and . As part of this eÚ ort, the visit included a three- day conference at the University of , July 13–15 sponsored by the Cuban Center for the Study of the United States and entitled “Un Encuentro Con Cuba.” What follows are some of my own personal observations and comments regarding the visit and exchange.

Jogging Through Havana

The U.S. media has a tendency to describe Cuba as a police state with police on every corner. I found this not to be the case. As a jogger who runs at least three miles a day, I found myself running through the streets of Havana without any restrictions as to where I could go. There are no soldiers with machine guns at every street corner, like in Mexico City. As I ran, I also didn’t see any homeless. I had recently jogged in the streets of San Francisco and had been dismayed by the large num- ber of homeless everywhere in the early mornings. On my Ž rst day of running in Cuba, I looked for homeless people but did not see one in the entire week that I was there. The one time that I thought that I had run into a homeless person, it turned out to be a man that was merely herding some animals.

Music in the Streets The culture of music is very much alive in Cuba. As one walks the streets of old Havana, one can hear the sounds of ballads coming from

Critical Sociology 25,1 notes & comments 81 the various cafes. Wherever we went to have coÚ ee or to eat, the singers knew the song “.” At lunchtime, during one of our breaks from the conference, I was sitting with various members from our del- egation listening to a “Black Mariachi.” Not only was he dressed in a mariachi outŽ t, he knew how to sing numerous songs from Latin America. After impressing us with his rendition of “Che Guevara,” we noncha- lantly joked that we were going to take him back to the U.S. with us. His response to this statement was a  at-out “no.” When we asked why, he responded that in the U.S. he would be judged by the color of his skin. He related that in Cuba, he could go wherever he wanted and to sing openly without having to worry about discrimination.

“” in the Economy The country’s economy has had diÝ culties. In a meeting that we had with Ricardo Alarcon Quezada, president of the Cuban General Assembly, he outlined how the U.S. embargo has resulted in shortages of med- ical supplies, consumer goods, and raw materials for industry and con- struction. However, the country’s economy is on a rebound. In 1991, it found itself in the middle of an economic crisis due to the end of aid from the Soviet Union, the end of the socialist bloc, and the U.S.’s embargo. Although trying to overcome a foreign debt, the island is now imple- menting a policy where there is a mixture of capitalism and socialism. The economy is in what is called a “special period” where there have been certain reforms including the use of the U.S. dollar as a medium of exchange and the development of the biotechnology industry. Although the dollar is being used to stabilize the Cuban currency, a two-tiered economy has developed where workers are paid in pesos by the government but are allowed to negotiate in dollar bills with tourists. One can see places of monetary exchange, foreign banks, and small businesses including the proliferation of small restaurants. Alarcon Quezada’s projection is that this “special period” will strengthen the peso and bring an end to the two-tiered system that has emerged. There are now over 340 joint ventures with foreign companies in the country, but economic leaders relate that this investment is needed to overcome the country’s economic problems. In a presentation by Dr. Juan Triana, Director of the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy at the University of Havana, he proposed that “there is no magic to Socialism” and that Cuba “is reinventing Socialism.” At the same time, he defended the idea that investment must be allowed to overcome 82 notes & comments economic obstacles, but that it must be done with central planning and control.

Dealing With Crime The Cuban economy has primarily been based on the production of sugar, tobacco, and nickel. Now, however, it is also focusing on tourism. This was very evident. I ran into tourists from Germany, , England, and Canada. The tourist industry has also brought with it prostitution. This was also very evident in old Havana. In a conversation with some economists and health workers, they admitted that this was one of the fallouts of tourism and the move toward a mixed economy. The way they are trying to deal with it is not through arresting all prostitutes. Instead, they are sending brigades of health workers into the areas— carrying out political education and seeking to move them into alter- native forms of employment and education. One academic admitted that this was a diÝ cult issue to deal with since a free education is already an alternative for many of the individuals going into prostitution. Their view on how to deal with prostitution, another academician related to us, is related to how they see crime. Crime is seen as com- mitting an “error.” The individual who commits a crime is given the opportunity to correct the error. We were provided with an example of this when a policeman stopped a taxi driver for a traÝ c infraction. The driver of the taxi adamantly disagreed with the policeman that he had committed an infraction. The policeman told the driver that he was going to give him a ticket. The taxi driver responded that he would throw the ticket away because he disagreed that he had done anything wrong. The policeman responded by asking the taxi driver to “dialogue” with him. He then asked for the taxi driver for his driver’s license. The taxi driver refused to show him his driver’s license and, once again, refused to accept responsibility for the infraction. At this point, the policemen didn’t know what to do and called his supervisor. The super- visor came and listened to both sides. Eventually, he pulled the taxi driver to the side. We couldn’t hear the conversation but ultimately the supervisor got the taxi driver to show him his driver’s license. After looking at the driver’s license, the supervisor motioned that the taxi driver was free to go. After this incident, a reporter with a San Bernardino paper, raised the question: “What would have happened if I would have refused to show my driver’s license in the United States?” We all respon- ded, “you would have been handcuÚ ed, arrested, and thrown in jail.” notes & comments 83

Race and Gender in Cuba On the issue of race, I saw people of diÚ erent colors inter-mixing and working together. I saw intermarriage. At a park where we went to get ice cream, I saw people of diÚ erent colors with their children. At our conference, there were representatives who spoke who were of all col- ors. This was also true of a government municipality that we visited. The representatives were not only of all colors, there were a good num- ber of women who greeted us. According to the representatives in this municipality, 53% of the position held are held by women. Of course, we heard stories that people of darker skin are still situated in the lower echelons of the society while the lighter-skinned are positioned at the higher levels. Also, our visit to Cuba did not take us to the rural farm areas. But, from what I observed, there is no doubt in my mind that great strides are being made in the areas of race and gender relations.

Vibrant Religious Life Rather than religion being oppressed, we saw signs of where religion is very much alive and vibrant. In downtown Havana, we visited a Catholic church where a mass was being held and “santeria” followers sat out- side the church selling “santos.” A group of us visited the Martin Luther King Memorial center run by a religious-based group primarily made up of Protestants. They run a school, day care, and outreach to local communities. They have direct links with the Pastors for Peace, a reli- gious-based group in the United States, that continues to travel to Cuba with medical supplies. I was particularly impressed with a mural at the back of the center depicting Cesar Chavez and the words “Si Se Puede.” We visited a health clinic and met with nurses and doctors. Again, the staÚ was very diverse with a strong cadre of women. They spoke of the medical shortages caused by the embargo, but that even under these conditions tremendous advancements are being made in the devel- opment of various new vaccines for disease and communicable diseases. What Cuba does not have is a shortage of medical personnel, particu- larly nurses and doctors. According to Dr. Juan Tirana, not only does Cuba have doctors in the mountains, but there are many technicians and medical personnel who are providing their services all over the world. Although medical support is being provided all over the world, they are primarily involved in the countries that need it the most in the third world. 84 notes & comments

Calling for Ending the U.S. Embargo At the end of the conference, a number of us signed a petition calling for an end to the U.S. embargo. EÚ orts to control the Cuban econ- omy continue with the embargo. Problems in Cuba date all the way back to 1776 when the U.S. government was already strategizing as to how to claim Cuba. It goes back to U.S. military intervention in the Cuban—Spanish war. After the in 1959, the U.S. sought to put an end to the revolution knowing that it could serve as an example for other nations in the region. Relating to why the U.S. is developing closer relations with other Socialist countries except for Cuba, Cuban General Assembly president Alarcon Quezada related to us that it has a lot to do with Cuba’s prox- imity to the U.S. and its capacity to in uence the politics in the region. With passage of the Helms-Burton Act, the strategy of the U.S. has been to isolate Cuba and to penalize any foreign government that trades with Cuba. According to Alarcon, this initiative has not been success- ful and the countries that have always traded with Cuba have contin- ued their trade regardless of the prescribed threats. Not only does trade continue with Canada, Spain, Mexico, Italy, and France, there are also positive relations developing with China. According to Alarcon, the polit- ical and economic relations with China “ have made it an important trading partner

Cuban People Committed to its “Socialist Experiment” The conference was truly an encuentro. It did bring out that we have commonalities as Latinos on a global scale. Certainly, one commonal- ity (that was expressed at the conference) is that, like Cuba, Chicanas and Chicanos have had a similar history of being attacked economi- cally, politically, and socially. More recently, we too have faced oppres- sive initiatives such as propositions 209, 187, and 229. In the face of those attacks, however, there is another more compelling commonality among the people: a long history of resistance and perseverance. Many who oppose Cuba in the U.S.  aunt the view that when dies, the revolution will come to an end. I read awhile back in an L. A. times article that some Miami Cubans had already gone as far as to prepare a government in exile and to make plans for a huge rally at the Orange Bowl when Fidel passes away. From my visit, obser- vations, and conversations with the people of Cuba, it is my belief that this is nothing more than the work of right-wing dreamers. The people notes & comments 85 that we talked to at all levels of Cuban society (from taxi drivers and medical personnel to university professors and government leaders) all expressed a deep optimism and commitment to the “Socialist experi- ment” and to a future society based on equality and justice for every- one. No matter what the opposition says, the future of Cuba, as is true with the future of Chicanos and Chicanas in the U.S., ultimately lies in the resolve of its people.