Thursday 08 January
2009, San José, Costa
Rica
CUBA:
Racism - "Taboo,
Complicated and Thorny"
Issue
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA (IPS) - The
persistence of racism in
Cuba is disturbing to
some of the island's
thinkers, who are
calling for a debate on
the problem in this
country, where equal
rights have not
guaranteed equal
opportunities for all
social groups.
The first documentary on
racial discrimination in
this Caribbean island
nation was filmed here
in 2008, incorporating
opinions from well-known
artists and
intellectuals that go to
the heart of the
controversy. "Raza"
(Race), by young
filmmaker Eric Corvalán,
could serve as a
starting-point to launch
the long-delayed debate.
"So far, racism has only
been talked about in
academia, among
intellectuals. I think
there should be an open,
public discussion, even
in parliament," the
36-year-old Corvalán
told IPS.
"In 50 years (since the
revolution), women's
issues and homosexuality
have been debated: why
hasn't racism?" asked
the filmmaker. "It's a
revolutionary topic that
concerns everyone,
because there are black
women, black homosexuals
and black men."
"I think silence is
worse. The longer
nothing is said, the
more the racism
fermenting underground
is rotting the entire
nation,"
singer/songwriter
Gerardo Alfonso says in
the documentary.
According to Roberto
Zurbano, head of the
Casa de las Américas
publishing house, to
carry on "hiding" the
issue would lead black
people to think that
"they belong to another
country, and that there
are two Cuba’s as there
were in the 19th
century, a black Cuba
and a white one."
Another possible
implication is that "the
issue could become a
political football,
outside and inside the
country."
In the debate on race in
Cuba, the media have
drawn some of the
heaviest criticism for
allegedly fomenting
stereotypes that
identify black people
and people of mixed
ancestry with crime, or
with very specific
activities like sports
and music, while
establishing the idea of
white "normality."
"The media must help to
create a balanced
portrait of black
people, which is
lacking, so a racist
stereotype is
constructed by society,"
Corvalán said. "Why
can't we make films
starring blacks, whether
as lawyers, doctors or
engineers?"
According to Irene
Ester, who holds a
degree in audiovisual
communications,
television will never
contribute to
demythologising race as
long as it only
emphasises the high
proportion of black
people in prison,
working as prostitutes,
or unemployed, instead
of the "heroism" and
special characteristics
of black families.
There is also an absence
of models in the
education system,
especially in the
teaching of national
history. The first
Africans arrived in Cuba
in the early 16th
century, brought in as
slaves by the Spanish
colonialists. Slavery
was abolished in 1886.
"In primary education,
skin colour is not
mentioned," academic
Esteban Morales says in
the film. "If we are
still living in a
society where white
people have the power,
and we don't mention
colour in education, we
are in practice
educating children to be
white.
"Cuban history as we
teach it is a disgrace,
because it is
predominantly white
history, and explaining
the role of black people
and mulattos in building
this society and its
culture is not given its
due importance," says
Morales, of the
University of Havana’s
Centre for the Study of
the Hemisphere and the
United States (CEHSEU).
Blacks and people of
mixed-race heritage
officially make up 34.9
percent of Cuba's total
population of 11.2
million, according to
the latest census,
carried out in 2002.
However, most Cuban
academics estimate that
between 60 and 70
percent of the
population is black or
"mulatto"
Article 42 of the Cuban
constitution states that
"discrimination because
of race, skin colour,
sex, national origin,
religious beliefs and
any other form of
discrimination harmful
to human dignity is
forbidden and punishable
by law." In May 1961,
the government
eliminated racial
segregation by
nationalising all clubs
and associations.
But equality before the
law has not succeeded in
closing the
socioeconomic gaps
between different racial
groups.
The Cuban cultural
journal Temas published
studies by the
governmental
Anthropology Centre in
2006 that showed that on
average, the black
population has worse
housing, receives less
money in remittances
from abroad and has less
access to jobs in
emerging economic
sectors like tourism, in
which blacks represent
barely five percent of
managers and
professionals, than the
white population.
"Equal rights does not
mean social equality,"
Morales says. "We do not
have the same social
standing, nor the same
opportunities. This is
what has generally
happened to non-white
and black people in
Cuba."
"If, 50 years after the
revolution, there are
still visible signs of
racism in society, it
means that equality of
rights hasn't been
sufficient," says
Alfonso.
The issue of racism
remains "taboo, a
complicated and thorny"
question, as Corvalán
was told by some
institutions where he
showed his documentary,
made with support from
the non-governmental
Martin Luther King
Memorial Centre (CMMLK),
the Higher Institute of
Art (ISA) and Delfín, an
independent producer.
"We made a revolution in
this country, which is
what sets us apart from
other nations," Zurbano
said. "It's a tremendous
opportunity that
revolutionaries of any
colour cannot let slip
away, in the sense that
we can create a
strategy, and it can
evolve."
After the documentary's
première at the recent
Latin American Film
Festival in Havana,
Corvalán was thanked by
black and mixed-race
people, some of whom
were surprised to see
that a white person was
interested in racism.
"I don't think of myself
as white or black or
mixed-race, I'm just
Cuban," said Corvalán,
who has French and
Chilean ancestry. |
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