BY TOM FISKE
MINNEAPOLIS - "In challenging times man most needs spiritual
values. This is reflected in art and film in Cuba. A lot more
space for art has been gained. The art is richer and more
diverse in Cuba today than previously." This was a central
theme in an October 14-16 visit to the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area by Norberto Codina, accomplished Cuban poet and editor of
La Gaceta de Cuba, the magazine of the National Union of
Writers and Artists of Cuba.
At three public meetings Codina focused much of his remarks on the relationship between art and culture in Cuba today and the struggle for socialism. He developed his points in the form of a dialogue with his audience by answering questions. The events were held at the University of Minnesota, the Riverview branch of the St. Paul Public Library, and CreArte, a gallery for Chicano and Latino artists here.
"A lot of poetry is read and circulated in Cuba today," Codina said in response to a leader of the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, who asked what themes and topics are being written about in Cuba today. "Poetry helps us to be better. The role that poets play is the same in the United States and in Latin America. They are needed to understand our own identity."
"The economic challenges facing Cuba have affected all of culture," noted Codina in response to a question at the University of Minnesota about the effects of what Cubans call the Special Period. "We have faced a combination of three factors - the U.S. embargo, the cut-off in trade with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, and the international economic crisis. The art schools have suffered for lack of money. All the paints, the musical instruments, and so forth now have to be bought with dollars. This difficult situation has actually brought out more contributions by those who care about art. And the economic crisis has helped to bring out the creative powers of the artists."
Criticism strengthens revolution
At a couple of meetings Codina was asked if the role of the
writer was to defend or to criticize the Cuban revolution. "I
think to criticize is the best way to defend the revolution,"
he stated. "Of course I am opposed to criticism for the sake of
criticism or for the sake of tearing down the accomplishments
of the revolution. Cuba is a society which is transitional
towards socialism.
"Che Guevara dealt with these ideas in the 1960s when he criticized socialist realism and when he criticized government officials for judging the tastes of the Cuban people," Codina added.
"Culture has a very significant weight in a country like Cuba with a background of underdevelopment," the Cuban poet said in response to the question how art and writing have changed from the time before the revolution. "Cuba is fighting to develop more culture, including to develop its economy. However, culture is not a product for privileged minorities as it is in capitalist countries."
To initiate his presentations at the University of Minnesota and the St. Paul library, Codina read several of his poems. In both audiences there were questions about what he intended to convey. Arrin Hawkins, a young activist and student at the University of Minnesota, asked about a very brief poem, entitled "The Mayflower Pilgrims."
Down the anchor rope and ties
right over the copper discs
descended the rats
also unknown among the Delawares.
Was the poet's main intention to speak about genocide against the Native Americans? Codina replied, "There is a synthesis in the poem. It is not only about the genocide. I was thinking of the native peoples who were seeing the Europeans arrive, how strange they must have looked and how they brought a number of diseases. I was thinking how it's in the name of civilization that there have been so many evils."
Atmosphere of artistic freedom
Participants at all three meetings asked about the
atmosphere of artistic freedom in Cuba and the extent of
government censorship. At the art gallery event Codina replied,
"This is spoken of many times outside of Cuba in a very
distorted way and in a manner intended to harm the
revolution.... In Cuba there exists much less censorship than
in the 1970s. There is also more freedom of expression than
five years ago when the film Strawberry and Chocolate was
produced. Freedom of artistic expression in Cuba is related to
the problem of cultural prejudices. There has been a constant
struggle between the two."
Codina got a big laugh of recognition when he further explained that a masked form of censorship of art exists in "democratic" capitalist countries like the United States today. "Art for the wealthy is a form of censorship as well. To watch the two Spanish-language TV networks here is to see censorship at its most alienating." Univision and Telemundo are notorious for their programming of silly and uninformative shows.
Sixty people attended the largest of the meetings at the CreArte art gallery. Thirty attended the library meeting, which was publicized extensively by the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library as part of a series featuring Chicano and Latino writers. Forty attended the meeting at the University of Minnesota, which was sponsored by a number of academic departments, including Theater Arts and Dance, Spanish and Portuguese, American Studies Program, English, Afro-American and African Studies, Chicano Studies, and the College of Liberal Arts Scholarly Events Fund.
A significant percentage of those attending the three meetings were artists and writers in the Twin Cities area. The Minnesota Cuba Committee, a group of students, professors, workers, and activists who carry out activity in defense of the Cuban revolution in the Twin Cities area, helped build all three events.