BY MARTÍN KOPPEL AND MARY-ALICE WATERS
HAVANA, Cuba - The sixth national congress of the Union of
Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), held here November 5-7,
took up some of the main challenges facing the Cuban revolution
today. A central thread of the discussion was how UNEAC members
could take the offensive to defend the social and political
conquests of the revolution that are part of the cultural
identity of the Cuban people. In particular, delegates
addressed the challenges resulting from the economic and social
crisis known here as the Special Period.
The Special Period was triggered by the sudden loss in the early 1990s of aid and favorable trade relations with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. In the face of this economic crisis, reinforced by the intensified economic war conducted by the U.S. rulers, the revolutionary government was obliged to adopt a series of economic measures that made Cubans more vulnerable to the world capitalist market and that began to erode the social solidarity and equality conquered by Cuba's working people in the course of their socialist revolution.
The November 23 Militant ran the text of a document on "Culture and Society," adopted by the congress delegates, which took up some of these issues.
On November 10 we had an opportunity to interview Graziella Pogolotti, a member of UNEAC's national secretariat and a well- known Cuban theater and art critic, who discussed the main themes of the congress with us. Also taking part in the discussion, held at UNEAC's national offices, was Norberto Codina, editor of La Gaceta de Cuba, UNEAC's bimonthly magazine.
From the very first days of the revolutionary war to overthrow the Batista dictatorship, the Cuban leadership has always given a great deal of importance to the fight to extend culture and raise the cultural level of all working people in Cuba. We saw that this was at the heart of the discussion at the UNEAC congress - how to advance along these lines today. It would be useful if you could talk a little about the cultural policy of the revolution.
Pogolotti: From the beginning, the Cuban revolution brought about a true cultural revolution, in the broadest sense of the word. Culture was viewed as a road to liberation.
I remember that at the beginning of the revolution, when I was working at the National Library, we made a sign carrying a statement by Fidel [Castro]: "The revolution doesn't tell you to believe - the revolution tells you to read." In other words, being exposed to reading and knowledge is in itself an act of liberation by human beings.
And this policy was implemented. An important aspect of our culture is education. One of the first things the revolution did was the literacy campaign. Afterward, we launched classes for newly literate workers to achieve a higher level of schooling. Education became universal and was taken to every area.
From the beginning, a series of institutions were established to foster the development of artistic creation and spread culture. In March 1959 a film institute was created. This was in a country that had no cinematographic tradition, where filmmakers had to improvise. Its name was, and still is, the Cuban Art and Film Industry Institute, ICAIC.
This led to the development of Cuban film and filmmakers. There was also a resurgence that brought film from the entire world to the Cuban public - the great European cinema; the best film from the United States, despite all the obstacles faced by distribution companies; and film from the socialist countries of Europe at that time. It was a broad opening to the world.
Then there was the development of the national publishing industry, which not only gave Cuban writers the possibility of publishing their work - an opportunity they had not enjoyed before - but led to the publishing of authors from the whole world: all the great classic authors from the United States, European literature, and something that is not published very much elsewhere: literature from Africa and other parts of the Third World. That too was an opening to the world that enriched our culture.
Similar institutions were established in all sectors to promote the growth and extension of culture.
There have also been projects aimed at reducing the cultural gap between the capital and the provinces and rural areas. This is a long process that cannot be completed in a day, of course. Cultural life in this country was concentrated in Havana. It was limited to small groups in the capital, primarily people from the petty bourgeoisie. So this continued to be broadened out.
For example, we had remarkable experiences such as the Teatro Escambray theater group, which just marked its 30th anniversary during this congress. This group launched a particular kind of experience, performing theater in a rural area with no theater tradition, in the area of the Escambray mountains. They sought to do so while maintaining high standards of quality and allowing the audience to be critical participants with respect to the work itself and the conditions surrounding it.
Codina: Graziella knows about the Teatro Escambray not only as a teacher and theater critic, but through her direct experience. She was part of the Teatro Escambray during an early stage.
Pogolotti: Yes, I was one of a group of students from the university that spent five years with them.
Culture of national and social liberation
Waters: One of the strongest aspects of the discussion at
the UNEAC congress was the clarity of the reaffirmation that
what you are defending is a culture of national and social
liberation, that Cuba's national identity is the product of the
socialist revolution, of internationalist traditions, and of
hundreds of years of anticolonial and anti-imperialist
struggle.
This was linked to the reaffirmation of Cuban culture as an expression of the most advanced culture of all humanity, embracing - not rejecting - the highest cultural conquests of previous historical epochs and other societies.
That working people will be bearers of culture in the new society we are seeking to build is a very revolutionary perspective. It's the opposite of the caricature that the imperialists try to identify as "socialist culture," which has more in common with the socialist realism policies of the Soviet bureaucracy than anything else.(1)
Pogolotti: Our cultural identity comes from Spain, Africa, and all the elements that historically have become part of Cuban society. It is a social and historical product.
The creation of Cuban art and literature has always been very much tied to the development of universal culture. We are a country with open borders. I always say Cuba is a port where many things arrive, of which we assimilate those that fit in with the development of our own culture.
Beginning with the triumph of the revolution, there was an internal polemic here over "socialist realism." Cuban writers and artists who considered themselves revolutionaries, who agreed with the principles of the revolution and its reason for existence, were convinced socialist realism was not an authentic or organic expression of art, but just the opposite.
That battle took place in the 1960s. Afterward, there was a period in the 1970s in which, without directly talking about socialist realism, there were in practice some attempts to apply those schemas. But that baggage was gradually left behind. Cuba today has recovered its links to universal culture.
At this very moment I think it is extremely important to reaffirm our national identity in face of imperialism's tendency to homogenize and trivialize everything. This is true not only for us but for other countries.
We must rescue and champion the cultural traditions that are based on emancipation and humanism. This means not only the liberation of man from exploitation and oppression. That is an indispensable first step for human beings to be able to realize themselves fully. But it also means fighting against all the prejudices that have grown over the centuries.
What we are defending is not only for us but for the entire world as the new century begins - which will be a century of enormous conflicts.
So there is a convergence in the understanding of these problems between the political leadership of the Cuban revolution, which is confronting the problem of globalization, and the defense of Cuban culture that was discussed at the UNEAC congress.
A live, democratic organization
Waters: There is nothing similar to UNEAC in the United
States or other capitalist countries. It was born out of the
Cuban revolution. What is UNEAC?
Pogolotti: UNEAC arose in 1961 after [the U.S.-organized mercenary invasion at] Playa Girón. It's a social organization that Cuban writers and artists can join voluntarily. Membership in UNEAC is not compulsory, nor is it required to be a member in order to get a book published or an art exhibit displayed. People join because they see in UNEAC a means of expressing their concerns, interests, and affinities.
To be admitted as a member, you have to have a certain record of literary or artistic work.
UNEAC is made up of five associations: for literature; plastic arts [sculpture, painting, and photography]; music; theater; and film, radio, and television.
It's a very democratic structure. The leadership of the national organization and the associations is renewed at every congress through a process in which members freely elect delegates to the convention and make nominations for the leadership. It's a completely open process in which the members hold meetings to propose those they consider best qualified.
UNEAC carries out many kinds of cultural activities. It has a publishing house, produces the magazine La Gaceta de Cuba, sponsors casas de cultura [community cultural centers], and organizes exhibits, concerts, and theoretical conferences on different topics.
It's a place where members can get together to discuss. It's a social center and a vehicle for participating in public discussions on questions related to the national culture.
Waters: At the congress Fidel stated that "capitalism is the enemy of culture." There was a lot of discussion about the penetration of the capitalist market in Cuba today and measures needed to protect artists from exploitation and the distortions that are inherent in it.
One measure you have adopted involves Cuban artists who travel abroad and do tours or sell their works. Part of their hard-currency earnings go to a cultural fund that helps subsidize art and all cultural institutions in Cuba. Could you describe this?
Countering effects of the market
Pogolotti: In the last few years we've witnessed a growing
presence of the market in the world of artistic creation. The
market makes it possible to circulate works of art and get them
known in places where they would otherwise have no access. It's
through entrepreneurs that Cuban popular music has become known
internationally. It's through gallery owners that paintings,
sculpture, and photography are circulated.
At the same time, we know the market involves dangers. It means works of art may be manipulated, directly or indirectly dictating norms to artists. It can have a negative effect on artistic experimentation.
So we must establish a counterweight to the market through our cultural institutions. These must make sure to foster artistic experimentation and research, and defend the values we consider our patrimony, even if they often are not commercially successful. We must prevent the commercialization of our classic works.
Today, musicians, painters, and sculptors are breaking into the international market and receiving income in hard currency. Part of those earnings goes to the artist as remuneration for his or her work. Another part goes to the state institution promoting that artist. In the case of painters and sculptors it's the Cuban Fund for Cultural Works.
The hard-currency income Cuba receives in this way is used to support many areas of the arts that are not profitable but are considered essential. First and foremost is art instruction, which in Cuba has great importance and is extraordinarily costly, especially in terms of musical instruments, other materials, and facilities with the needed requirements. Art instruction is completely free for Cubans, so the state must subsidize it in this way.
The state also subsidizes a large part of the publishing aimed at the Cuban population. At the beginning of the Special Period, publishing dropped sharply - overnight, we went from abundance to nothing. Paper today must be purchased with hard currency.
So through this fund for the development of culture and education, we have injected hard currency to revive the publishing of books and cultural and theoretical magazines.
Waters: On the subject of youth, I saw in a recent issue of Juventud Rebelde an interview with Fernando Rojas, the head of the Saíz Brothers Association of young artists and writers. In it, he refers to a comment you made at the UNEAC congress - that it's important not only to provide young artists with scholarships and other benefits, but to truly integrate them and support their work. There seems to be a concern in UNEAC and among young artists that there is a generation gap.
Pogolotti: Yes, we noted at this congress that there are not enough youth among the members of UNEAC and that they don't participate very much in it. Even given the number of young members of the organization, they were not adequately represented as delegates, and are not adequately represented on UNEAC's National Council.
We analyzed this at the congress, and we think the different associations must immediately study this problem in their field. In some of the associations there has been a more conservative tendency than in others.
But we must appeal to youth who have produced some works - and there are some young artists who have produced works that are truly significant - to join UNEAC. They must feel that UNEAC responds to their needs, that here they have a vehicle to raise their concerns and discuss questions of particular interest to them, and that it allows a greater interrelation between different generations.
I think there is an almost biological defense mechanism among older people who, after a certain age, try to defend themselves and don't open the way to the youth. That reaction must be combated. We need to ensure that youth are tied to UNEAC and, in this way, to the revolutionary process and the continuity of Cuban culture itself.
Waters: Membership in UNEAC is voluntary but you have to be selected.
Codina: Yes, membership is selective. As Graziella said, to join, an artist must have an established record of work in his or her specialty. This doesn't mean you have to make your living from artistic work, because you can be a university professor who is an art critic.
In the case of writers, as a norm they must have published some books, and these books must be favorably recognized. In other words, you can't join the writers association simply by having books published.
Waters: But these days it's very difficult to get books published, given the shortages of paper and other resources that have sharply limited publishing in Cuba over much of the decade.
Codina: Well, in the case of writers, there has been some flexibility in this regard. The [subsidized] collection of books called "The New Pines," for example, has given a big boost to previously unpublished authors. Through "The New Pines," almost 240 titles by young authors have been published. The authors were selected through award-winning contests with nationwide juries of critics.
Today there are few nationally known Cuban writers who haven't had at least one book published in recent years, for example through an alternative system of small notebooks, especially in the provinces outside Havana. Some young writers don't have a book per se, but three or four of these small notebooks that have nationwide circulation.
Discussion on racist prejudices in Cuba
Waters: Another theme of the discussion at the congress was
on the question of racism and racist prejudices. It seems there
is a broader and more open discussion on these questions today
in Cuba.
Pogolotti: This question has been raised in UNEAC for some time. Before the congress, the Fernando Ortiz Foundation organized two days of discussion on the subject. This is a foundation, led by [well-known Cuban writer and UNEAC leader] Miguel Barnet, that is devoted to studies of ethnology, sociology, and the world of our popular traditions.
Codina: Ortiz, a Cuban ethnologist whose work was mainly before the revolution, produced a serious theoretical and documentary work that established the foundations for the definition of the Cuban nationality, especially regarding the place of blacks, not as a secondary element but as a fundamental component of Cuban society and culture.
Pogolotti: Fernando Ortiz devoted his entire work to studying the contributions of blacks, the traditions of African origin, to Cuban culture. He was the first to champion and legitimize the presence of that culture among us. It is an extraordinarily broad work from an ethnological perspective. He pioneered concepts that later became well established, such as "transculturation." This is the process that began when Africans were brought to Cuba, preserving their own culture, and in which this culture was gradually modified and incorporated into a Cuban context.
The Fernando Ortiz Foundation organized a discussion on the survival of elements of racism and racial prejudice in Cuban society today, as well as the kinds of measures that must be taken to confront this problem. This includes giving a greater presence to blacks, as members of Cuban society, in television and other mass media.
The Cuban revolution eradicated the economic basis for racism, and perhaps it was naively believed that this problem would be solved much more rapidly. Of course, there has been a significant change between the situation before the revolution and today. Even so, prejudices continue among certain parts of Cuban society.
This situation becomes more acute when you live through such difficult economic conditions as we do, and when certain social inequalities inevitably become accentuated. This leads to the reappearance of germs that had been eliminated.
This problem cannot be left to be gradually, automatically eliminated by society. Instead, we must influence society to make it aware of this problem and begin to overcome it.
The debate that has begun now is a necessary starting point. After the meetings at the Fernando Ortiz Foundation, we took this discussion to the field of television. There was a discussion with producers and leaders of Cuban television to make them see the problem [of the small number of blacks in prominent television roles] and urge them to find solutions. This was an important step forward.
Waters: It's the first time there has been such a broad discussion on this question since the early years of the revolution, when there was a lot of discussion.
Pogolotti: Yes, in the early years there was a lot of discussion on this question. Fidel raised this problem. So did Che [Guevara], especially in a [1959] speech he gave at the Central University of Las Villas, where he called on the university to dress in the colors of workers, peasants, mulattos, and blacks. That is, he called for a transformation of the social composition of the university student body, which also meant transforming its racial composition.
Waters: It seems very healthy and positive that this kind of discussion is taking place. It's essential for the revolution. It's as important as the alliance between workers and farmers.
Was there a similar discussion about the challenges facing women artists?
Pogolotti: Not so much at this congress, because the subject of women has been discussed a lot in recent years. There have been many seminars and other events on the work of women writers, painters, and sculptors. Among the new generations this is an important topic of discussion.
So the view at the congress was rather that there has been progress for women.
Codina: For example, there was a bigger proportion of women among the delegates. There was only one woman on the congress organizing committee - Graziella - but as far as delegates to the congress, the candidates for the National Council, and those elected to it, the proportion of women corresponded to the membership of women in the organization. It was roughly 40 percent.
Waters: That's interesting. It's a higher percentage than in other institutions of the revolution.
Codina: And you have to keep in mind that this is a selective organization.
Waters: Another topic that received prominent attention is the strength that UNEAC derives from its "collective" style of work. [Minister of Culture] Abel Prieto took this up in his remarks to the congress. This is an important aspect of the organization's democracy, isn't it? It gives members the confidence that they can confront, discuss, and resolve these problems and move forward.
Pogolotti: This is an important contribution by UNEAC. There are collective discussions on many levels - from the leadership of UNEAC, which is a collective leadership; to the associations, which have their own specific discussions; to the meetings by specialty within each association.
Members establish their own programs of activity. These programs are not set from the top down. Instead, they come from a general strategy based on specific needs, in which the ranks of UNEAC decide priorities, measures, and ways of implementing them in every area.
As Abel has stressed many times, UNEAC plays an important role as a counterweight to the ministry of culture. We have excellent relations with the ministry, especially since Abel was president of UNEAC until a year and a half ago. But even so, the views of the creators are often different from the views of the functionaries. To carry out their work, these functionaries need to engage in a constant process of critical encounters with artistic creators.
In his speech to the congress, Abel emphasized once again UNEAC's role as a living institution that can check any tendency toward bureaucratic rigidity that might develop in the ministry.
Codina: Abel has emphasized a lot that the dynamic of Cuban writers and artists goes far beyond the capacities of the officials of the existing cultural institutions and mechanisms. He thinks the structures of the ministry of culture and its officials are lagging behind the work created by writers and artists today. The challenge is to rise to that level.
It's not a question of thinking the same way or switching roles, because the writers and artists have to think above all as writers and artists, and officials of the cultural institutions have to think in their own way. But there has been a certain immobility in these structures, as often happens. That's life.
In Abel's case, even though he is a man of culture, an essayist, someone who led UNEAC for nine and a half years, the fact of being a minister creates certain limitations that are inherent to that kind of position. He's the first one to say that he has to meet with us in order to stay in touch with reality, because as minister you can become partially isolated from reality. Fortunately he is aware of that, and we have enough confidence in him to remind him of it whenever we get a chance. That's shown by the unanimous vote he received in the election for the National Council of UNEAC, of which he is a member.
Waters: [Newly elected UNEAC president] Carlos Martí, in his opening presentation at the congress, made the point that UNEAC is an organization in which intolerance is not possible; no single tendency prevails. It is an inclusive organization where there is a real exchange of ideas.
Stepping up the battle of ideas
The delegates at the congress discussed culture as a trench
in the struggle to defend the socialist course of the
revolution against the challenges to the revolution's social
values that are part of the pressures of the capitalist market.
This idea of taking the offensive was an important aspect of
the congress.
Pogolotti: Yes, we spoke about going from the defensive to the offensive. Taking advantage of the dynamics of this congress, we must step up the debate of ideas. We are involved in a battle that is not local but truly of international scope. And it requires developing a platform of ideas and seeking exchanges with people from other countries.
A debate is opening up on the questions related to the process of neoliberal globalization. This process is expressed on an economic level. But ultimately this is a cultural battle. Culture has a role to play in this battle like never before.
Waters: Is UNEAC stronger today than it was a decade ago?
Pogolotti: Yes, it is much stronger. UNEAC has become
stronger as it takes on greater responsibilities and increases
its role in society.
Koppel: It seems this progress shown at the UNEAC congress is part of the broader strengthening of the revolution that we've seen, for example, in the confident reception given to the pope by the Cuban people and the revolutionary leadership.
Pogolotti: I think we've gradually been freeing ourselves from intolerance. For example, one expression of intolerance in our society had to do with sexuality. There has been a gradual but substantial change in this regard, in which the film Fresa y chocolate [Strawberry and chocolate] has had a certain influence.(2)
Similarly, the response to the [January] visit by the pope took place within this atmosphere of tolerance and openness that had begun earlier. There is a lessening of prejudices against those who hold religious beliefs. This has been seen since the fourth congress of the [Cuban Communist] Party in 1991. The party now will accept into membership individuals with religious beliefs. That's what made it possible for the pope's visit to get the reception it did in this country. It was important.
Waters: This is part of the political, revolutionary recovery that is taking place, isn't it? It seemed to me that the UNEAC congress was another step in this march forward of the last few years, following the most difficult period of 1992-94.
Pogolotti: It's an important sign. During the period of 1992-94 it would have been practically unthinkable to begin a political discussion when we didn't even know if we were going to survive. Today conditions are still difficult but we have proven we can survive. We have shown we can open up to the world and that, through this, we can deepen our understanding of the problems we face.
Waters: It's hard to imagine that such discussion could have been possible at your last congress in 1993, under such severe conditions when all efforts were directed at survival. It's very different today. And this is noticed outside Cuba. All the enemies of the Cuban revolution sense this change also, and they know it's not what they had expected and hoped for.
Pogolotti: At that time they were expecting the collapse of the revolution at any moment. I remember that after the fall of [Rumanian Communist Party leader Nicolae] Ceausescu, the hotels here in Havana were flooded with foreign journalists who came to await the collapse. But that didn't happen. So they just had to leave!
1. Socialist realism was the bureaucratic proclamation of "proletarian culture" decreed by the Soviet government beginning in the mid-1920s under the regime headed by Joseph Stalin. It was a reversal of the policy of the October 1917 Bolshevik revolution under the leadership of V.I. Lenin. The document "Culture and Society" adopted by the UNEAC congress points to "the opening years of the October Revolution, which were characterized by a intense artistic ferment and renewal, which unfortunately was later stifled."
2. Fresa y chocolate (Strawberry and chocolate), a popular, prize-winning Cuban film by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, takes on anti-gay prejudice in Cuban society.