Codina spoke before a Spanish literature class at DePaul November 9 and will speak at a public meeting at DePaul on November 16. The Havana Gallery, a new center of contemporary Cuban art in Chicago, will host a reception and poetry reading for him on November 13. He has also been invited to speak at Olivet College and Wayne State University in Michigan.

"The most important cultural event in the revolution was the campaign for literacy," he said, referring to the effort in the early years of the Cuban revolution that virtually wiped out illiteracy there. By wielding state power, Cuban working people have been able to dramatically broaden access to culture among the entire population.

Codina's arrival here coincided with the appearance of two well-known Cuban musical groups – the Buena Vista Social Club and Irakere. Codina, who attended the concerts, discussed both the importance and the challenges of such cultural exchanges at a reception hosted by the Chicago Pathfinder bookstore on November 7.

For the past 40 years, the U.S. government has imposed a tight economic embargo and travel ban on revolutionary Cuba. It has barred many Cubans from visiting this country, especially those who support the revolution. Partly because of trying to maintain the appearance not opposing the "free flow of ideas" and academic exchanges, however, Washington has allowed numerous Cuban artists and academics to visit in recent years.

Codina said musicians he spoke to from Irakere told him they had enjoyed visits to Chicago area schools where they taught music classes and discussed Cuban music.

Visits by musical groups from the island will give people in the United States a glimpse of "the high quality and professionalism" of Cuban artists today, he said, including musicians from the very young to the very old.

On the other hand, there are also "risks and challenges" posed by the social dimensions of such cultural exchanges, he said. This question has been discussed at gatherings of the Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba (UNEAC).

At its national congress in November 1998, writers and artists active in UNEAC discussed how to help defend the cultural gains of the Cuban people in face of the pressures of the capitalist market. These pressures, which reinforce bourgeois ideas and values, have led to social differentiation.

Since the collapse in favorable trade relations with the Soviet bloc countries a decade ago, Cuba has had to obtain hard currency in order to purchase needed goods on the world market. Many Cuban musical groups now have access to dollars through the tourist trade or travel abroad, giving them relatively high incomes.

Codina pointed out that anything that is affected by the laws of the capitalist market is open to corruption. What is needed is an active response to combat these negative effects and reinforce the social and political values of the revolution.

"Artists have always had to struggle to maintain their principles" in revolutionary Cuba, he said.

He described steps taken to counteract what UNEAC has termed the increased "dollarization" of culture and the undermining of the revolution's values of human solidarity and equality. Cuba's revolutionary leadership has encouraged artists to use some of their earnings from concerts and sales of art as a contribution to support the country's free public schools of art, music and dance, as well as the publication of literature and poetry.

Codina discussed what a UNEAC congress resolution called the "Americanization" and "banalization" of culture. Referring to the influence of Hollywood in the world, he commented, "It's a form of censorship when 95 percent of the films come from one country."

"This problem can't be solved by decrees," he added. "No one person can decide what is superficial or not." He criticized censorship in countries where capitalism has been overthrown when government officials take it upon themselves to decide what is "bad" art and not to be shown, pointing to Eastern Europe where this was "taken to extremes." In contrast, the policy of the Cuban revolution has been to foster a wide variety of art and other cultural expressions.

Answering a question about the recent trip to Cuba by Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who headed a large delegation of businessmen, professionals and media, he commented that the visit created a positive impression in Cuba because it indicated opposition among some forces in the United States to Washington's embargo.

But he said he was not optimistic that the U.S. government would end its embargo soon. "All 52 governors could go to Cuba, and it would not change the policy," he said. "Bigger interests are at stake, and the legal system is structured to support those interests."  
 
 
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