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Beyond History is a new photo book on Cuba. The collection of portraits were taken in Havana from 1998 to 2006. It’s Poetic Documentary vs Dirty Realism. The book is layed out in the spirit of a Cuban-Peter-Beard-style Journal, with snapshots and scribbles rubbed up against each other. The Photos, Artwork, Collages, and Texts are all created by V.D.
Each of the poems are written by another artist named Pedro Juan Gutiérrez. Photographer V.D. befriended Pedro in Cuba (a respected poet in Cuba whose writing has been called “Dirty Realism” (Charles Bukowski is considered the godfather of dirty realism).
IN V.D.’s words, the Beyond History project “could also be considered a manifesto against photojournalism, against propaganda from the inside and the outside, against tourist maps and exoticism.”
What I find most refreshing is that it’s just a collection of younger faces on the island. Raw, real, and just living their daily life beside their beloved caged birds. Nothing phony in these images.
The book is published out of Amsterdam by Bold Publishing. Visit VD at Beyond History or at VincentdelBrouck.be.
J
(Big Brother shadows over Little Brother)
Word on the street is that there’s 2 camps forming inside the Cuban Government — the Fidelistas vs Raulistas. There is also a bit of a clash between old thinkers and new thinkers. According to an inside source in their government, The Fidelistas (those loyal to Fidel) have now nicknamed themselves “Talibans”. Straight up. It’s important to note that this moniker was not thrust upon them…. it is a self-appointed nickname by the bullies. Kinda gangster, huh?
Not surprising since one of their Administrations favorite shows is HBO’s Sopranos (which the government decided to recently air on Communist Television April 08).
(HBO Sopranos — The King of the Capitalists airs in Cuba now)
Anyway, do you remember the early days when Fidel first retired? Back when Raul first stepped into power in 2006, replacing his older brothers post? Raul suddenly announced major reforms such as offering each Cuban citizen the right to walk into foreign hotels? Cell phones and DVD players were now legal to own. Granted, it is not easy for local Cuban to purchase these items with an estimated average salary of $15-20 a month, but nonetheless, these were radical changes in their society. Slow reform is better than no reform, right?
The whole world looked to see what other reforms Raul would announce…. and then NOTHING. Dead air. Raul was done being modern. What happened?
Word has it that the Fidelista’s bitchslapped the Raulista’s and said “no more”. Ever since then, there’s been a slow growing number of “progressives” inside the Cuban government who are also seeking change. This new faction of Cubans in the administration is coming up against pressure from their own internal “Taliban” as I explained.
One of the recent signs that Fidel is still “driving the bus” was the recent (and sudden) dismissal of Cuban Government official, Marta Lomas (Minister of Foreign Investments and Economic Assistance, MIECE). Apparently, she made some positive remarks regarding President Elect Barack Obama, which of course made Fidel freak out. Why did he freak out? Because tons of newspaper outlets picked up the positive quote. It was considered the first official reaction from the Cuban Government on the U.S. elections.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Commerce confirmed that Castro was pissed and (to quote an official) “What we have heard is that the Commandant was upset by that, and asked who had authorized her [Lomas] to speak for the government.”
Anyway, the proof was in the pudding since Marta was replaced 2 days after the statement. Also, 3 days after the incident, Fidel’s voice took the stage… ONCE AGAIN…. (snore)…. echoing the same paranoia ad nauseum:
“Many dream that with a simple change of command of the empire, it will become more tolerant and less warlike … The most intimate thoughts of the citizen that will take the helm of the matter are unknown yet. It would be supremely naive to believe that the good intentions of an intelligent person can change what has been created through centuries of interests and greed.” — Fidel
(Quote is from Fidel’s letter on the US Election to the G-20 meeting in Washington)
(Little Brother takes orders from Big Brother during the Revolution)
In another weird fact, Sean Penn had a meeting with Raul Castro recently. Raul explained to Penn that he still works out of his old office. Fidel’s office at the Council of State remains intact. Fidel’s Presidential chair at the Parliament has also stayed empty since he [supposedly] rescinded power in 2006. I figure it’ll be a game of big brother pushing little brother around for a little while. It’s wise for the US gov’t to stand back a second while Cuba’s top brass smoothes out their own internal struggles during this time of transition.
On another tip, there is talk that the the battle of camps is starting to take a turn. For the first time in a year, it seems the “Raulista’s” are gaining strength and we hear that arrests are being made in the government. Yeah, only in Cuba do government officials arrest each other rather than fire each other. But word has it that Raul is no longer taking it, and is growing a set of cojones to face big brother. It’ll be interesting to see Raul stand up to Fidel and make a clean sweep in the administration.
I’ve always said that we won’t truly see a “Post-Castro” administration until both brothers are out. Now I’m just a bit fascinated about these turn of events and am curious what legacy Raul will truly have in “the new day”.
J
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Excerpt From A Local Cuban Blog: Generacion Y
“There is a glaring absence in our daily landscape. Those calls to march, so frequent two years ago, have become rarer, leaving behind the impression of a city permanently on edge. It used to be a rare month that Habaneros were not called to a demonstration to shout slogans and applaud passionate speeches. They regularly administered the spoonful of necessary hysteria to keep us feeling that we were in a permanent state of siege.
On those days of successive marches, public services were closed and the entire city’s transport system was put to work moving people from other provinces who came to swell the number of participants. Days in which the streets were filled with trampled paper banners and water bottles to calm the thirst. The city collapsed and for those of us who were waiting for the parade to pass, we had the sensation of living through a never ending mobilization. They were days when it was best to stay home and hope that the shouts, the edginess and the loudspeakers were easing off.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t entirely like what the cameras and the press reports showed. Political rallies—organized by the government itself—also had an enjoyable side. The high school students were delighted that classes were suspended and they could play in the middle of the crowd. In the workplace, many preferred the confusion of the demonstration—which allowed them to sneak home—over a day of working under the control of a boss. Even those who were brought in by bus found the crush of the demonstration offered an magnificent place for the lewd excesses. The informal vendors waited for the mob to shout “Vivas” and sold them untold amounts of peanuts, pastries and soda
It’s not that we miss the marches, but my city looks different without these euphoric outbursts, without the leader shouting from the podium, without the thousands of genuine and false enthusiasts who were waving the flags.”
– Yoani
Read her Blog written from the island, now translated in English
Generation Y (English)
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Very rare to see someone so “balls out” expressive in Cuba. Gorki Carrasco, a rocker in Cuba, got arrested in Cuba for “Social Dangerousness” — a term that The New York Times called “Orwellian”. Hah. Anyways, Gorki’s band is forbidden to play in Public because his lyrics protest the Government.
Also, notice Carlos “El Puro” (the pure one), a sweet grey-haired guy who works for the Madriguera — probably one of Cuba’s toughest jobs since its middle-man between the artists and the red tape institutions of the government. It’s exhausting just to see him struggle with the words as he tries to explain the “no-win” system.
J
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Great piece in the New York Times Sunday edition yesterday. It’s a lengthy piece by Roger Cohen and covers wonderfully lots of ground. From old school Cuban-American cats like Alfredo Duran in Miami, to young guns on the island like Yoani Sanchez…
… POINT BEING, it’s time for CHANGE.
(Photo by Ambroise Tézenas for The New York Times)
Roger speaks to Yoani, the 33 yr old blogger who’s makin’ waves digitally:
“There’s a very intelligent repression here, a scientific repression” she says. “They have killed us as citizens, so they do not have to kill us physically. Our own police is in our brains, censoring us before we utter a critical idea.”
“You know,” Sánchez said, “when a nation gets on its knees before a man, it’s all over. When a man decides how much rice I eat a month, or whether or not I can leave a country, that country is sick. This man is human. He commits errors. How can he have such power? Like a lot of people of my generation, I have willed myself to stop thinking about him, as a therapy.”
“I think there will be relief when Fidel dies” she says. “We will breathe out. The mystical and symbolic weight of his presence is very heavy, for his opponents and even for his supporters. It’s hard to right his errors while he’s still there.”
I hope Roger and other journalists continue finding and quoting more Yaoni’s throughout Cuba. She’s a rare and fearless bird who has the courage to speak her mind. But I’ve spoken to several other young ones who echo her sentiment. It’s an amazingly educated and poetic generation that has alot to say. We’ll need to understand this demographic further as our administration decides to dismantle this stubborn embargo.
(Photo Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos)
Read the NY Times piece The End of the End of The Revolution here.
J
