Things cubano y mas

Polymitas cubanas

I know of a secluded place in the Southwest where spring waters vary from muddy red to an incredible aquamarine. Spirits are said to populate the waterfalls at night, dinosaur petroglyphs adorn smaller canyon walls and the natives might share their mota with you, if you're lucky. The protected pristine environment suffered from tourists, including me.

Malecón, Cuba - © Marika Garcia

I've used that setting in stories, but tried not to share its location, because my knowledge of the area is detrimental to the continuation of its ecosystem. It's part of my species' environmental butt-print--especially of the subspecies Americana--that it leaves all over the planet.

Havana at night - © Marika Garcia

In a posted, bucket list, I included a visit to Cuba, before my government removes restrictions on traveling there. A visit after that would be more like standing in the lines of DizzyWorld than some significant experience. It wouldn't be to go for the sham nostalgic thrill of classic American Cars in Cuba.

Havana After the Rain -
© Marika Garcia

Cuba has entered La Bloga writings for many reasons and many times. In my own, the Chicano fantasy novel The Closet of Discarded Dreams includes fictionalized characters of Che Guevara and Marilyn Monroe homesteading a 9/11 monument, engaged in a flirtatious relationship. However the two appeared in the book as it was being written, I hope their roles added delight to the plot.

In my WiP entitled Bruised Hearts, Mended Dreams, a tiny, fantastical, jungle sprite named Polymito (inspired by the PBS documentary, below) works alongside young Cuban sculptor Fortunato. The beautiful snail with wings shoots a love dart into an azteca Tzitzimime, star being named Lechita.

Cubana Josefina - © Marika Garcia

Besides for researching material for my fiction, Cuba is on my bucket list because of another aspect to its pristine nature--its cultural exclusion from decades of Americana. (For a peak at some of its vibrant cultural expressions, see Lydia Gils' post this week on the Drapetomania exhibit of el Grupo Antillano--where, as she says, she herself would like to be.)

en el Club Galiano -
© Marika Garcia

So. while everyone in the world has "enjoyed" copying American culture, the Cuban economy, people and environment have been boycotted from doing so by our government. A blessing and a curse.

This April is an historic month on the Isla. It marks the thirty-third anniversary of the Mariel Boat Lift when 125,000 cubanos fled their homeland and, among other things, added to the anti-Cuba political bias of Florida and the U.S. electorate. It also commemorates the fifty-second anniversary of the failed Bay of Pigs, CIA-backed coup that greatly derailed U.S.-Cuban relations.

Cuba had gained only formal independence from the U.S. in 1902, as the Republic of Cuba. Under that new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and supervise its finances and foreign relations. Like we've done to too many Third World countries.

Rather than embracing Cuba's liberation from the Mafia, corporate banana-republic interests and the dictator Batista regime's corruption and exploitation, the U.S. gov't boycotted our island neighbor for decades. This contributed to the Cuban people's present poverty and estranged us from them. Again, the blessing-curse.

Of coursse, we latinos are no homogenous bunch, the reason that conservative Cuban-Americans who vote Republican have little understanding of why so many Chicanos historically lean toward progressive ideas, such as in the Chicano Movimiento days when Che was one of our heroes.

Che continues as Cuba's second great national hero, after José Martí, and schoolchildren there begin each day with, "We will be like Che!" Imagine: a revolutionary for a daily role model. Throughout Latin America, schools, monuments and museums bear his name. Guevara has even been sanctified by Bolivian campesinos as a saint. But he also remains hated by certain Cuban-American exiles. Which brings us to the present.

I realize the posts below will contribute in a small way toward more of my subspecies wanting to invade this Accidental Eden. That's no one's fault; it's the nature of our kind, possibly the same reason that Global Heating is our way of self-immolating--to rebalance the planet. I'm as guilty of precipitating that as anyone.

Cuba: The Accidental Eden

polymita - do not purchase

This is the title of a PBS documentary recently re-aired, with much to teach us about Cuba's international leadership in (forced) sustainability and ecosystem protection. You can go here to watch the episode. Yes, it will make you want to go to Cuba, if nothing else, to see the endangered Polymita before they become extinct.

Polymita - do not touch

The Polymita is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Helminthoglyptidae, endemic to Cuba and nowhere else. It is also Nature's Cupid. Polymita creates and uses love darts as part of its mating. The dart can strongly favor the reproductive outcome for the snail that is able to lodge a dart in its partner. Sex and love, Cuban-snail-style, naturally.

Inviting La Bloga readers to Cuba, 7/13

Babylonia, Cuba - © Marika Garcia

Arizona author Tom Miller, a regular reader of La Bloga, has put together a U.S. gov't-approved five-day trip to Cuba. Initially organized for the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, it has been expanded to include others who write and promote journalism and literature.

El Paseo, Havana - © Marika Garcia

That’s where La Bloga readers come in. Tom and AAN put together an informational flyer here.

This is an opportunity to mix with Cuban writers and, not incidentally, make landfall on the island while los hermanos Castro are still in charge. After reading the flyer, direct your questions to Tom at tlmolinero AT msn.com or 520-325-3344.

Tom Miller has written about Latin America and the Southwest for over thirty years. His adventure books include The Panama Hat Trail about South America, On the Border, an account of travels along the U.S.-Mexico frontier, Trading With the Enemy about Cuba travels, and about the Southwest, Revenge of the Saguaro. He's edited compilations, How I Learned English, Travelers’ Tales Cuba, and Writing on the Edge: A Borderlands Reader. He has led educational tours through Cuba for the National Geographic Society and others, is a member of the Thornton Wilder Society and Cervantes Society of America and a major contributor to the Encyclopedia Latina.

La Noche Cubana - San Antonio

benefit for Bihl Haus Arts

Thurs., April 11, 6-9pm

The Cubans are coming! The Cubans are coming . . . to Bihl Haus Arts! So, get ready to 'go Cuban' with us at ICONS, a powerful exhibit of paintings and multiples by Cuban artist Adrian Rumbaut.

Preview Adrian's one-person show at La Noche Cubana, on Thursday, April 11, 6-9 pm.  This celebration of all things Cuban—art, music, dance, food, drink, culture—features musical guests Trio Tresero from Austin, world-famous mojitos and Cuban-inspired delicacies, a silent auction of Cuban-themed items, and more! Dress is Caribbean casual, 50s Havana, or come as Marilyn Monroe and/or Ché Guevara (why? see artwork below).

ICONS opens with a free public reception on Saturday, April 13, 5:30-8:30pm. Music by George Prado and David Gonzalez, with a special 7pm performance by Jose de Leon who will sing 5 boleros written by Cuban composers. Pool-side salsa dancing from 7:30–8:30 pm. The evening includes Sangria and Cuban botanas. The exhibit continues through May 25.

About the Exhibit: The artworks in ICONS form two bodies of work. The first, Contraparte/Counterpart, explores “visual duality” through the super-imposition of the symbolic images and iconic paired portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Ché Guevara, two of the most recognized and commercialized faces of the 20th century. In this work, Adrian fuses the pictorial with the graphic by combining painting and fabric design. In each pair of paintings, the reverse image of the alternate is embedded on the canvas.

In the second, Diagramas Pictóricos/Pictorial Diagrams, the artist questions the rules of pictorial traditions such as composition and equilibrium. In them, iconic portraits of Marilyn, Ché, Marx, Mickey Mouse, etc., have been cut up and recombined to create new faces, multiplied images that mimic reality itself.

Adrian Rumbaut will visit San Antonio during April and May. Adrian’s work was recently featured in the 11th Havana Biennial and in Cuban Art Space (NYC). His work is found among collections in Cuba, the U.S., Germany, Canada, Spain, United Kingdom and Portugal, among other countries, and he is the recipient of several notable prizes and awards. In recognition of Adrian’s artistic achievements and value to Cuba, the government recently provided a home for his family in a new development on the outskirts of Cienfuegos. The development consists of small but durable apartments made completely out of white PVC.

"Tickets, available here

or by calling 210.383.9723, are $75 advance ($90 at door). (100% of the proceeds benefit Bihl Haus Arts, a non-profit community art gallery; a portion of the ticket price is tax deductible). More info here."

There. I've done my Bloga best and worst to promote more of my subspecies invasion of La Isla. On the positive side, perhaps it will improve relations between neighboring peoples, help end an insane blockade to peaceful understanding. If you go, leave the Polimitas alone, even the shells of ones that supposedly died naturally. Cuban children and the spirit of Che will thank you.

Segundo Sábado - San Antonio, Tex.

featuring Artists Benjamin and Anna Varela in

"Nopalitos, Tostones y Cafe"

Saturday, April 13, 2013

6:00pm – 9:00pm

                               Married couple Benjamin and Anna Varela join together in their exhibit "Nopalitos, Tostones, Y Cafe" in Gallista's Main Gallery. Opening reception will feature poetry performances in celebration of National Poetry month, hosted by Grand Slam Champions Anthony the Poet and Amanda Flores. Special guest folk musicians "La Chichada" and DJ Roach will add to the celebration. Artist's studios will be open, and Yolanda's cafe will be open.

Benjamin is currently an Adjunct Professor at South Texas College in McAllen, Texas. He received his M.F.A. From the University of Texas Pan American. Anna is currently an Art Teacher at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo-North High School. She received her M.F.A from UT Pan American.

Keystone XL Pipeline Update

Despite its incredible ramifications on North America's environment and economy, the U.S. State Dept. has schedule only one public comment hearing on this pipeline.

y más polymitas

It will be held April 18th in Grand Island, Nebraska (2.5 hours west of Omaha.) Nebraskan community leaders whose farms and ranches are threatened by Keystone are asking for help mobilizing supporters to come to this important hearing and stand with them. Please come join a BBQ (April 17th), rally (April 18) and more to make your voice heard at the hearing.

Go here for details. P.S.: Fracking is bad for Polymitas and other livings things.

Es todo, hoy,

RudyG

Che

Manuel Ramos

On June 28, 1997, a group of Cuban and Argentinian forensic experts discovered a communal grave at Vallegrande, Bolivia, that contained the remains of Ernesto Che Guevara and six other bodies. The charismatic revolutionary was murdered in the jungles of Bolivia in 1967 at the age of 39, yet he already was a revered symbol for the rebellious youth that came of age in the 1960s and 1970s. I remember a time when almost every UMAS or MEChA office in Colorado had the famous Che poster hanging on the wall. I'm sure that was one of the most popular posters throughout Aztlán.

Here are reviews of two books about Che that have been around for a while. They present down-to-earth perspectives about the man and his times from his closest friends and comrades, and from Che himself.


THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Ernesto Che Guevara
Verso, 1996; Ocean Press, 2003

In January, 1952, Che Guevara was a 24 year old medical student–-out of work, eager to find adventure and on the threshold of making decisions that would, eventually, alter not only his own life but also a good chunk of the history of the world. Almost on a whim, the young Argentinian decided to accompany a friend, another medical student named Alberto Granado, on a trek through South America on an ancient Norton motorcycle that they had nicknamed La Poderosa. Over the course of the next six months, as the two young men traveled from Argentina to Venezuela, Che Guevara kept travel diaries that chronicled his amazing journey. Those journals have been published as The Motorcycle Diaries.

During the course of their travels, Big Che and Little Che, as the two were known during the trip, encountered one colorful character after another. The travelers were often destitute and hungry, and forced to use their considerable charm or wit to obtain a place to rest or an evening meal. They fought, fell in love a number of times and, just as often, fell off the motorcycle. They were drenched in rain storms, cooked under the brilliant sun and suffered from bouts of strange illnesses. They met and interacted with native Indians, copper miners, lepers, police, tourists, and scam artists. Unexpectedly, the book is laced with a fine, sarcastic humor and a bookish student’s eye for detail.

For example, Che describes the Peruvian city of Cuzco in these rather poetic terms:

The only word to sum up Cuzco adequately is evocative. An impalpable dust of other ages covers it streets, rising in clouds like a muddy lake when you disturb the bottom. But there are two or three different Cuzcos, or rather, two or three ways in which the city can be evoked. [There]... is the Cuzco whose plaintive voice is heard in the fortress destroyed by the stupidity of illiterate Spanish conquistadores, in the violated, ruined temples, in the looted palaces, in the brutalized Indians. This Cuzco invites you to turn warrior, and, club in hand, defend freedom and the life of the Inca....And yet there is another Cuzco, a vibrant city which bears witness to the formidable courage of the soldiers who conquered this region in the name of Spain, expressed in their monuments, the museums and libraries, in the decoration of its churches and the distinctive features of the white leaders who still take pride in the Conquest. This Cuzco invites you to don armour .... Each of these Cuzcos can be admired on its own ....

Che’s motorcycle odyssey occurred seven years before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. Obviously, the trip was an important, life-changing experience for the man whose smiling visage became an icon for the armed struggles of the oppressed peoples of the Third World. From Che’s own words we come to know him as charming, and a very human young man who already has fashioned a solidarity with the poor. But the book is not a political polemic, nor does it artificially elevate the man and contribute to the cult of personality that exists for many romantic, revolutionary figures. Che in The Motorcycle Diaries is on the brink of discovering his true self, and we are lucky to be an observer of that process.



CHE'S COMPAÑEROS: WITNESSES TO A LEGEND
Francis Giacobetti
Assouline, 1997

Che’s Compañeros is a collection of photographs and interviews of men and women who fought and worked with Che Guevara. Given the subject matter, this book is not your usual coffee table conversation piece. There is no doubt that this book is intended to perpetuate the heroic image of Che and the Cuban revolutionaries.

Francis Giacobetti is a photographer who spent half-hour photographic sessions with twenty-one of Che’s compañeros. The photos were taken in 1997 in the lobby of the National Hotel in Havana. The subjects were asked to bring to the sessions an old photograph of Che and these, too, are reproduced in the book. Mauricio Vicent, Havana journalist, preserved the remarks of the different men and women and these have been published with the photos. As Vicent says in his introduction, many of the subjects “disclosed previously unknown episodes in the life of Che and anecdotes about him, making this book an exceptional document.”

I agree that this is an exceptional book. Giacobetti’s full page, full color, lightly tinted portraits are dramatic and engrossing. There is something special, almost classic, in the eyes, the wrinkles around the eyes or the smiles of these people who made history with Che. These portraits are contrasted with the cracked or faded black-and-whites provided by the subjects themselves, which show Che in the middle of the revolution, trying to organize the socialist state. They are unique.

The interviews tend to reveal the sentimental memories that friends have of someone they loved but who has been taken from them. For example, there are several pages of details provide by Aleida March, Che’s second and last wife, who had never given an interview and who had not spoken in public about the details of her life with Che. She was with him in the mountains and marched victoriously with the revolutionaries into Havana. In the midst of her remembrances, the editors have placed a striking photograph of the young Aleida, rifle slung over her shoulder, grinning broadly after a successful battle as she walks alongside Che, who, by the way, is busy perusing a book. She divulges that Che left her a one-hour cassette with a recording of his voice on which he recited their favorite poems of Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Nicolas Guillen, and other poets.

Of course, there is a portrait of Fidel Castro, but he is the one subject who did not provide an interview for the book. There are quotes from Castro and his memories culled from other interviews are included. We learn that Che and Fidel met in 1955 in Mexico and that their first conversation lasted eight hours. We also learn the genesis of the nickname “Che” and the admission by Castro that frequently he dreams that he is talking with Che.

Che’s Compañeros is infused with words and pictures of courage, sacrifice and idealism. Giacobetti eloquently predicted the long lasting importance of this book with this observation: “As they talked about him for hours on end and studied his image in the pictures they produced from their pockets, he returned from the dust and became living flesh, sitting at the end of my bed, drinking rum and chomping on his cigar ... . Like them, I felt his presence, handsome as a god, with his large floppy beret. His eyes began to shine. We laughed, we hugged each other, and [we] began to cry. ... Thanks to them, I rubbed shoulders with him.”


Later.