Down To Be Artsy Travel Series Volume 1 Shirley Reynozo
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Down To Be Artsy Travel Series Volume 1
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Photographer’s Note:
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INDEX: PART 1 ICELAND + IG Post MEXICO + ESSAY on Chiapas CUBA + ESSAY on racial politics PUERTO RICO + piece by andrea mayaguez el yunque san juan SPAIN + ESSAY on Human Rights (essay for Dubin’s class) segovia el escorial (film) madrid barcelona cordoba toledo FRANCE + Identity Politics (Origins of Gallatin Concentration) Paris GERMANY (Berlin) PART 2: Black Girl Magic Paris : Carmelys Berlin : Dani Brito
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Reykjavik, Iceland November 2016
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Chiapas, México June 2017
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Mexico Essay
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Essay ends
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Puerto Rico July 2017
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Mayagüez
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El Yunque
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San Juan
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Havana, cuba August, 2017
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As my friends and I sought refuge from the blistering heat in Old Havana, we were in awe of the colorful colonial buildings. We turned the corner and came across an inquisitive, elderly man sitting on the sidewalk. We approached the elderly man, Gonzalo, and sat before him on the pavement. Eager to converse with a group of Americans with differing Latino backgrounds (Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Colombian and Costa Rican), the man began to relay his perspectives concerning Cuba and the world. He first made his genuine remark about the recent Obama-era and the newly formed engagement with Cuba that lifted the restriction for Americans to travel to Cuba since 1960 when Fidel Castro came to power. However, in 2011, Americans were allowed to visit Cuba through the newly amended rules that enabled travel for those that had a keen interest in becoming familiar with Cuban culture through “people-to people.� As journalists and artists of the likes traveled throughout Cuba and reported on the rich culture, more people sought to travel to Cuba, and thus in 2015 and 2016 the rules were amended again so that Americans could travel to Cuba on their own. The result of the amendment allowed for direct flights between American and Cuban cities. Gonzalo coupled his amazement of the Obama-era and the Cuban-American engagement by juxtaposing it to the new Trump presidency. He aimed to share his beliefs as a means to challenge our thinking, as if ,unintentionally, assuming the role of spokesman for the Cuban people. In his aim to critique American ideologies Gonzalo expressed, “The only enemy that humanity has is money. Cuba had the name Cuba, but with North American owners with business interests. Cuba was divided by race, blacks in one part and the whites and rich in another. Cuba was divided by capitalist interests.
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Cuba is not an enemy, she only wants peace. This is the only country I know of that has been able to survive this long with the import block. Blacks and whites can walk alongside each other because it does not matter. Look, my mom was a blonde and my dad was mixed race, that means I am mixed. We Cubans are as such. Fidel had taken this nation to great heights. Granted our government has its issues, but we get free housing, education, and if you need to be chopped up there are doctors that do it for free. I just had a surgery and it didn't even cost me a cent. What's more is the sense of security in Cuba. You are not permitted to have guns or knives. If they so much as find you with a knife you are sentenced to 7 years in jail. Children are not kidnapped here. I know that there are countries that kidnap children for their organs. You can be out at any time of night and nothing will happen to you. Why do you think Cuba, a country that upholds peace and will not fight back, has not been invaded by the North Americans? Just think about it� (translated from the original Spanish transcription).
The image to the left shows Gonzalo sitting on the sidewalk in Old, Havana with a pouch from his recent surgery.
After Gonzalo explained that he had just gotten surgery, I understood why there was a pouch coming from under his shirt. We did not ask for the specificities of his surgery, as we felt that if he wanted to share what the surgery was for he would have done so. He had been open and honest the entire time and felt that the specificities of the surgery were secondary to our conversation. I was already enamored by the art, culture and people of Cuba, but his ability to articulate himself without fear of what we would say lead me to be even more receptive of the Cubans. Gonzalo had explained that the Cubans had free healthcare and access to education. In fact, another local had explained to us that the government pays you to go to
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school and that you return the favor by joining the military. The fact that all Cubans have access to education made it easy to hold conversations concerning global issues. Everyone had an educated perspective. In fact, as my friends and I looked up at the University of Havana, two locals, a man and a woman, approached us. “It’s beautiful right? Where are you from?” The man asked with a Cuban-English accent. “New York,” I relayed. “Ah, so you can see how the architecture of our university looks like Columbia University?” “Yes, very similar!” I remarked.
University of Havana
The two locals invited us for coffee and explained to us the country’s history and current social-political climate, all the while paying homage to Castro. While they aimed to be unbiased, they still made sure to express their gratitude to the Cuban government, a very differing perspective amongst American-Cubans or Americans familiar with the Fidel era. As the conversation progressed, Gonzalo asked, "Do you believe in God?” We stared at him dumbfoundedly, none of us wanting to express our religious views. “I don’t know,” one of my friends responded. “Don't be ashamed, you can say the truth... don't say 'I don't know," that doesn't exist in Cuba. Saying I don't know shows that you are a coward, you know what you believe in. I rather hold my position and be corrected after if I’m wrong.”
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“I hold my own personal beliefs concerning God and religion, but I can at least say that I believe that there is something beyond us, I just don’t know what to attribute it to,” my friend explained.
“God has made mistakes.” Gonzalo started. “Why is it then that God permits the Klu Klux Klan in the United States? Us Cubans understand that if God can make a mistake on that level, where peace can't exist due to racial tensions evoked by white people, then the mistakes committed by Fidel are just errors. Don't believe what I'm saying, just think about it." (translated from the original Spanish transcription).
And I did think about it. It seems that the Cubans love Fidel Castro. The north has stigmatized this revolutionary figure, when Europe has instilled some of the similar practices like Universal Health Care. What’s more, nations such as Guatemala were against Cuba because they believed their revolutionary efforts are what caused the indigenous groups to rebel, when really the North American Trade Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and political ownership of native land is the reason that the indigenous population decided to revolt. Guatemalan revolutionaries, for example, were seen as communist sympathizers. Due to the fear of communism rising in Guatemala, the government took action to silence the Mayas. The government also received support from the United States as this was also occurring during the during the Cold War era. Therefore, with the support of the United States, the Guatemalan government silenced communist sympathizers, or people who were suspected of being communists, by executing them. I also reflected in the ways that Cuba competes with America. Cuba does better on literally every healthcare outcomes such as infant mortality and cancer survival. The reason Cuba has better outcomes than America because their care system is valid and is not fragmented like that of the United States. Cuba does not spend a trillion dollars in the medical system like the United States. In fact, an equivalent of $500 per person is spent on care compared
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to the $8,500 spent per person in America. It is not an issue of money, is is an issue of efficiency and priority. However, I asked myself, at what cost? At what cost does their love for Fidel come from? At what cost do they get their free education and free medical treatment? Isn’t a lot of what politics is centered around is health, education and freedom? Then, why is it that most Cubans live in what appears to be shanty towns? Why do trained doctor’s leave Cuba to nations that pay them more? Why do taxi drivers and tour guides make more money than a professionals? Why do the locals have ragged clothing? Why is their food rationed? Several times we went into a supermarket and we were astonished by the empty shelves and the lack of options. What’s more, my friends and I had stayed in an Airbnb while in Havana. We told our host the toilet seat was empty, to which she explained that in order for her to get a new toilet seat she had to go to Miami because they were not manufactured in Cuba.
On a separate occasion we were speaking to our taxi driver Abdiel. He explained his interest in visiting Russia. He admitted that he wasn’t fond of being a taxi driver, but that it is necessary because people need to eat. As he gave us a tour around Old Havana, he too spoke on Fidel Castro. He said that he had humbled his people, but to a fault.
Abdiel, Taxi Driver
Has Fidel humbled his people to be content with their conditions through the promotion of healthcare, education and freedom for all? Or, is poverty the cost that citizens have to endure when the government subsidizes these goods? Are these goods or are these rights? Is it worth it? Don’t believe what I’m saying, just think about it.
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SPAIN January - May 2018
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Segovia, Spain
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El Escorial
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Cordoba
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Barcelona
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Catalunya CONFLICT
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Madrid
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HUMAN RIGHTS ESSAYÂ