Afrolatinos: The untaught story

What is it that draws people to travel to this place?  What makes this land so special?

There is something about Cuba. The island has something mystical about it. Cuba’s history is well known in Latin America and in some parts of the world is highly revered. Some have said that there is something indescribable about Cuba—something that is in the air.  It’s a place that everyone must visit once.

Executive Director, Renzo Devia, had the opportunity of visiting Cuba and found it to be magical.  “It seems like it is trapped in time,” says Renzo, “from its 1950’s cars and buildings to the stories you hear in the streets.” The country has held onto an era. He compares the history of Cuba to be much like most historians base time, history to B.C. (before Christ) and A.C. (after Christ), everything in Cuba is based on the “Cuban Revolution,” as if nothing existed before the revolution.  The Cuban Revolution is the reference point for all conversations.  We are left to wonder what exactly is the history before 1959.  When did the first slaves arrive to Cuba?  What is the African presence in Cuba?

The team learned that the first slave to arrive to the island was in 1512, an estimated 60,000 who were brought to work in the sugar plantations. During the years of 1801-1865 an estimated 600,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Cuba.  In 1841, Africans made up over 45 percent of the total Cuban population. Cuba was one of the last countries to abolish slavery in 1886.  This is an important piece of history that should not be missing in the textbooks.

The Cuban culture has inspired many other countries. Cuba IS music, el Son Cubano is found everywhere in Latin America and Salsa would not exist if it wasn’t for guaguanco, guaracha, chachacha and many more genres that were created on the island.  But do people know that other genres such as Rumba derive from Afro-Cuban religions? What is interesting is that most Latin music originating from Cuba has some connection to religion.

Santeria is one of the most popular religions in Cuba. This “worship of the saints” gets its origins from the Yoruba tribe (present day Nigeria), which arrived to the island with the African Slave Trade, that then mixed with Catholicism. It is rumored that Fidel Castro has Saints and Orishas protecting him. How can a man survive so many attempts on his life for over 50 years? The African powers protect him. The public has never heard him speak about Santeria or his beliefs. 

Santeria has spread all over Latin America because of its strong miraculous powers. Why has this tradition been kept alive, so many years later?  The producers of Afrolatinos found that Santeria is very popular in Central and South America because people of African descent have held onto their connection with the ancestors. 

There is a sense of “being watched”, even as a tourist. You can’t record video in the streets with out special permits. It’s because “the government” wants to know what you are shooting—everything is monitored. The crew wanted to interview people about racism in Cuba but they were advised against it. The “country” doesn’t want to talk about race, racism and discrimination. Racism exists but it is a silent problem. Afro-Cubans have been promised equality since “the revolution” and this is still not a reality. Opportunities in Havana are not the same for darker skinned Cubans.  A friend of the crew made a comparison of life for Afro-Cubans to running a race in the Olympics, saying, “After the revolution—blacks started the race line at about 500 meters behind the white Cubans and we haven’t caught up, but we’re still running hard”.

When you visit Cuba you have two choices for lodging, hotels or “Casas particulares” locals homes. Hotels can run from $80 U.S and up per night and rooms at local homes can cost $35 a night. These homes offering rooms must have licenses and there is a limit of only two rooms / two people per home. There are two different types of money in Cuba, “el convertible” and “el peso cubano”. El convertible is a conversion of Euros or U.S dollars that is used ONLY by tourists for hotels, cabs and to purchase items in touristy areas. El Peso Cubano is the local Cuban currency.

The average monthly income is $12 U.S. Yes, only 12 bucks, so you can imagine the everyday hustle for Cubans to make money.  Locals live pretty basic; there is a lack of toilet paper and other basic necessities such as soap and toothpaste. The government provides a “basket” of supplies, but even the basket has gotten smaller and isn’t enough to feed the average family.  The bread, eggs and milk only last a few days. It seems as if the government believes that things haven’t changed since the 1960’s.  The government fails to recognize how these political and socio-economic issues affect the Afro-Cuban community much more; as they are the ones getting the worst end of the deal.

According to U.S. standards the locals are very poor, but this is the way of life in Cuba. The United States is nothing like Honduras, it isn’t Ecuador and it is definitely not Cuba. The constant reminder of Afrolatinos living conditions gets frustrating for the producers of this documentary, but they continue to be reminded every day that this is Latin America, not the U.S.A. where there are human rights laws, a constitution that is adhered to, punishable laws against discrimination and racism.  The extreme poverty can be saddening when the team feels that their hands are often tied.  They want to do more to help these communities. 

Poverty can only be measured by comparison, but so can happiness, “I’d rather be in a little hut, full of mosquitoes, playing a drum, eating fresh foods, along with humble locals than driving a BMW to my office, in midtown Mahattan in order to project this image of a famous television producer. Latin America is beautiful and it is home,” says Renzo Devia.

All in all, there is still happiness in the spirit of the Afro-Cuban, they use their music to celebrate their Africanness.  There is a black movement that has been happening for many years now that challenges the government. Cuban hip-hop. This urban culture realizes itself in rap. Rap is poetry in Cuba. It is a chance for young people to find their voice and unite. Here is where they are able to be free, free with their thoughts, free to speak their minds on any subject that matters to them.

These rappers do not take it as seriously as in the U.S.; where hip-hop is such big business.  They are not doing it for the money or to make it a career. It is an art form for them and is used to reach out to the community. There are no cd’s being sold, no clubs promoting well-known acts, just live performances in very few places.  The crew was impressed to find female rappers doing their thing—really exploring with topics such as homosexuality, woman’s independence, human rights and empowerment. 

When the team returns to Cuba they will learn more about the works of José Martí. They will investigate what the participation was of black Cubans during Cuba's Independence.  A journey they hope will tell them more about the slave rebellions, specifically the effects of the slave rebellion in Haiti that led to their revolution and independence and its impact on Cuba.

Something an Afro-Cubana writer told the crew was that, “Afro-Cuban culture is promoted outside of Cuba, but it is not promoted here, it's just every day life”.  There isn’t a movement to be proud of being black—it’s just who they are.  There is no celebration of being black.  There is NO call to action—for people to stand up and demand that they be respected and not judged based on the color of their skin. 

Are Afro-Cubans fighting for their place in the history books? How are the contributions of Afro-descendants in Cuba being recognized?  If the population of Afro-Cubans is so large; why are they still silent? This is a pattern the producers have seen all over Latin America, this pattern of staying quiet, staying under the radar and not speaking up for injustices.  In the documentary we are trying to change that. Latin America needs to appreciate and respect Afrolatinos culture much more than it does.