MODERN CUBAN CULTURE A CONUNDRUM, ACCORDING
TO TERESA BEVIN
Writers and Artists in Havana Thrive in Spite of Adversity
May 3, 2003 - Following a trip this April to Havana,
Cuba, educator and author Teresa Bevin is convinced of the
importance of maintaining an open dialogue between the people of
the Cuba and the United States. Bevin, who read from and
discussed her bilingual collection of short stories, "Dreams and
Other Ailments / Sueños y otros achaques," was impressed by the
receptivity and enthusiasm of her literary peers. "The arts are
flourishing in a unique manner right now," she stated in a
recent interview. "There is a sense of community between the
various disciplines in which the artists give creative support
to one another."
Bevin met with members of the National Union of Artists and
Writers and with representatives of the sector for higher
education. On this, her second visit since she emigrated
to the U.S., the Cuban-born writer saw many changes since her
visit a dozen years ago. The legacy of the Cuban belief in
universal education was evident everywhere -- from the facile
manner in which students grasped new science and technology to
innovative forms of artistic creations, to remarkable
comprehension of business theory -- all done with limited
resources and within strict government guidelines.
 Though the influx of tourism from countries
other than the U.S. has opened the eyes of Cuba’s citizens to
modern global society, Bevin sees the evolving culture in Cuba
as running parallel to, not the same as world trends, developing
from the bits and pieces of contact its society has with other
cultures. "Like everywhere else in the world, the artistic
community is stratified, with a small segment at the top of the
pyramid and larger, less–privileged groups towards the bottom.
Like other societies this stratification is not always based on
artistic merit. The difference in Cuba is that the more
successful and renowned artists and writers maintain contact
with the up-and-coming population, thereby creating a cross-pollination
of the old and the new, so that the old never really becomes
antiquated, but continues to evolve."
Much of the artists' and writers' works are sold abroad, in
Europe and South America, and can be easily found advertised on
the internet. As their popularity and productivity
increases, the artists receive an increase in their stipends
from the government -- and sometimes, the opportunity to
purchase a computer or car. But the majority of income
generated by these individuals still goes to the government.
According to Bevin, it seemed that if the artists devoted the
time they spent on their creativity to working in the tourist
industry which generates "dollars," they would be very wealthy
individuals. "What I saw in these people was fervor for
their country -- not in the abstract, ultra-nationalistic sense,
but fervor for everything they touched or that touched them.
This new breed of artist is the Phoenix of Cuba's culture, born
of history and spreading the wings of a new humanism which
nurtures and feeds an individuality that will not be suppressed."
Bevin noted that in spite of the growing entrepreneurial spirit
of the Cuban population, the changeover to a dollar-based
monetary system has left some people on the edge of poverty,
passively reinforcing an unofficial economic classism that the "Revolution"
purportedly was to erase. "It’s not good being old unless you
have someone to take care of you who has dollars," said one
woman.
Bevin recounts witnessing another woman and her grandson being
turned away from a museum because she could not pay the two U.S.
dollars each for entrance. A "good" monthly income in Cuba is
300 pesos, which is approximately equivalent to 12 U.S. dollars
for all practical purposes. Four dollars, then, would be the
equivalent of 100 pesos - a full third of a person’s monthly
income.
"I'm
concerned about the resurgence of antagonistic political
posturing between our governments," Bevin continued in her
interview. "The exchange of information, education, culture
between the two countries is not an easy proposition right now.
If the mutual finger-pointing continues, who knows what the
outcome will be? The people of Cuba and the U.S. have both
suffered enough cultural deprivation, and both peoples have so
much to offer."
Bevin is the author of the novel "Havana Split," the bilingual
collection of short stories "Dreams and Other Ailments/Sueños y
otros Achaques," and is a contributor to several college level
textbooks on multicultural mental health and therapy.
She has planned a series of lectures for Fall 2003 in which she
will discuss immigration, education and the literary experience.
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