I am Puerto Rican, and a great piece of my heart is in Cuba. No, this is not a nod to hermana mayor: Lola Rodriguez de Tio( 1843-1924). Instead, this is a declaration that the pulses generated from Puerto Rico and Cuba are felt throughout every aspect of my existence.
Since this past weekend, Cubans on the island have taken to the streets to protest their conditions. As a result, hashtag campaigns have been created and attached to videos and stills that tell pieces of a story older than today, yesterday, and the day before. For over 25 years I have been traveling to Cuba, spending months out of the year, every year, living on the island. I share this not to boast expertise of the conditions of the Cuban people but rather to articulate the fact that I AM NOT AN EXPERT. I am simply one who has been exposed to a small glimpse of the reality that Cubans live – and have lived – for decades. The experts of what Cubans live in Cuba are the Cubans who live it. With this said, we must remember that there will always be opposing perspectives to how realities are perceived.
I have seen – first hand – the scarcity of food, medicine, and supplies that are the norm on the island. However, notice I did not say poverty. I purposely don’t use that term because wealth is subjective. For practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions, wealth is defined in terms of health and children. References are not made to whether there is wifi, iPhones, or McDonald’s. There is a wealth in the Cuban people that is understood by those who have spent time with them. Now, it can be argued – rightfully so – that if wealth is defined as having health and children, then the increasing statistics surrounding death written by the hand of Covid, inadequate hospitals, lack of medicine, lack of food, and lack of housing make it clear that wealth is absent, or at very least a rarity in Cuba. But again, the experts are those who live it. Those who have been exposed may comment, but we are not experts.
The history of Cuba and its revolutions (notice this is plural) is rich and can easily fill lifetimes with study. So many who claim to be revolutionaries in today’s society have only gone as far as ordering a copy of Che’s autobiography, Fidel’s speeches, Mandela’s Memoirs, Mao’s philosophies, and Marx’s perspectives; they haven’t actually read them completely. Of course, such is my opinion based on decades of conversing with people celebrating pages in the histories they read that were taking out of context. For years prior to Covid, I offered Spiritual Tours to Cuba where I provided an experience for participants to sit and speak with Cubans on the island of all social standings. From the elders who fought alongside Fidel, Camilo, and Che, to the students who questioned the system and strategized to ensure they could log on to Instagram daily and everyone in-between. Many allowed their minds to be opened. Some nodded and smiled, waiting for the next photo op. My goal was not to get the participants to think the way I do. My goal was to ensure they were exposed to information that could impact their thought process.
Cuba is not the celestial kingdom. Nor is it hell. Cuba is both a paradise as well as a prison. Cuba is a species all its own. There are similarities to other lands and other cultures, but the situation of “Cubita La Bella” is unique to itself.
Bringing it back to what we are witnessing on social media, let us remember that theoretically standing with others, liking a post, and sharing a hashtag have a place in today’s society. However, studying the history of a people and their land to gain a true understanding of context is timeless.
The Cuban people have a right to be free. Everyone has that right. Such is a point I can emphasize without being responsible for robbing anyone of their freedom. Along with this point, let me remind you all that freedom can be a subjective concept. To truly be free is to understand that how you define it may not be how another does.
There are those in Cuba who are not only tired but who have been exhausted for lifetimes. There are also those who celebrate their struggle because it is void of circumstances that exist in other countries.
Yes, there is hunger on the island. Yes, there is malnutrition. Yes, there is an absence of supplies that would define “a shortage of” as a blessing. Yes there are oppressive policies. But Cuba, life on it, and the Cubans living it are more than this. So very much more. To convince yourself you understand because you saw a video, and so reached for your phone with the belief that it is the final step, is to make a valiant attempt to cover the sky with your hands.
We can call for change with emotion. But we can only construct a home for change with education.
Let us fight for better conditions of our brothers and sisters everywhere in the world by arming ourselves with an understanding of what has transpired in the world before we decided to pay attention.
Que Viva Cuba!
©Dr William “King Mission” Ross 2021