Ideological Distractions: An Essay from Cuba
this is a translation from the Spanish of Shelyn Rojas's essay. She is an independent journalist, and lives in Cuba, where she wrote this essay. She could face jail for so doing.
IDEOLOGICAL DISTRACTIONS
by Shelyn Rojas
LA HABANA, Cuba - Noviembre (www.cubanet.org) - I was born in 1967. In school, I was a Pioneer [a mandatory student organization organized and run by the Communist Party].
I hasten to add that has been my only participation in this government. Aside from liking the Russians, all other habits were catalogued as ideological distractions.
In school, the language I had to study to advance in grade was Russian. Part of the history we were taught had the Soviet Union for a protagonist. I have always enjoyed reading, but out of spite, I went to the movies rather than reading my assigned books.
One night in the Charles Chaplin movie theater I was watching the Russian movie The Great War for the Motherland. It was the third part of the movie, after more than three hours of watching, and I looked around -- our group of less than ten students was the only one left. We had to watch the movie to the end. We were going to be tested on it.
I remember when Russian slippers were in fashion, and the matriushkas. Food came in cans from that far-away land. TVs were also Russian, labeled "Kpbim." When the reception got bad, you could fix them by hitting them.
My grandmother, who was 77 years old, used to complain: "The subtitles on the few American movies they show are so small you can barely read them. But for these Russian movies, I don't need to put on my glasses. No one can stand to watch them."
Everything was Russian. We called our Soviet comrades "bolos." Faced with so much from bolo-land, most young Cubans grew up listening to rock and roll and dreaming of emigrating northward.
When communism fell, we stopped studying Russian. The new t.v.'s were called Pandas, and were discussed at length by neighbors at Committee for the Defense of the Revolution meetings. "Kpbim" TVs became obsolete. Not even hitting them could fix them.
As far as shoes, clothes, food, and movies -- nothing. We Cubans had to improvise to survive and become what we are today: bad negotiators triyng to do business with Latin America and China; the stepchildren of Chavez and godparents to Evo Morales.
The habit of not watching much t.v. remains with me. I prefer to listen to music and read. Lately, the only two times I've sat in front of a t.v. screen, I have seen the beginning of a Chinese movie.
My experience have been traumatic and unforgetabble. I pity this generation. I can see them now, studing Chinese, with Chinese fads, clothes, and canned food. It starts with cooking ware and t.v.'s.
If we don't find a quick solution, I am not sure what will become of this generation. I understand them, and feel for them
Shelyn2005@hotmail.com
IDEOLOGICAL DISTRACTIONS
by Shelyn Rojas
LA HABANA, Cuba - Noviembre (www.cubanet.org) - I was born in 1967. In school, I was a Pioneer [a mandatory student organization organized and run by the Communist Party].
I hasten to add that has been my only participation in this government. Aside from liking the Russians, all other habits were catalogued as ideological distractions.
In school, the language I had to study to advance in grade was Russian. Part of the history we were taught had the Soviet Union for a protagonist. I have always enjoyed reading, but out of spite, I went to the movies rather than reading my assigned books.
One night in the Charles Chaplin movie theater I was watching the Russian movie The Great War for the Motherland. It was the third part of the movie, after more than three hours of watching, and I looked around -- our group of less than ten students was the only one left. We had to watch the movie to the end. We were going to be tested on it.
I remember when Russian slippers were in fashion, and the matriushkas. Food came in cans from that far-away land. TVs were also Russian, labeled "Kpbim." When the reception got bad, you could fix them by hitting them.
My grandmother, who was 77 years old, used to complain: "The subtitles on the few American movies they show are so small you can barely read them. But for these Russian movies, I don't need to put on my glasses. No one can stand to watch them."
Everything was Russian. We called our Soviet comrades "bolos." Faced with so much from bolo-land, most young Cubans grew up listening to rock and roll and dreaming of emigrating northward.
When communism fell, we stopped studying Russian. The new t.v.'s were called Pandas, and were discussed at length by neighbors at Committee for the Defense of the Revolution meetings. "Kpbim" TVs became obsolete. Not even hitting them could fix them.
As far as shoes, clothes, food, and movies -- nothing. We Cubans had to improvise to survive and become what we are today: bad negotiators triyng to do business with Latin America and China; the stepchildren of Chavez and godparents to Evo Morales.
The habit of not watching much t.v. remains with me. I prefer to listen to music and read. Lately, the only two times I've sat in front of a t.v. screen, I have seen the beginning of a Chinese movie.
My experience have been traumatic and unforgetabble. I pity this generation. I can see them now, studing Chinese, with Chinese fads, clothes, and canned food. It starts with cooking ware and t.v.'s.
If we don't find a quick solution, I am not sure what will become of this generation. I understand them, and feel for them
Shelyn2005@hotmail.com
posted by Yimboro | 5:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home