IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 5 ENGLISH | Page 51

zens became hopeful that they’d see the
realization of the old Independent Party
of Color’s objections brought to fruition. This party was brutally repressed
in 1912. The government that emerged
in 1959 guaranteed a definitive end to
racial discrimination in high-sounding
declarations, and promoted the idea that
there was no longer any racism in Cuba.
However, there were no legal measures
adopted regarding this. Instead, the
problem was never discussed because
the problem was implicitly seen as resolved. The regime set other priorities,
like economic development, public
health, education, an internal struggle
against its enemies, and revolutionary
solidarity outside Cuba. All this marginalized any discussion about the subject of racism, as well as prostitution.
By the end of the 1970s, the government found itself going through difficulties, and decided to allow the return
(visit) to Cuba of those who had left due
to opposition to the regime. This limited
relaxation and liberalization made it
possible for a bit more open discussion
of racial discrimination. Yet, 125,000
Cuban left the island via the Port of
Mariel, in 1980. Among them were
many black and mulattoes, Santería
practitioners, and homosexuals, who all
went to the United States. That was the
prelude to the Special Period, which
came about in the following decade
(after 1989).

[Foundation for African American Studies]. Not even Santiago de Cuba’s Casa
de África was able to attract many people, despite being one of the principal
referents for this kind of research. Focusing on Afro-Cuban religion, books
published in the late eighties and early
nineties did not have the expected impact. The academic world did not prioritize the subject of blacks on its agenda.
Yet, things started to change in 1992.
The Communist Party ordered social
science institutions to focus on black
issues. The issue of race came out in the
open, as did many political accusations.
The Special Period deepened inequalities, just as the authorities announced it
would. Problems like prostitution and
racial discrimination became quite visible at this time; they had never gone
away. Then, the Color Cubano project
cropped up, a fairly publicized effort,
but it lacked a short or long-term program. Yes, there were initiatives—
poorly organized ones—to talk about
racial discrimination. But the regime
went through many difficult years, so
that concern and many others were relegated as lower priorities.
The Rafter Crisis of 1994 marked a climax in the system’s debacle. Even so,
the system survived. Protests and criticism about the race issue were raised
only at informal meetings and for cathartic purposes. The 90th anniversary
celebration of the founding of the Independent Party of Color (PIC), in 1908,
was an important landmark: announcements were made about the enormous
festivities that would be held in 2008.

That era did witness some truncated
efforts to revitalize interest in Cuban
blacks, e.g., the resurrection of the old
Sociedad de Estudios Afrocubanos [Society for Afro-Cuban Studies] as the
Fundación de Estudios Afroamericanos

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