IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 5 ENGLISH | Page 7

other realities that had been denied to us
during more than 50 years.” This descent into chaos reveals that “Cuban
society, as progressive as it is per se in
its main currents, is ahead of and selfgenerates despite the State.”

the online version of this issue. They
filmed it in El Moro, a traditional Mantilla neighborhood. In addition to presenting shocking images, they also deal
with how a representative generational
and socio-racial, population sample of
its inhabitants perceive their physical,
social, and even spiritual environment.
Through brief testimonies, they make
the shortage of housing, one of the
country’s main problems, very clear. It
also affects the Afro-descendant community more, as does employment insecurity, both of which create a racially
marginalized structure not only in El
Moro and so many other poverty belts
that surround all of Cuba’s cities, like
condemnatory ghosts, but also in the
heart of the very same cities. They are
plagued by extremely precarious health
and living conditions and the least government attention.

Given these circumstances, “Inequalities
from other Havana Postcards,” by Juan
Antonio Madrazo; “El Moro: The Price
of Disdain,” by Surelys Vega and Eric
Toledo;” “Capicu: A White Doublet that
Wins Either Way,” by Marthadela Tamayo; “Afro-Descendants in the Current
Cuban Economy,” by Fidel Guillermo
Duarte; and “Rescuing an Endangered
Society,” by Eleanor Calvo, get into that
raw and real Cuba that the government
tries to ignore and its spokespeople help
to hide.
Madrazo reveals a Havana marked by
extreme inequality and abounds on the
dichotomy between “Havana Azul,” a
city of barriers and exclusions,” and
“Havana Sur,” the part of the city submerged where people must face life
with sometimes gripping courage. Marthadela Tamayo establishes an interesting analogy between the game of dominoes and the socio-racial composition of
Cuba’s power structures. She takes us to
the eastern municipality of Antilla,
where “the white tiles totally dominate
the game table from one side to the other and assure their victory.”

This same section of the journal contains an article by Guillermo Duarte,
who takes on a historical analysis of the
situation of Afro-descendants, the limitations imposed on them, and the history
of repression. His intention is to demonstrate how these obstacles, which were
reproduced cyclically, are a hindrance
for moving forward the most recent and
touted economic reforms with equal opportunity. For her part, Eleanor Calvo
reviews different areas of social, economic, political, and cultural life in Cuba under the government’s imposed
conditions. She also explores the tre-

Vega and Toledo offer visual testimony,
through a video, which is available at
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