IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 5

From the Editor

“T

he police authorities were
surprised by the attempted,
popular
rebellion
last
th
November 17 at La Cuevita, in Havana, in
the San Miguel de Padrón municipality… a
marginal neighborhood with a very high
number of blacks and mestizos.”

That´s the beginning of the first article
“Playing with Fire” in this edition, wherein
José Hugo Fernandez presents an
increaingly common event in Cuba: the popular reaction to the blatant violation of their
rights and their attempts to find alternatives
in the context of pressing needs. It was a
massive confrontation against the virulent,
aggressive and desperate policing of a marginalized area in Havana where the independent market has been acquiring strength
under constant harassment by state security.
The courage of the residents of "La Cuevita"
against armed law enforcement agents led
them to yell in theire face from "abusers and
terrorists" to "Down with dictatorship and
down with the government!" Although this
kind of market is increasingly affected, it

survives "with a challenging attitude,
demonstrating the innate and indomitable
spirit of enterprise." From these facts the
author infers the likelihood of rebellions that
may burst the valves of a popular uprising in
Cuba as it has happened in other parts of the
world. In a contrasting way, Yusimí
Rodríguez brings the piece “The Need for
the Private Sector to Commit to Contemporary Society” about an encouraging entrepreneurship in the heart of the city at the
sight of many tourists, as the result of the
persistent efforts by the founder, known as
"Papito". His barbershop Arte Corte offers
excellent services and is also a school for
learning and training, especially of young
people motivated, as well as a sort of museum that gives new life and social function to
multiple elements in the revival of the art of
hair treatment. The fact itself is as stimulating as illustrative of the racialized
selective attitude of the political police. It
speaks about the historical performance of
the government, which does not manage to
conceive that a marginalized population may
have certain achievements in the midst of
poverty and despair. The Cuban reality, especially for those of African descent, is presented in another cluster of works from very
different angles. Fidel Guillermo Duarte
focuses on the crisis of the educational system and abounds in its shortcomings during
the last for decades, which did not occur
simply by chan ce. He pays attention to the
racial problem that the government has historically kept in silence since the demagogic
speeches of the early days of the Revolution.
Virginia Paz also addresses this issue with
the racist image reflected in the Cuban television. Another aspect —as evident as harm-

5