Identidades in English No 4, December 2014 | Page 67

an apparent opening. It’s obvious there is no political will to develop culture; instead, they want
to repress it. If the idea existed in Cuba that culture is vital for Cuba’s development, there would
not be all this history of repression. And there are
terrible examples of repression. In fact, what has
taken place is the devastation of politics and culture.”
For those who are faithful to the Rotilla Festival,
“Verano en Jibacoa” destroys the bedrock that the
original festival created. It presents officially accepted artists who never lack venues, includes
dance music (even Reggaeton), and forces incompatible attendees to share one space. There are
young women who complain that they feel threatened by sexual predators and anti-drug agents,
who hasten their departure. Rotilla’s banner of rebelliousness and freedom is stomped on by the
multitude who refuse to think or question.
On January 25th, 2013, Diario de Cuba published
that the creators of the Rotilla Festival presented
it in the Vedado Social Club in Miami, and that
they assure us that “sooner or later” they will go
back to Cuba and hold it there.” Last August,
there was another iteration of “Verano en Jibacoa” and the Rotilla blog has not been updated in
over a year.
Perhaps the image is complete now. What we see
is this: artists who go into exile, semi-empty
spaces, mediocre shows, and made-to-order
events governed without passion or authenticity.
There are also art exhibits that lack conceptual or
academic maturity - whose openings are attended
only by the artist’s relatives or friends - and books
that fade in bookstore windows.

Behind all this, paranoia, betrayal, broken friendships, etc. Bored young people whose gestures
are indifferent and almost cynical; a generation
of people who do not even believe in culture,
much less that it is a way “to be free.”
* Editor’s note: A process known as "parametración" from 1971-1976 "imposed strict
guidelines on cultural workers and educators and
subjected their sexual preferences, religious beliefs, connections with people abroad and other
aspects of their personal life to intrusive scrutiny.
In practice this policy, which was confirmed after
the 1971 National Congress on Education and
Culture, meant that homosexual artists were ostracized, cultural influences from capitalist countries were considered ideologically unsound and
therefore banned, and official links with the art of
Cuban emigrés were broken off." From :
https://polemicaenglish.wordpress.com/news-article-the-debate-continues-by-dalia-acosta-4-sep2008-havana/.
Notes:
1-Rafael Rojas: “Memorias
de Paideia”,
http://cubistamagazine.com/050113.html
2-Reina María Rodríguez: “La desbandada”,
http://cubistamagazine.com/050112.html
3-Coined by Ángel Escobar, a Cuban poet who
lived in Alamar.
4-“Todos los cubanos somos un albatros”,
http://www.havanatimes.org/sp/?p=57578
5-“El próximo año habrá Rotilla Festival”,
http://www.havanatimes.org/sp/?p=48264
6-Ibid.

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