yet profound : Uplift family and friends and support your neighbors . “ We cannot always depend on the government ,” said one longtime activist . “ We must also do for ourselves .”
In the case of one Afro-Cuban artist who patrols tourist areas with a pen and sketch pad , that means offering to sell visitors an unsolicited blackand-white portrait of themselves . The pictures are drawn in a flash , for cash .
“ How much will you pay for a drawing of your friend ?” one young man asked as we walked through a centuries-old courtyard in downtown Havana . While following alongside us , the young man drew a quick sketch of one of the members of our group . It was an uncanny resemblance , that he created on the fly .
I paid him $ 10 .
“ Thank you !!” the young street artist said with a smile , and then added . “ Two for $ 20 ?”
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One by one , during a meeting hosted by the Cuban United Nations Association ( a nongovernmental organization ), Afro-Cuban women spoke of the hardships associated with the socioeconomic and cultural conditions that disproportionately impact Cuba ’ s Afro-Cuban community , particularly as it pertains to the health and welfare of babies and older Cubans .
I listened to heartbreaking stories of despair from community activists and social workers .
Gloria Rolando
“ Help the U . S . understand what the blockade has done to our children , our women , and our elderly ,” said one woman during the meeting . “ It is a violation against humanity .”
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Perhaps one of the most influential voices for Cuba ’ s disenfranchised communities is also the softest . It belongs to Gloria Rolando , an internationally renowned Afro- Cuba filmmaker and one of Cuba ’ s national treasures .
Rolando ’ s documentary films are stories of a broad cross-section of Afro Cubans – the famous and the forgotten . She uses her gifts of screenwriting and filmmaking to tell stories about Cuba ’ s portion of the African diaspora .
Her career as a director spans more than 35 years at the Cuban national film institute ICAIC , and she also heads Imágenes del Caribe , an independent film-making group . Rolando says the U . S . embargo has slowed her fundraising efforts , but she will never quit .
“ I make my films for the people ,” Rolando said modestly . “ I have the support of the Cuban people , but I don ’ t have a lot of resources . It ’ s very hard .” ___
Standing along the shore , where the Gulf of Mexico meets Havana ’ s Malecon , I watched the past meet the present in real time as colorful classic cars — 1950s Chevys , Fords , Pontiacs , Buicks , Dodges and Plymouths — rolled past me .
Many of the old cars are used as taxis these days , but because of the evertightening U . S . economic blockage there are few tourists and not enough work for Cubas to make ends meet . A growing number of folks who are tired of living hand to mouth are looking to the United States and Canada for a better life .
“ Young people are leaving Cuba ,” one Cuban official acknowledged . “ Can we blame them ?”
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Six days in Cuba is a short visit , but I departed Havana with a much better understanding of the Afro-Cuban experience , the culture , and the immense social and economic challenges facing a largely impoverished nation than I had before I arrived .
But as a journalist , and a first-time visitor , I still have questions .
“ Please enjoy our country ,” one Cuban store owner and local historian told me with a wry smile . “ Just don ’ t try to understand it .” n
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