The Afro-Cuban Revolution

Words: 1086
Pages: 5
Open Document
Cuba’s citizenship has had to take their own independent measures to establish a more equal society despite having a government that claims that everyone is equal. The Cuban government might promote a progressive social agenda but has often failed to properly address social and economic discrimination. Cuban citizens have utilized various methods to resist the state’s claims and present real solutions to the socioeconomic ills that affect Cuban society. Discussion of race and blackness in particular, was a topic that the Cuban Revolution and its leaders refuse to fully address. The concept of a racially unified Cuba serves as the central component of the formation of the nation. Discussing race is perceived by the Cuban state as hostile or …show more content…
Betancourt argued that the Cuban Revolution did not mean the eradication of race. Instead, Betancourt states that the Cuban government’s apprehensiveness towards the issue negatively impacted national integration . More directly, Betancourt also criticized the lack of black representation in the new leadership and made a call for a national black social movement. After 1960, Afro-Cuban organizations became viewed as hostile or anti-revolutionary due to the importance they placed on racial issues. Despite their large presence, Afro-Cuban organizations were closed down or assimilated into social organs for the socialist state. Afro-Cuban intellectuals and their movements shed light on how racism persisted under a revolutionary government and provided mulattoes and blacks the space required to address issues that could not be held in the mainstream discourse …show more content…
For many homosexuals and social critics, homophobia is not only a cultural or social component but a social ill that is institutionalized as well. During the early 1960s, the Young Communist League became a place where many young men would engage in homosexual acts in order to present their masculinity. Mobility has become a way for homosexuals to cope with the homophobia that exists in revolutionary Cuba. Tomas Gutierrez Alea’s 1993 film “Strawberry and Chocolate”, an iconic take on Cuban homosexual experience and discrimination presents emigration as a way to escape Cuban homophobia. The Mariel boat lift also presented homosexuals an opportunity to leave Cuba and move to the United States. Their movement was an active rejection of the state, since the Marielitos were considered by the state as the “unwanted” and anti-revolutionary. Homosexuality itself also served as a way for heterosexuals to resist the Cuban state as many attempted to classify themselves as gay in order to get onto the boat. Additionally, since homosexuals that leave Cuba tend to criticize the Cuban government through exposing the homophobia that seeps through its institutions their legitimacy is often questioned by the island population. The countryside has historically been a space of resistance away from the city-based government. Sexuality is much more
Show More

Related Documents: The Afro-Cuban Revolution

Cuban Revolution Research Paper

Before the Cuban revolution, Cuban society was incredibly homogenous. Patriarchy, homophobia, misogyny and racism were extremely prevalent in Cuban society and practiced by the majority of Cubans regularly. Therefore, if you didn’t fit into the typical heterosexual, pale skinned, machisto, male role, you faced a life of scrutiny, strife and repression. Among the most scrutinized and repressed groups in Cuba before the revolution, included the LGBT+ community, Afro-Cubans and women. It is impossible…

Words 630 - Pages 3

Juan De Marcos Research Paper

Juan de Marcos González is a composer, and musician from Cuba. He is known for creating bands like a traditional Folk music band called Sierra Maestra and the Afro-Cuban All Stars. He was influenced by music for much of his life. His father was a singer, also other family members played different musical instruments. Before he ended up in the music industry, Marcos attended college and graduated with a doctorate in Hydraulic Engineering as well as English and Russian language studies. Today Juan…

Words 806 - Pages 4

Essay on Salsa Music and Son Cuban Son

Analyzing Cuban musical trends as a window into the changes Cuban society has gone through Cuban Revolution 1959 Bay of Pigs Cuban Missile Crisis 1989 fall of Berlin wall and Soviet Union 1898 Spanish American War Pre Socialist Period Havana way on the west side Guantanamo way on the east side Rum and sugar plantations with massive sugar production Slavery and the slave trade Well known for its musicians and musical styles Known all over the world The roots of Salsa Sub Saharan…

Words 601 - Pages 3

Cuba: Cuba and Castro Essay example

* 1878: lots of opportunities for US investments * Latifundio: hacienda system; underemployment and suffering of workers * McKinley Tariff Act: US-Cuba economic policy removing duty on sugar * Jose Marti: poet; Cuban nationalist * Formed Cuban revolution party; anti-Spanish movement * USS Maine: presumed attack in the Havana Harbor which was there to keep an eye on US interests…”friendly visit” * Age of Imperialism: US & UK interests= resources, precious goods, land…

Words 2358 - Pages 10

United States and Latin America Essay

Chapter 38 Latin America: Revolution and Reaction in the 20th Century Chapter Summary. Latin American nations in the 20h century shared problems with Third World countries relating to matters of economic development and relations with more powerful economic societies. The earlier political independence of Latin America and its Western-influenced political and social structures gave it distinct characteristics. Their economies, dependent upon Western investment and exports, were vulnerable to…

Words 4374 - Pages 18