Amnesia or Anesthesia / Rebeca Monzo

On Wednesday, watching a popular program on television where they lit incense, candles and asked very good questions, one of the guests on being asked about the low fish consumption in our country given that we’re islanders, said calmly that the problem is not that there isn’t any but rather that people did not like eating it. Except that geography is the greatest influence on the eating habits of people.

After that the respondent (a relatively young musician), gives the impression that he doesn’t have very good information. Everything seems to indicate that none has said that living on an island, surrounded by water on all sides, where there are fish, some little, some medium, some larger and some huge, we would traditionally consume fish, a lot of it and very good.

For almost half a century on any corner in Havana and in any other province they sold fried fish, fried oysters, fried cod and countless other marine variants. In my homes it was customary, on Fridays, to eat fish: yellowtail, snapper grouper, dogfish, and so on. Also in many households there were those big wide-mouthed jars where marinade was stored. Anyone could fish sitting on the wall of the Malecon or going out on a boat. Never in my teens did I perceive any lack of fish on Cuban tables, and it was very cheap as well, more so than beef, which in those days cost thirty-five centavos for a first-rate pound. I think before giving opinions, particularly on a media like television that reaches the public, it would be healthy to be better informed. I don’t know if the interviewee had a problem with amnesia or anesthesia.

June 3 2011