The history of the institution is a soap opera full of lynchings, expulsions, censorship and self-incriminations
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, 19 September 2024 — Last Sunday, Cuba’s official newspaper Granma published a pamphlet entitled “The Brave and the Cowardly.” It was obvious that the article referred to the reaction caused by the expulsion of Dr. Alina Bárbara López Hernández from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), since several members resigned from the organization and expressed their disagreement on social networks. But the article never dared to mention her by name. It preferred to gloat, in super-worn nautical metaphors and the phraseology of José Martí taken out of context, as Yusuam Palacios, director of the Fragua Martiana Museum, usually does in his pseudo-poetic parliamentary speeches.
However, despite the fact that the text was loaded with all that revolutionary syrup frequently used by the deputy of Sagua de Tánamo, no one dared to sign it. It appeared under the authorship of “Cultural Writing,” a waste of courage. From the language used, everything indicates that it was written by a single person, a bad poet or some cadre who aspires to be the reincarnation of the Naborí Indian,* although only his “Elegy of the White Shoes” was read.
I have spoken to some UNEAC members who remain in Cuba, and they have confirmed to me that the author did not dare consult them before publishing this mock declaration. So it was something fabricated in an office from an order, or an initiative of some enthusiastic official. In summary, the article that calls itself “brave” is not able to mention the name of the person who inspires it, does not dare to affix the signature of anyone in particular and does not have the guts to consult about its content with members of the organization that is attributed to its authorship.
In the comments, a reader states that she is totally lost as to the content of the pamphlet
In the comments, a reader states that she is totally lost as to the content of the pamphlet. Mirella admits: “I am interested in having more information about what is happening at this time that brought about this statement as a consequence. I have some idea, but not enough to be able to enlighten others.” Another reader, Lázaro Numa Águila, confesses: “The editorial makes me feel that we continue to make use of speech that is often unintelligible for some; what is the reason for this reaffirmation?”
For several years I was a member of UNEAC, until I resigned, after the infamous statement that the organization published after 11J.** A few weeks before the incident, the late Corina Mestre had called me to a meeting to suggest that I voluntarily resign. I remember he said something like this: “Oh, Yunior, my son, haven’t you read the statutes?” And he was right. Article 2 clearly stated that UNEAC recognizes the Communist Party of Cuba as the superior leading force of society and the State. In other words, in no case is it a non-governmental organization that is part of civil society. Not at all. It is an institution, like all, subordinated to the single party. It is an extension of State Security, with the sole purpose of monitoring and controlling the guild of artists and intellectuals.
Believing that I was someone smart, I thought I could do something useful from within, that continuing to be part of their ranks served to raise my voice in the assemblies, denounce abuses and promote the democratic changes to which I aspired. Being totally honest, I also believed that continuing to be a member was a kind of protective shield, for the minions to think twice before siccing their dogs on me. But I was wrong. I wasn’t someone smart; I was naive and cynical. The history of UNEAC is a soap opera full of lynchings, expulsions, censorship and self-incriminations. UNEAC is not a guild fraternity, it is a minion institution. It’s not a protective shield, it’s a scaffold. From Heberto Padilla to Alina Bárbara there is a long list of convicts.
From Heberto Padilla to Alina Bárbara there is a long list of convicts
Some years ago, in Holguín, during one of those useless provincial assemblies, the troubadour Fernando Cabrejas asked: What is UNEAC for? Others, who also asked for the floor, argued that it was a cultural old folks’ home, which served to be shipwrecked on the Internet, to speed up a journey to capitalism, to drink cheap coffee and eat croquettes without having to line up or to have a bathroom to go to when walking through the city center.
UNEAC’s X Congress was scheduled for June of this year, but culture has never been a priority when it comes to authorizing budgets, nor was the oven used for pastries. In January, Luis Morlote was “promoted” and went from being president of the organization to being a second of Rogelio Polanco in the Auxiliary Structure of the Central Committee for Ideological Affairs: what a rise! Miguel Barnet praised his record as a leader; Polanco justified the decision made, not as a weakness, but as an ability of UNEAC to forge cadres, and Lazo gave a painting – according to the grotesque tradition – to the promoted cadre.
The conclave has been postponed to November. That’s why State Security is on the run threatening and cutting off heads. That is also why the entire propaganda apparatus of the regime publishes daily tomes about UNEAC, Although the note of pessimism is obvious. La Jiribilla, a weekly magazine of Cuban culture, has been repeating a litany of elegies for a week, hysterically shouting that UNEAC unites, adds, multiplies and any other mathematical operation they can think of. They are visibly desperate. They are afraid. They want the next congress to be like every other one, an inventory of complaints and promises. But they are terrified that someone will depart from the script and propose to delete Article 2 of their statutes. The Article 2 that demonstrates its absolute submission… and cowardice.
Translator’s notes:
* The Cuban poet, Jesús Orta Ruíz, was known as the “Naborí Indian.” After the defeat of the US in the Bay of Pigs, Orta Ruíz wrote the poem to commemorate the deaths of many civilians, including a boy whose white shoes were destroyed. A pair of bloody white shoes is on display in the Bay of Pigs museum, a memento of the first military defeat of the US in Latin America and the Caribbean.
** The first Vice President of UNEAC, Ernesto Limia Díaz, published a statement on Facebook on July 12, 2021, in support of the Regime’s suppression of the July 11th demonstrators.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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