Iván García,
Racism in Cuba is far
from being left behind. Forget the official
ideology of a single
nation without races. People do not live in
compartments. Whites,
blacks and mestizos get on the same bus. Go to the
same schools. And
live in the same neighborhood.
But they know the
differences.. One of the most racist variants in the
21st century that
persists in Cuba is in creating a family. Yoanna, a
light skinned
mixed-race college student, has a black boyfriend.
Her family is black.
And they do not welcome the groom. They are very
concerned stability
and seriousness of the relationship. Especially the
future. And the
likely children.
"My family is
concerned, they say I have to delay'. My mother married a
white man. And they
want this to continue', having children with whites.
I won't lie, I'd
rather not have to deal with the nappy hair of a little
black girl. And
although I really love my boyfriend, I want to form a
family with a white
man," said Yoanna.
Planning for children
between blacks and mestizos is an important issue
in some home
environment. "To whiten" the family is the purpose. Purely
from a complex, some
blacks and mestizos are shying away from their
blackness.
I won't make this
into a long story. We know the past. Centuries of
slavery. Being
nobodies and despised by the color of your skin. When
Cuba became
emancipated in the racial aspect, it was only in appearance.
In Gothic letters it
was enshrined in the Constitution that all Cubans,
no matter what the
color of their skin, were equal. Not so. Blacks and
mestizos are left at
a disadvantage.
They came out of
slavery with their belongings in a duffel bag and not a
penny to their names.
For decades, they have been called the ugliest.
They have the worst
living and working conditions. This lack of
stability, bad
housing and little money, has limited the number of
blacks who go to
college.
Also the marginal
conditions in which they live has fueled crime. 88% of
prisoners in Cuba are
black or mixed race. Therefore, when designing the
future, young blacks
and mixed-race people dream in white.
Marrying a white
woman or white man is the plan of many. Or a
light-skinned
mulatto. To keep it going. "It's like a ladder. A dark
black person, who
nobody sees, can not suddenly think to be equal to a
white champion. It is
step by step. First a dark mixed-race person. Then
the children must
marry to light mixed-race person, or if they are
lucky, with a white
person. Such is the picture to gradually whiten the
family,"says
Yoni, a 34-year-old mixed race man.
There are black and
mixed race women who do not like their skin color.
It shows at once. It
straighten their hair and in fashion mimic the
patterns of white
women. Miriam, black, 22, goes every month for the
hairdresser to get
her hair straightened.
She spends a fortune
on straightening creams and shampoos. She chooses
her friends. She
likes hanging out with whites and light-skinned people.
"Blacks only
talk about problems and difficulties. They're always
complaining. They're
out of control," Miriam says bluntly.
State media does not
address the issue at length and complexity. They
put it aside. Pass
over it. A broad spectrum of Cuban society sees black
culture and history
as folklore.
But in their homes,
blacks and mestizos speak without taboo of the need
to 'whiten' the
family. Having children with lighter skin what the
parents propose, and
what their children see as a goal.
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