Obama in Havana
From
Havana Read Spanish Version
Obama
in Havana
By
Manuel Alberto Ramy
No,
Barack Obama has not traveled to Havana. But his campaign has. I
learned this when I saw a T-shirt with a slogan in his favor, hanging
from a clothesline in the El Cerro neighborhood, which, according to
the old song, "has the key."
"It
was brought to me by my son, who is an Obama fan," said the
owner, a lady who asked that her name not be published because her
son "lives in Miami and, as you know, things over there are not
easy."
To
many Cubans (not only to the Cuban government), Obama and McCain are
the same when it comes to their general attitude toward the island.
"A little tougher or a little kinder, but they want to mess with
what we have achieved," says Rigoberto, who identifies himself
as a transport retiree. "I am not an apapipio,"
an
unconditional supporter of the government, he hastens to say, but "we
have good things to retain, other things to change, like letting
people make a better living because things are tough," he says,
raising his arms and eyes toward the crumbling walls of his house.
The
old house must have been built in the 1920s or ’30s. It’s easy to see
that it has been poorly — or not at all — maintained in the past 40
years.
When
it comes to Obama, Rigoberto agrees with his nephew, "whom I
could see this year, thanks to my sister, who is his mother, whom he
can visit. He couldn’t visit me, though. We uncles were removed from
the family," he says, smiling ironically.
In
2004, President George W. Bush imposed rules that limit the
relationship of Cuban families on both sides of the Straits of
Florida. One of them was a redefinition of the concept of family,
from which Bush excluded uncles, cousins and nephews. He also reduced
the number of visits to one every three years, as well as the
remittances of money for family assistance, to $300 every quarter.
All that as part of the chain that links the Cuban-American
ultraright with the island rightwingers.
It’s
worthwhile to see how people’s appraisal of the candidates changes
when legitimate individual interests come into play, both in Cuba and
in Florida, where the topic of family is weakening the control of the
ultraconservative, aggressive "historic exiles."
"Obama
was in Miami and said that, if he were elected, he would lift those
regulations. How could we — my son, his uncle and myself — not
agree with him?" She tells me her son "is already an
American citizen."
From
the presidential campaign, our chat drifted to the races for three
Congressional seats that are setting Florida on fire.
"My
son told me that those two — what’s their names?" she asks her
brother, who answers: "The Diaz-Balarts." "Well, them,
they are against the trips. Imagine. You can tell they have no
relatives here."
The
brothers Lincoln and Mario Díaz-Balart, along with Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, three Republican members of Congress, recently wrote a
letter to the governor of Florida asking him to sign a law that
enables the state to paralyze flights to the island and end family
visits — all in the name of consumer protection. The governor signed
the law, which has been challenged by travel operators and is under
judicial review.
Somewhat
sadly, the woman says she doesn’t want to be identified because she
can travel to Miami ("I’m hoping to go soon," she says) and
fears that any publicity "might harm me when I go ask for a
visa."
She
describes her son as a hard-working man who has never been involved
in politics "neither here nor there. He went [to the States] to
improve his life," she says, but in the Congressional elections
"he will vote for someone who supports the trips. I don’t
remember his name, but it’s a candidate in his district."
Clearly,
his son was part of the migratory waves that, since the 1990s, have
gradually changed Miami’s social composition, a fact recorded by
several polls done in the past 20 years. Different motivations and
interests seek channels that suit them.
I
look at the T-shirt with the pro-Obama slogan. If it’s on the
clothesline it’s because it was washed. And if it was washed, who
wore it?
"My
grandson," Rigoberto answers. "He is 19 and wears it to
every party he attends. You know why? ‘Cause he wants to rile ’em up,
as kids say nowadays."
Lucky
for me, the young man who wears the T-shirt "to rile ’em up"
arrives in the house and parks his old Chinese bicycle (Forever
brand) in the alley next to the old house.
"Yes,
I wear it and I’ve had no problems," he says, airily. "Why
wouldn’t I wear it, when people around here wear T-shirts with the
American flag?"
"Look,"
he adds, "I have a Chinese bike, an Obama T-shirt and bought a
Vietnamese computer. I am globalized and want peace and normal
relations and the ability to travel."
To
motivate him, I mention that popular singer Silvio Rodríguez
recently spoke in favor of eliminating exit permits.
"Silvio
is not the government, and the government has said nothing"
about exit permits, he comments. "Besides, I prefer Ray
Fernández."
Ray
is a singer who’s singing his own compositions outside the radio and
TV circuit. He has attracted a sizeable audience that follows him
wherever he goes.
"Once
the Americans change their policy, [the leaders] here will change
theirs, too," he opines. And he adds, as a final message: "I
told my uncle when he came to visit that he had to fight for his
yucca up there."
"Fight
for your yucca" is a refrain from one of Ray Fernández’s
popular songs, the young man explains, as he hangs a baseball cap
with the word "Industriales" (his favorite team) from the
bicycle handlebar.
Does
the young man study? The grandfather hesitates. Does he work? The
question is like a fly ball that drops between two players, because
neither reaches for it. Finally, the young man answers. "I’m
into it."
I
thank the three and leave. With this report, I, too have "fought
for my yucca."
Manuel
Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief for Radio Progreso Alternativa
and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of
Progreso Weekly.
