“Cuba: The Next Revolution-Black in Latin America” by Ruben Rubio

            The documentary, “Cuba: The Next Revolution-Black in Latin America,” presents foreign driven economic and social events from Cuba’s 18^th century to the present that have contributed to the issue of racism that to some still exist in Cuba today.  Legally, racism was not tolerated after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and it has not ended in the “hearts and minds” of some Cubans.  The abundance of sugar and coffee in Cuba throughout its slave trade history was a result of the Haitian Revolution in the late 18^th century.  Sugar plantation owners in Cuba ran their plantations like prisons.  The plantation owners were vigilant in keeping their black slaves under constant surveillance to prevent a self-initiated slave revolt like in Haiti.  By the 19^th century slavery contributed to Cuba’s economy significantly, and Haiti was no longer the number one producer of sugar.  In addition, plantation owner Carlos Manuel Cespedes freed his black slaves to establish a mixed race military to fight Spain.  “Spain was the enemy and not race.”  Warriors like the Cuban, black, General Antonio Maceo fought alongside white Cubans to defeat a common enemy.  There is already a distinction formed between who has the power in a plantation owner and slave relationship.  Cespedes broke that distinction making slaves equal to him while fighting a common enemy in Cuba’s revolt against Spain.  Furthermore, in 1899 anthropologist tried to reshape the class caste structure by discrediting Maceo’s accomplishments as a triumphant soldier by “whitening history.”  Maceo’s skull was examined to find traces of white European features.  The tests in the eyes of the examiners showed that the skull size was strong and beautiful, therefore Maceo had to have had more European in him than African.  What the examiners were implying was that African people would not have a fine, shaped, skull like Maceo’s and that he would have a more elongated skull like the monkey cartoons that represented Cuban black people in Cuban and U.S. newspapers.  Maceo would later appear to have European facial features in photographs.  Reshaping Cuban black history and distorting it conditions readers to make a distinction and ask themselves the question of who is superior.  The white Cuban or the black Cuban?

            Moving on, in the early 20^th century Cuba’s African culture was suppressed to allow room for European culture.  Son music with its Spanish guitar and African drums could not be played and celebrated by all in public (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_cubano).  1940’s Cuba embraced their black and white culture and they celebrated together after the triumph of the revolution.  Furthermore, Soandres del Rio has two rap songs about racism that he cannot play in his shows in fear of retaliation by the Cuban government.  Throughout Cuban history black Cubans have been accepted only when it is convenient.  As long as Cuban citizens continue to ignore black Cuban history, then people will continue to be conditioned to not like black people and nothing will change the way black Cubans or even blacks in Latin America are viewed in society. 

Works Cited

“Cuba: The Next Revolution-Black in Latin America, with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” PBS, 2011.

Wikipedia.  Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_cubano. 04 October, 2017.