Contra las Cuerdas - On the Ropes - Racial politics in Cuba, 18 min
Contra las Cuerdas (On the Ropes) tells the
story of aracialdebate
initiatedinCubain 1959with the triumph ofthe revolution; this debate soondisappeared in 1962 fromthenational publicsphere.
What prevented thisdebate and
discussion ofthe issue from taking place?Whatfate has befallentheracialtheme onthe islandin the last55 years?What happenstoday?Theseare the questions
through which passes the story ofa debate still unknown to thevast majorityof Cuban people.
This film gives extensive interviews to some of the pioneers of the
study of racism and the politics of racism in Cuba.
Reynaldo González, writer,
National Prize for Literature in 2003 and four-time winner of the
National Award for Literary Criticism
Tomás Fernández Robaina, Investigador y Profesor
Titular de la Biblioteca Nacional José Martí y de la Universidad de La
Habana
Alejandro de la Fuente, professor
and
director, Afro-Latin American Research Institute, Hutchins Center for
African and African American Research, Harvard University
Due to resource constraints, the project was cut short and only a few
people were interviewed for this film -- they turned out to be all men.
This was not the choice of the director, who has been interviewing broadly
for his second film on the same theme.
De eso no se habla -
We don't talk about this - Trailer
For decades contemporary Cuban society has avoided facing one of the
oldest and most sensitive issues - racial discrimination. From 1962, less
than three years after the beginning of the Cuban revolution, racial
problems on the island were deemed officially resolved. For the following
almost forty years, a period of silence concerning racism masked the nationwide
reality. During the early 1960 ́s Cuba was wholly focused on fighting
anti-revolutionary forces and on maintaining national unity. The issue of
racism was stigmatized and removed from public and academic debate, thus
becoming taboo. This situation did nothing but advance what it intended to
silence. Today, more than a decade after breaking that silence, diverse
groups and individuals - black, white, mestizo, Cuban and foreign - are
now, even more strongly, re-opening the debate. From within their
respective disciplines and perspectives, the racial debate on the island is
firmly back on the agenda although it remains insufficiently public or
institutional.
These individuals are the protagonists of this story, which addresses, in
depth, the racial problem in Cuba: a topic that has been barely touched
upon in documentary production on the island. They openly name and condemn
racism while suggesting constructive ways forward. They expose the
challenges in the present fight against racial discrimination and place
this debate within the context of a radical revolution; where, at its
beginning, black people found a significant space - of historical
recognition and social legitimization - both nationally and
internationally.
De eso no se habla endeavors to show the virtually unknown work of these
activists, community leaders, teachers, professionals, writers and artists
in the fight to combat discrimination and racism. These groups and
individuals are creating their own spaces, with their own alternative
initiatives, contrary to persisting institutional resistance.
From this eclectic perspective, this documentary seeks to help us
understand the magnitude and complexities of the racial problem in
contemporary Cuban society. In a period of clear national transition,
which will certainly determine the future of the island, De eso no se
habla will hopefully provoke new debate, bringing to public attention
the particular case of Cuba and the groups and individuals who are
tirelessly working to transform their society.
He has already shot a number of scenes for De eso no se habla, and
noted essayist and activist
Roberto Zurbano is an advisor.
professionals, writers and artists
in the fight to combat discrimination and racism. These groups and
individuals are creating their own spaces, with their own alternative
initiatives, contrary to persisting institutional resistance.