{"id":273452,"date":"2023-07-28T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T20:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=273452"},"modified":"2023-07-28T16:15:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T20:15:10","slug":"padura-in-cuba-weve-hit-rock-bottom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/literature\/padura-in-cuba-weve-hit-rock-bottom\/","title":{"rendered":"Padura: In Cuba \u201cwe\u2019ve hit rock bottom\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Cuba \u201cwe\u2019ve hit rock bottom,\u201d \u201cwe are experiencing one of the deepest crises\u201d; and more than food or electricity, \u201cwhat is most lacking is hope,\u201d affirms the writer Leonardo Padura, a chronicler of the Cuban social reality through his work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like another crest of a long crisis.\u2026 We\u2019ve hit rock bottom and the worst thing is that, if at other times there was still some hope that things were going to improve, I believe that what is most lacking today is not food, fuel, electricity or coffee, what is most lacking is hope,\u201d says Padura in Santo Domingo, where he is meeting to present the reprint of his book <\/span>Los rostros de la salsa<\/span><\/i> and to give workshops to young people.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/UNESCOHabana\/status\/1683513902133379072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1683513902133379072%7Ctwgr%5E609efb269c93d5cd9599bc53e585dd72a8ed0ee8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcultura%2Fliteratura%2Fpadura-en-cuba-hemos-tocado-fondo%2F<\/p>\n

A Cuba where \u201ccontrol and fear is an industry that does work,\u201d as demonstrated by the repression of the 2021 protests, which \u201cwas an explosion, a scream that Cuban society gave and the only thing that happened was that the controls and repression mechanisms became more acute, intensified…. It has also served to let people know that if they go out and break a window, they can go to jail for five, seven, ten years,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing bypassing censorship<\/b><\/p>\n

Padura says that it is not easy to write in Cuba, but acknowledges that his situation is very different from that of other authors. His books come directly from his computer to his publishers in Barcelona, which is a \u201cgreat advantage\u201d: \u201cIt guarantees publication and that my book will not go through any filter of Cuban institutional censorship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to censorship, in Cuba there is self-censorship, a \u201cdefense mechanism,\u201d in his opinion, even \u201cmore humiliating, an exercise in personal castration,\u201d he told journalist Almudena Casado.<\/span><\/p>\n

But authors look for alternatives to write and publish, with strategies in the style of Carlos Saura\u2019s first films, \u201cfull of metaphors and symbols,\u201d or looking for publishers in Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Padura: Cuba\u2019s problems must be resolved among Cubans<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n