{"id":287735,"date":"2023-08-29T18:53:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T22:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=287735"},"modified":"2023-08-29T18:53:11","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T22:53:11","slug":"visions-of-who-we-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/opinion\/columns\/visions-of-who-we-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Visions of who we are"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since I don\u2019t live in Cuba, putting together my own concept of my identity has been a reason for introspection for me. My gaze, even in the way of observing and photographing, has been shaped by this search, in societies that are both diverse and globalized.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In La Escalera, a well-known bookstore in Santiago de Cuba, in addition to books, there is an unparalleled symbolic world. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite my immigrant status, I have not felt like an outsider in Argentina, my home for more than a decade. Assimilation has enriched the amalgamation of experiences, values, beliefs, and traditions that define who we are. On the other hand, my being Cuban is the backbone of my identity, even thousands of kilometers away. \u201cThe damn circumstance of water everywhere\u201d continues to mark me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
23 and M, in Havana, one of the most famous corners in Cuba. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Juan Manuel Villy Carbonell, \u201cThe Benny Mor\u00e9 of Santiago de Cuba.\u201d Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we move away from our country of origin and insert ourselves into another social dynamic, our identity is reinforced. The notion of belonging to a specific and distant geographical territory, in this case, Cuba is constant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even when there are those who deny where they come, from, the root remains, it shapes the way we perceive ourselves and the way we perceive others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A game of dominoes in Ciego de Avila. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paragraphs from an essay by Reinaldo Arenas (Holgu\u00edn, 1943 \u2013 New York, 1990) recently went viral among Cubans on Facebook. The text, written in the early 1980s, shortly after Arenas went into exile in the United States, is part of his book <\/span>Necesidad de Libertad<\/span><\/i> (1986), a compilation of articles, lectures, poems, documents, fragments of speeches, letters and photographs.<\/span><\/p>\n

What he says gives an intimate and unique perspective on the essence of what is Cuban.<\/span><\/p>\n

For me, what is Cuban is far from being a multicolored monumental and baroque description, in the style of Alejo Carpentier. For me, what is Cuban is the elements, the dimness, the light, the weightlessness, the helpless, torn, desolate and changing. The shrub, not the tree; the grove, not the forest; the mountain, not the jungle. The sheet that fades and folds on its own tremors.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What is Cuban is a rumor or a cry, not a chorus or a torrent. What is Cuban is a palm tree leaf rotting in the sun, a stone outdoors, a hue, a fluttering at dusk. Never a huge baroque cathedral that we have never had. What is Cuban is what undulates.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

More than a style, what is Cuban is a rhythm. Our constant is the breeze. Stronger at sunset, almost motionless at noon, longing and moaning at dawn. Hence, Cuban novels are not written in chapters, but in gusts; it is not something that extends, but rather undulates, returns, withdraws, beats, more furiously or more slowly, circular, rhythmic, repetitive, on a point. Thus, if we can speak of any \u2018telluricity,\u2019 it is a marine and aerial \u2018telluricity\u2019… Our jungle is the sea.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Malec\u00f3n, \u201cHavana\u2019s sofa.\u201d Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through his evocative images, Arenas captivates and opens the doors to thinking about identity, always under construction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I take a look at Cuba\u2019s nooks and the snapshots I have taken of its vibrant daily life become a mirror.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Elpidio Vald\u00e9s, iconic animated cartoon of generations of Cubans. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Barbershop in Gibara. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Cuban flag resists the wind and the passage of time. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mart\u00ed on a wall in the city of Holgu\u00edn. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Walking with \u201cold L\u00e1zaro.\u201d Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rumba in C\u00e9spedes Park in Santiago de Cuba. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
In the midst of popular festivities in Havana, an umbrella with the \u201cGitana tropical,\u201d by Victor Manuel. Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of kilometers away, \u201cthe damn circumstance of water everywhere\u201d continues to mark me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3262,"featured_media":287738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[8863],"ppma_author":[33930],"class_list":["post-287735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","tag-cuban-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVisions of who we are | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thousands of kilometers away, \u201cthe damn circumstance of water everywhere\u201d continues to mark me.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/opinion\/columns\/visions-of-who-we-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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