|
news
CSULB
students experience Afro-Cuban culture
By Luis Peña
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
When it comes to
learning about Afro-Cuban culture, Cal State Long Beach professors
Victor Rodriguez and Juan Benitez take their jobs seriously.
In fact, they are so dedicated to their work that they decided
to take their summer Chicano and Latino Studies 310 course
back to its roots æ all the way to Cuba.
Rodriguez said he brings a Latino perspective to his social
science classes instead of the typical approach, which focuses
on the Mexican-American experience.
“We wanted to expand and look at Cubans, Puerto Ricans and
the Caribbean as crossroads,” Rodriguez said. “The Caribbean
was the first place of encounter between the Spaniards, indigenous
people and Africans.”
Cuba was a great location because the Caribbean is a unique
and diverse place with a strong African and Spanish influence,
Rodriguez said.
“In our culture, here in California, when we think of African,
we think of African-American — the Anglo experience — but
we don’t think about the Spanish speaking Africans of Latino
decent,” he said .
Also, the Chicano and Latino Studies department wanted to
give its students the opportunity to receive international
travel experience. Students with such experiences on their
resumes are viewed as having a broader perspective of world
issues, Rodriguez said.
CSULB had to get a special license from the U.S. Department
of the Treasury for the trip. Aside from getting a special
license, many restrictions were put on students because of
the trade embargo on Cuba.
For example, students could not bring back rum or cigars and
were limited to $100 worth of goods to bring back to the United
States. Despite these restrictions, they were allowed to bring
back as much music or printed material as they wanted, Rodriguez
said.
The trip presented many challenges because the United States
does not have diplomatic relations with Cuba. The department
thought the trip might not happen because of Sept. 11, which
further distanced relations between both countries.
However, former President Jimmy Carter’s trip to Cuba
helped smooth things out, Rodriguez said.
During the 10-day trip students visited the cities of Havana,
Santiago, Camaguey and Trinidad. The trip cost about $1,750
to $1,850 per student, but the pretty price did not turn students
away.
“Why would I pass up an opportunity to go to Cuba?” said CSULB
student Lori Khajadourian. “I don’t think I would ever be
able to travel to Cuba with so much ease as a U.S. Citizen.”
For the most part, students’ families were supportive of the
trip. CSULB student Elizabeth Lozano said her Cuban relatives
in Miami were hesitant at first, but later changed their minds.
Juan Madrigal, another CSULB student, said his relatives were
supportive and also jealous of the trip.
For Khajadourian, everyone was supportive of her going to
Cuba because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Still, the trip offered students more than they imagined.
“Actually, it [Cuba] wasn’t anything like I expected,” Khajadourian
said. “I had mentally prepared myself to ‘rough it.’ We stayed
in very luxurious hotels and had an
air-conditioned charter bus. It was nice, but I felt like
a spoiled tourist enjoying such luxuries while most Cubans
live in windowless wooden shacks with dirt floors.”
Lozano went to Cuba to get a better understanding of her culture
since her mother is from the island. She also went there to
visit family she had never
met before.
“The most memorable experience that I had was the day and
a half that I spent with my cousin,” Lozano said. “I really
got to see the real Cuba, not just the
tourism.”
Interestingly, the Cubans treated the CSULB students well
and were not anti-America.
“They were very down to earth, honest, and helpful,” Khajadourian
said. “We met some people near our age range and it was through
the conversations that I had
with them that I was able to comprehend what was really going
on in Cuba.”
In Cuba, the government issues ration cards for things like
food and clothing. If Cubans want to purchase more than their
ration card allows, they must pay for it with hard currency,
that is to say U.S. dollars.
The basic necessities, such as tennis shoes and toothpaste,
are primarily unavailable in Cuba and with the increased tourism,
there has been a lot of panhandling for those types of items,
Rodriguez said.
“One man asked me for a bar of soap,” Rodriquez said. “And
one of the students exchanged a UCLA baseball cap for a bunch
of musical instruments.”
But despite cultural differences, the class walked away with
a greater understanding of the country.
“Cuba is neither heaven nor hell,” Rodriguez said. “It’s somewhere
in between and I think that’s what my students experienced.”
|
|
Photo courtesy
of Lori Khajadourian
A celebration
of Afro-Cuban culture takes over local streets in Cuba. People
stop and stare at the brightly dressed participants on stilts.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Search our site
DEPARTMENT
OF
JOURNALISM
ONLINE 49ER
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING
ADMINISTRATION
DAILY
49ER ALUMNI
SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICE
GIVE
FEEDBACK
|
