By Sarah Becker
Ph.D. Candidate
After an hour of soaring
over waters every shade of blue, I suddenly caught sight of her. The
butterflies of my spirit nervously flittered about. As the long stretch of land
came closer, the outline of her body diminished. She was near. The moment was
finally here.
I felt
Nervous.
Excited.
Emotional.
Everything I had
studied had led me up to this point. The life of this girl from the Midwest,
with no Hispanic roots to speak of, suddenly made sense, and I felt it. After
several years of studying the Spanish language, literature in Spanish and a
wide variety of cultures connected to both, I was here.
As I write these
words, I must put myself back in that moment so that I may explain this pivotal
time in my life. It may be cliché to say life-changing, but that’s exactly what
it was.
After a semester of
studying Cuba with Dr. Mabel Cuesta -her
literature, her films, her music, her history, mainly focused on period
commonly known as the Special Period- my two feet had been planted on the
ground of a land and a people that would change my life. As a PhD student in
the Hispanic Studies program at the University of Houston, I have a vested
academic interest in the Caribbean: my research centers on Afro-Caribbean
religions in Hispanic literature. However, this trip –let’s say journey,
because it is truly a journey- spoke to me in ways that cold, faceless academic
research and classes could not.
Cuba. You must live her to know her.
As I walked the
streets of Matanzas –the Athens of Cuba as it’s known– I met and spoke with poets,
musicians, artists. I interviewed santeros and santeras, Babalawos, Paleras. I
was given the opportunity to research in the archives of Ediciones Vigía and
later present that research at the University of Missouri-Columbia about the
visual aesthetics of Afro-Cuban religion as represented by Vigía over the years
at the first Ediciones Vigía conference. I was taken on tours of amazing places
of history, such as the grand Teatro Sauto by Rolando Estévez, the principal
designer and one of the founders of Ediciones Vigía, and of course Dr. Mabel
Cuesta, who opened her island to me, her life to me, her childhood to me, to
show me what she at one time told me what is “la isla de las mil paradojas.”
The island of a thousand paradoxes. After a semester of study about Cuba, I had
an idea of what she meant. After a week experiencing Cuba, my heart understood
what she meant, as I observed
People who have nothing, ready to share everything.
People who have little hope, somehow still
living.
People who have the biggest hearts, who have
been subjected to live lives of a government that does not have one.
To be sure: This was a
great academic opportunity that I was fortunate to take part in. As a graduate
student, this trip was invaluable. Since Cuba, I have further developed ideas
for my dissertation and published papers in relation to the research I
conducted while there. I have enthusiastically spread the word whenever
possible of the incredible art-object book editorial house known as Vigía, its
uniqueness, its literature, its art.
However, it was also
an opportunity to reflect on the things many people take for granted. It was an
eye-opening time to not just see, but experience the life of a Cuban. It was a
huge lesson, one that I am using to plant the seeds of humility and
selflessness in my children, so that they too may grow into better human
beings.
Cuba. You must live her to know her.
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