Parameters, Uncertainty and Recognition: The Politics of Culture in Cuba 77
identity” (quoted in Fernandes, 2006: 61). The film can be tolerated, con-
cludes Fernandes, “because it puts forth a narrative of incorporation rather
than autonomy as the basis for recognition” (Fernandes, 2006: 61). Another
interesting example: during the 2009 Bienal of Havana in 2009, artist Tania
Bruguera sparked a scandal with her impromptu call for “democracy” and
“freedom.” After being promptly condemned by the event's organizing
committee, it received support from Minister Prieto. Bruguera was mightily
impressed: “No es un burócrata, no encierra las cosas en viejas trampas y
entiende el valor del arte para el discurso político con creatividad. [...] La
institución entendió que lo que hago viene de un lugar que es el de la crítica
revolucionaria y constructiva que aprendí en la escuela, y esto ayudó. Lo que
podría cambiar es lo que cada cual entiende por revolucionario.” Perhaps
this marks a certain centralization of power at the expense of secondary
institutions, within the PCF.^16 In the new gatekeeper state, nothing but a
connection at the top carries weight.
Interviews with Cuban artists and writers provide further illustrations of
how one can handle parameters in Cuba (From Cuba, 2002; Behar, 2009;
Kirk and Padura Fuentes, 2001). Let's look, for instance, at a collection of
interviews realized in Cuba, with the help of UNEAC, by Canadian Profes-
sor John M. Kirk and Cuban writer Leonardo Padura Fuentes (Kirk and
Padura Fuentes, 2001). The “stars interviewed belong to the Cuban cultural
‘establishment’ in that they enjoy support, prestige, and official recognition”
(p.xvii). However, many “have suffered censorship, and some have been per-
secuted.” Kirk adds that”"all expressed great admiration for the work of the
current minister [of culture], the writer Abel Prieto, who as president of the
UNEAC had fought against such prejudices” (p.xxiii). If some deplores
errors, readers should make no mistake: “without exception, all expressed
their belief that the situation for intellectuals had improved in recent years”
(p.xxiii).
Silvio Rodríguez (1946- ) recalls how silly it was to have been censored in
the early 1960s, for publicly expressing admiration for the Beatles. We are- Incidentally, what does the new Department of culture (2006) of the CPP's Central Com-
mittee want from the UNEAC in 2007, according to its director Eliades Acosta (2007)? “Una
nueva UNEAC, que en alguna medida nos recuerde la de los inicios, pero que sea la de hoy.
[...] Que no sea una agencia de viajes, ni una agencia de comercialización, ni un lugar para
beber, que no favorezca capillas que luchan por cuotas de poder, ni cree caldos de cultivo a
egoísmos. Creo en una UNEAC viva, valiente, cívica, escuchada y respetada.” This sounds
much like Carlos Aldana.