Pubdate: Sun, 19 May 2002
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Letta Tayler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/spirit.htm (Spiritual or Sacramental)

IN CUBA, FORGING A BLACK IDENTITY

Rastafarianism Attracts Followers

Havana - It was a balmy night on a beachfront lot, and a salty breeze 
mingled with whiffs of ganja. Hundreds of young Rastafarians, many in 
dreadlocks or Bob Marley T-shirts, rocked to the steady lilt of live 
reggae.

"A new generation of black youth is finding its identity, and it is 
filled with love," cooed singer Consureto, a dark, thin man in 
flowing African robes. "Yah, man," listeners shouted.

It felt like Kingston or Montego Bay, but the concert took place this 
month on the outskirts of Havana and was attended by local 
Afro-Cubans, not rum-sipping tourists. Reggae concerts are 
increasingly common here, the most visible sign that Rastafarianism, 
the religion formed in Jamaican slums in the 1930s, is attracting a 
wave of black followers in officially atheist Cuba.

For some Afro-Cubans, Rastafarianism is a means of individual 
expression in a society that places a premium on conformity. For 
others, growing dreadlocks and smoking - or selling - marijuana is a 
way to attract the attention of dollar-toting tourists. For most, the 
movement offers spiritual comfort during an economic crisis that has 
disproportionately hurt Afro-Cubans, already the country's poorest 
people.

"There is a lot of racial discrimination here. Rastafarianism is a 
way to create a black identity and build a message of unity," said 
dreadlocked Elijio Flores. A Rasta who left his low-paying job as an 
agronomist at a state-run tobacco cooperative in Villa Clara, in the 
center of the country, Flores, 30, sells bead necklaces in the plazas 
of Old Havana.

With his 1959 revolution, President Fidel Castro sought to end the 
racism that has existed since colonial times in Cuba, where a 
majority of residents are black or of mixed race. But despite 
advances, blacks remain at the bottom of the economic ladder, and 
they were hit hardest when the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 
early '90s stopped the flow of aid from Moscow.

"Young blacks who are products of the revolution have grown up with 
the message that 'We are all Cubans,' " said Katrin Hansing, an 
anthropologist at Florida International University in Miami who has 
studied Rastafarianism in Cuba. "But the economic problems have led 
them to realize that some Cubans are more Cuban than others, and 
those Cubans are white. Rastafarianism offers a way to express their 
frustrations and provides an alternative view of blackness."

The state has shown increased tolerance toward Rastafarianism in 
recent years as it has eased controls on Catholic and Protestant 
churches. Still, it doesn't recognize Rastafarianism as a religion or 
movement. "There are only a few isolated individuals who call 
themselves Rastas," said Raul Montes of the state Office of Religious 
Affairs.

Cuban Rastas say they number in the thousands, concentrated in Havana 
and in Santiago de Cuba, which faces Jamaica from the southeast 
coast. Though some Rastas meet for weekly Bible study and discussion, 
and many congregate in specific neighborhoods or parks, most consider 
themselves part of a free-floating community rather than an organized 
group.

In the mid-'80s, when Rastas were few, police routinely stopped or 
briefly jailed them. These days, Rastas say, they are still stopped, 
particularly if they are seen with white tourists, but further action 
is rare.

"When I first started to grow dreads, the police would approach me, 
photograph me and make me pay fines," said Manolo Mayeta, 45, who is 
one of Cuba's Rasta pioneers. Now Mayeta bundles his dreads beneath a 
towering tam bearing stripes of red, black and green - the colors of 
the Jamaican flag - and yellow.

Jamaican students studying medicine here, as well as sailors 
returning from Caribbean ports, brought Rastafarianism and reggae to 
Cuba as early as 1979. But they mostly kept to themselves and reggae 
wasn't - and still isn't - played on state-run radio, which dictates 
that 80 percent of all music on the airwaves be Cuban. It took until 
the mid-'80s for small groups of Cubans to adopt Rastafarianism's 
basic tenets.

These include black empowerment, a rejection of Babylon - the term 
Rastas use for the white power structure that they believe has 
subjugated blacks - and a belief that Ethiopian Emperor Haile 
Selassie I, who died in 1975, was the second messiah.

The movement grew rapidly in the late '90s amid the economic crisis, 
when Cuba opened the nation to foreign investment in tourism.

Many foreign companies favored fair-skinned Cubans for jobs in 
hotels, restaurants and elsewhere, according to Alejandro de la 
Fuente, a University of Pittsburgh professor and author of the book 
"A Nation for All: Race, Inequality and Politics in 20th Century 
Cuba."

Blacks' frustrations have led to various cultural and religious 
expressions of what it means to be Afro-Cuban, from paintings and 
sculpture to Rastafarianism and hip-hop. "Blacks are saying, 'We may 
have lost ground in the economy and in the tourist industry, but we 
...cannot be ignored," de la Fuente said.

Many artists and rap groups explore the dynamics of being black in 
Cuba through overt references to police brutality or racial 
discrimination. Cuba's half-dozen reggae groups tend to focus on the 
Rasta goal of togetherness.

"My message is peace, love, one unity, one God," said Luis Alberto 
Figueras, who in 1990 founded Cocoman, the first reggae band here, 
and now fronts the group Paso Firme, or Steady Step.

Cuban Rastas have added homegrown elements to the movement. Many, 
like the Havana-based painter Ariel Diaz Garcia, practice Santeria, 
the religion African slaves brought to Cuba that remains a mainstay 
of Afro-Cuban life.

"Rastafarianism is my personal philosophy, while Santeria is my 
religion," explained Diaz, 38, who has used elements of both in his 
paintings.

The soft-spoken, bearded Diaz also sees no contradiction between the 
atheist teachings of communist Cuba and the religious tenets of 
either Rastafarianism or Santeria. "While socialism is an important 
step in my life, it is not enough to feed the spirit," he said.

Other Rastas, however, see Rastafarianism as an alternative to 
communism. "I studied Marxism in school but it is lies. Where are the 
opportunities for all Cubans that we were taught about?" asked 
Carlos, 23, a Rasta who works as a salsa dancer. Like many here, he 
didn't want his full name used for fear of reprisals from the state.

Some Cuban Rastas consider themselves purer than their Jamaican 
counterparts, who they say have been corrupted by gangs. "The Rastas 
of Kingston accept Babylon. They have been involved in drugs and 
violence," Mayeta said.

Rastas in Cuba, which imposes stiff fines and jail time for drug use, 
also are far less open about smoking marijuana than their 
counterparts in Jamaica.

As Cuba's Rastafarianism grows, some worry it is being reduced to a 
fashion statement. However it evolves, the movement signals that 
after four decades of strict party rule here, the will to be 
different is thriving.
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MAP posted-by: Josh