Behind the Performances

Behind the Performances / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya
Posted on January 18, 2015

To think that the "common Cuban on the street" –not the dissidents or
the usual disobedient individuals- would spontaneously make use of the
open microphones at "that" Square, to demand rights from the government
is naive, a utopia. The idea is beautiful and romantic, but far, far
away from reality.
HAVANA, Cuba. – During the final days of 2014 and the first three of
2015, the bells have been ringing for artist Tania Bruguera and the wave
of arrests sparked by her announcement of the performance Tatlin's
Whisper # 6, after which she intended to provide a minute of freedom of
expression for the common Cuban at the Plaza "de la Revolución" itself.

Authorities responded with their usual violence, detaining several dozen
dissidents, opposition activists, journalists, and other members of the
independent civil society and tossing them into dungeons. Some of the
detainees had not even intended to participate in the event, and were
arrested only for the crime of leaving their homes on the "wrong" day.

Comments on the subject have swarmed the digital media, as befits the
case of such a recognized and award-winning artist as Bruguera, with
a prolific career, though she was almost totally unknown to the
potential recipients of her performance.

Tania Bruguera, in short, has suffered the same fate that the other
members of the opposition and of the independent civil society have
faced for decades: censorship and repression by the regime, while those
same "common Cubans" suffer from the proverbial ignorance –be it as a
result of misinformation or disinterest. So we reaffirm the urgent need
to avail all Cubans of the bulk of information that allows them the
civic empowerment and the willingness to come out as actors of the changes.

Ineptness or intention?

The reasons for Tania Bruguera's intention to perform are too well-known
and are more than justified. The repression orchestrated by the Cuban
government, however, though predictable, is counterproductive at a time
when it should strive to present a more tolerant face.

The General-President has lost a golden opportunity to score before the
international public opinion somewhat, showing such an
outrageous stupidity that could only be understood if he had
the deliberate intention to launch a challenge to Barack Obama's
conciliatory position and the democratic world as a whole.

Anyone who knows the Cuban reality knows that it would have been very
easy for the dictatorship to annihilate the "Tatlin effect" and,
incidentally, make a fool of the artist using its usual
methods. Namely, to let her reach her stage and her microphones, and
then control or prevent entrance to the "counterrevolutionaries" –
probably the only Cubans who would have dared to exercise their freedom
of expression publicly and to voice their opinions and demands –
mobilize its more loyal militants (and also their milidummies) to fill
the space and to have them take the microphone to launch the usual
praises of the revolution and its leaders.

They could even have used their agents, infiltrated in the opposition
ranks, to offer the "mad-dog faces" of those who want to see the end of
the socialist paradise, to have faked their support for Bruguera's play
by sharing the Plaza's venue with works of La Colmenita, or by
simultaneously celebrating any other "cultural act" with the
participation of the many artists who usually lend themselves for such
cases. It would have been, no doubt, a massive event, and the
General-President would have shown the world, at the same time as the
existence of "the most genuine and spontaneous freedom of expression of
the Cuban people," the firm commitment by the people to the revolution
and its unquestionable conquests.

He chose, however, brutality, a disproportionate official reaction that
sends misleading signals that are inconsistent with the relaxed
atmosphere that we should be starting to breathe with the burial of
the war hatchets after half a century of confrontation with the
natural enemy of the people. But did anyone really expect a different
outcome?

Behind the performances

There are those who wonder, following the events, if Tania Bruguera's
performance was worth it, since it turned into an occasion of unleashed
repression at a time of year when family traditions are of peace and
celebration. The answer to this depends on the artist's objectives, not
on the reaction by the Cuban government.

If her intention was to draw attention to international public opinion
about the dictatorial nature of the government, the mere purpose was a
success and was worth it. But its price, namely, the official repressive
reaction, is the norm in Cuba – as is well known by independent civil
society on the Island, with decades of first-hand resistance against the
government – and the artist is not responsible for this.

On the other hand, exercising civic rights and free expression of all
kinds are worth the effort, be it a performance or simply an everyday
practice, but we must not enhance the facts or attribute to the artistic
event the capability of "obstructing the normalization" of relations
between Cuba and the US. The propensity for drama is definitively one
of the evils that we Cubans drag with us, which turns us into
myopic politicians.

So, to pretend that "common Cubans" – not "mercenary" dissidents, or the
usual disobedient individuals – could make spontaneous use of open
microphones in a public place (particularly "that" public place)
for citizens' complaints and demanding of rights from the government is
naive, a utopia, or a combination of both. The idea is beautiful and
romantic, but far, far away from reality.

Let's idealize it: the fact that ordinary Cubans, immersed in survival,
need venues for freedom, does not mean that they are ready to openly
challenge the government, especially if after the performances they will
continue to be inevitably tied to this Island prison. A lot more is
needed to overcome the fear of one minute on stage and before a microphone.

A quick poll is sufficient to verify that the recipients were unaware of
the act. In fact, neither the artist's proposal nor the wave of related
arrests has emerged in national public opinion.

Havana residents who this last December 30th observed the unusual police
presence in the areas adjacent to the Plaza never knew what it was
about, and probably did not give it much importance. We have to
understand them: those were the days of the agricultural fair and, as
the last straw, in many municipalities, chickens "for the people" were
being distributed.

It's not cynicism, but realism. In terms of rights, we Cubans we have a
long way to go, including –by the way – overcoming the temptation
to place on the desk of the US Presidential demands that the Cuban
authorities will be responsible for complying with. At least, such
is the opinion of this Cuban, for whom the exercise of freedom of
expression has always been practice, not performance.

Translated by Norma Whiting

Source: Behind the Performances / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya | Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/behind-the-performances-cubanet-miriam-celaya/