Halloween Hangover in Havana

Halloween Hangover in Havana
November 8, 2014

HAVANA TIMES — The advance of Halloween as a celebration in Havana has
not gone unnoticed by the critics of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba.
Pedro de la Hoz, cultural columnist for the official Granma newspaper,
expressed concern about the costume celebrations. What bothered De la
Hoz most was the use of several state facilities for such "neocolonal"
parties.

The following is a report from Café Fuerte:

SENIOR OFFICIAL SLAMS STATE INSTITUTIONS FOR CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN
by Cafe Fuerte


The cultural critic of the official newspaper Granma, Pedro de la Hoz,
is very upset over recent Halloween festivities and the celebrating of a
Pan American cheerleading championship in Havana.

In an article titled "Oddities not so rare," De La Hoz, who is also vice
president of the Writers and Artists Association of Cuba (UNEAC),
harshly criticized the state institutions that lent themselves to
promoting these events, carried away by the logic of the market and the
assimilation of foreign "neocolonial" influences.

"What's strange, and in my opinion disturbing, is that such practices
are promoted at institutions whose social mission involves preserving
our identity and values," wrote the official critic. "On G street you
can dress in costume on October 31 or any day as long as it doesn't
violate the the basic norms of coexistence. But in the Pink Room, the
Jardines de la Tropical dance venue, the 1830 club, the Diablo Tuntun
club and the Red Room at the Capri Hotel, at Artex or Egrem, or the
management of any tourist or recreational facility, should allow for the
promotion of such events."

De la Hoz further asks: "Why be swayed by the logic of the market or the
uncritical assimilation of neocolonial foreign influences?"

Surprised by pumpkins

The columnist was surprised that on Friday October 31, in parts of
Havana people dressed as pumpkins or other characters of what he called
"the American media industry."

A day later, the Sports City complex hosted the IV Pan American
Cheerleading Championships, sponsored by the Cuban Sports Insitute
(INDER), which also drew criticism from De la Hoz. The columnist said
that colleagues who reported on the event said it was like attending a
half time show of an NBA game or "havING been transported to a community
of Massachusetts or New England" instead of being on G Street or the
Jardines de la Tropical.

"Supposedly we should build an altar to cultural diversity, and mutual
influences and plural communication. But that's not the case. The
hegemony of the United States culture industry imposes habits, tastes,
ways of thinking and acting, in a persistent but subtle way," said De la
Hoz.

The gradual emergence of costumes and Halloween parties in Cuban society
has been questioned before both by intellectuals and ordinary citizens,
arguing that it has become a celebration for children of the privileged
with greater access to foreign currency.

USA Flags

Regarding the cheerleading tournament, the journalist recalled that
support from the stands must assume characteristics that correspond to
the national character, such as congas in stadiums or the hype from
Armandito in the baseball games at Havana's Lationamericano Stadium.

But what most irritated De la Hoz was that on the way to the sports
complex and near the Tropical Gardens some young people wore clothes
with the US flag on them.

Although the writer admitted that everyone is free to copy the habits of
others, he criticized the passive attitude of Cuban society to such
displays.

The barrage of criticism from Granma occurs a few days after the holding
a forum on cultural consumption in Cuba, organized by the UNEAC and the
Hermanos Saiz Association, in which they questioned the wide
dissemination of "the package", a popular alternative distribution of
audiovisual products.

Source: Halloween Hangover in Havana - Havana Times.org -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=107204