26 Marzo 2010

This morning we had a very interesting visit to a media broadcasting station where we met with the production team for a daily program called Mesa Redonda (the Round Table). If there is one part of Cuban society that I have not come to appreciate, or at least understand, it is mass media. It must be understood that many Cubans cannot afford to own a television, even though cable bills would be quite subsidized I imagine. Those that do have it, have access to some Venezuelan programs, Mesa Redonda, and not much else. It is hard to say exactly because the hotels have cable and receive HBO, Showtime, ESPN and CNN in Spanish and English, just to name a few. Cuban citizens certainly do not receive all of these channels. It is simply another aspect of the tourist vs. local structural dichotomy of society here.
The producers of the program talked about its objectives and origins. It began during the Elian Gonzalez debate. Fidel Castro sponsored the program to inform the people about the discussion by bringing child specialists and other experts to talk at the round table. The idea was very popular and the program continued with varying discussion themes. But, like all the other programming on television here, it is extremely leftist, and is not meant to be a platform for debate but instead to represent the revolutionary view.
My problem with the media in Cuba is that I don’t see any opportunity for an unbiased publicized debate between experts, officials, or specialists. Of course, I don’t think that the news-system in the United States is worth much either. The national corporations are biased towards the right, or if they present both sides, they do so with restrictions from the powers above them. I believe and understand that it is impossible to have a private fund for support and (whether consciously or unconsciously) to NOT be working to present the story for those supporters.
Honestly, I’ve come away from this visit with a fair deal of pessimism about mass media in general. I think it is an important branch of cultural society that needs some major repair and transformation.
Directly from the visit Veronika, Jenn, Katie, and I went to the stadium for another Industriales game. They are in the equivalent of the ‘world series’ now, so the crowds were fuller and more enthused. We were more prepared too- decked out in blue and white and even sporting some Industriales gear. Go home-team! (The score was something like 12 to 9, a really good and exciting game).
In the evening Veronika and I met an Italian classmate from our Spanish class. We met him in Old Havana for dinner at a Portuguese ( I think!? ) owned brewery in the main square. It is one of the few, if not the only, privately owned business in Havana, and, dare I say, Cuba. To be truthful, I am not sure how it coexists and functions within the city. I’d like to look it up online if I can find some Internet soon.













Feelings: Baseball in the stadium, dinner in the plaza: it is good to be outside. Tomorrow we leave by plane for Santiago de Cuba (as far away from Havana as possible) at 430am so I’m a bit nervous (and already tired) for the journey.

(Later) 1.30.10 Take Me Out to the Partido de Beísbol

Short update on my before I cram for my Spanish placement test! It was a relief this morning to not know what our plans would be. We all slept in, a welcome break from orientation and much needed business after last night’s experimentation with the Cuban schedule of nocturnal festivities. Once awake, we took a cab to the ball game. The Cuban baseball teams have games 6 days a week. Hundreds of Cubans go to each game for about five cents each- especially if the home team is playing, los industriales. Now, I’m no baseball aficionado but what beats going to the game and getting riled up for five cents. We sat in the crowds, answered the ‘where are you from?’ question for some of our neighboring Industrials fans and watched the game, for four hours. The Cienfuegos team pulled ahead in the beginning with some lousy pitches from our side. Our stand mates would get up and yell and argue and couldn’t believe some of the umpire’s calls. By the middle it was tied up again, with a few home runs, and more than a few walks. But alas, cienfuegos came out the victors in the end with a couple great doubles and some really nice runs. Were all of those correct baseball terminology? I hope so. It reminded me a lot of the Sea Dogs, Portland’s home team (and a feeder to the RedSox), but that may just be because the stadium was pretty small, not any poor judgment of the players themselves. It was very strange seeing such an American game played in the Caribbean where there is such a strong Latin American culture, and fewer strong influences from the United States because of the embargo. The differences I noticed between Cuban baseball and the baseball back home was all in the bleachers. There was less chanting and more whistling and clapping. Also, and this made me a bit uneasy, not only were there police officers for stadium security, but there were loads of army men dispersed throughout the stadium as well. It is a bit unnerving to have the government militia present constantly- but they did not carry guns, which helped me to quickly grow accustomed to their presence. And lastly, a big difference, not once did they play “take me out to the ball game”.

After el partido de béisbol we took the bus back to the hotel and made ourselves a lovely vegetarian meal including patacones and vegetable–lime medley.