Apology accepted. :)
I'll admit, I've never been to Cuba- however, my mother emigrated here along with my grandparents. I've been hearing first-hand accounts of what Cuba, specifically Havana, was like from my family. I've seen pictures, movies, and heard a lot of stories from my grandparents especially on the social, political, and cultural climates of Cuba up until they left in 1960. I would love more than nothing to visit Cuba someday, but, I don't think I want to under the current regime. Miami is an extremely poor substitute and I think it is not really representative of Cuba, either of what it used to be, what it is today, or what it could be under a different government.
So, what I meant about a culture change, is that to many Cubans here in the USA, leaving their own home is pretty devastating. Elements of culture and tradition are still there of course- and I was raised in much of it my whole life. However, in living in a different country, whether it be here or somewhere else, you naturally begin to absorb elements of that new culture. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but especially for first-generation Americans such as myself, I am much more American than Cuban. My mother was so young when she came here, that she herself identifies herself as much more "Cuban-American" than simply Cuban, and for obvious reasons. Not only that, but in Cuba itself, there has been a huge Cuban culture loss, I'd say. As a people, Cubans have always been extremely individualistic, which at times is in contrast to other Latino cultures (most, though not all of the others learn more towards the collectivist). Cubans were definitely capitalist in nature, but their strong middle class could have ensured a nation very much different from those under Batista or Castro...one much more like America's- or should I say the
idealized America, not exactly what it has become now. By the very nature of the socialist dictatorship government in Cuba today, it goes very much against the traditional "nature" of Cuban culture, as I understand it.
Of course, there may be some that disagree with me, and I can understand why people would dislike Miami- I am not crazy about it, either. However, it's a
very diverse city filled with much more than Cubans and much more than haves and have-nots. In Miami, it's also easy to find people from a wide variety of Latin American cultures, as well as Haitians, Jamaicans, etc. and it still has a relatively strong middle class, and areas that are both culturally diverse and interesting, not just expensive malls and condos.
I got off-track and forgot to answer your last question. I have given it a lot of thought, and I am not sure what I think it'd be like under Castro, but without the embargo. Cuba would probably be less destitute and more successful over all, but at the same political climate would still persist. I think we'd still be in a similar situation, except we'd probably have less Cuban immigrants and perhaps even better relations with the island...but I think the inherent culture of the island would still be affected the the restrictions of the socialist dictatorship in place, sadly.
As a silly anecdote to the individualist comment, I was once going to the supermarket with my grandmother, who proceeded to enter through the exit door. I said "Abuela, that's the exit door, you can't do that!" She responded, "I'm Cuban, I can do whatever the hell I want".
Edited, Feb 21st 2008 10:33pm by Alixana Edited, Feb 21st 2008 10:37pm by Alixana
! 