Cuban culture suffers under U.S.
blockade
Amelia Duarte
Photo:
Jose M. Correa.
After
more than half a century, the economic, financial
and commercial blockade imposed by the U.S. on Cuba
continues to affect and increasingly damages diverse
spheres of national culture.
According
to sources from the Ministry of Culture (Mincult),
it is estimated that since April 2013 through March
2104 the blockade has caused damages to Cuban music,
visual arts, literature, arts education and the film
industry in excess of 22 million dollars.
The
blockade affects promotion, diffusion, and
commercialization of Cuban arts, negatively impacts
the price of cultural products and services and
limits international consumers from enjoying Cuban
music, given the control which transnational arts
and music companies – the majority U.S. owned –
exert.
Mincult
statistics show that in regards to music, live
performances by Cuban artists in the U.S. must be
classified under the character of cultural exchange,
without commercial contracts. Cuban companies do not
receive any commercial benefit and the groups are
prohibited form performing for commercial purposes
during the period of exchange.
Throughout 2013, the Cuban Music Institute planned
various cultural exchanges and although the number
of projects which were organized was similar to that
of 2012, the quantity of musicians who traveled to
the U.S. decreased. From 2013 through March 2014 the
U.S. government rejected 97 visa applications made
by Cuban artists.
Another
important limitation of the blockade which affects
Cuban culture is Cuban artists’ participation in the
Grammy Awards. Submitting products for the
competition is a complex and difficult process,
given that there is no direct and legal way of
safely doing it. Payments can not be made from Cuba
via bank transfer, a requirement all participants
are obliged to meet.
The sale
and promotion of Cuban art is subject to U.S.
Treasury Department restrictions, despite the fact
that Bergman amendment allows for the legal purchase
of Cuban art.
In
addition, the blockade directly affects arts
education, impacting on teaching and creative
quality.
The basic
study materials needed to train artists figure among
the most expensive in the world, and the constant
difficulty in obtaining them is one more example of
the obstacles created by the hostile anti-Cuban,
anti-human policy, imposed for over half a century
by successive U.S. governments.
In
addition Cuban students and teachers are limited
from participating in different events, from
theater, dance, ballet, visual arts and music, which
take place in the U.S.
Similarly, teachers and students linked to the Arts
Education System are prohibited from visiting the
U.S., in order to impede U.S.-Cuban exchanges in
this field - which limits the possibility of
exchanging methodological, educative and artistic
ideas that could aid in the development of teaching
techniques - as well as obtaining financial
resources which would allow Cubans to participate in
such events.
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