cuban mile :: essays research papers

The special(a) point in time in Cuba can best be exposit as a timeof struggle. The dissatisfaction of many Cubans has led totheir emigration to the United States by traveling in raftsto the coast of Florida. The Cuban people harbor differentviews regarding the trip to exile as well as the motivationsto stay or leave Cuba. In Alejandro Hernandez Diazs book,The Cuba Mile, and in the movie Guantanamera, we see or soof the different ways in which Cuban Culture views theSpecial Period, the trip to exile, and the motivationsbehind staying or leaving Cuba.The year 1991 marked the beginning of the SpecialPeriod and hard times have existed in Cuba ever since. ManyCubans are tired of the hardships and shortages of theSpecial Period. To try and make ends meet many Cubans have fitted to the tough times by making money in the BlackMarket. In Guantanamera, both the cabdriver and Marianouse the Black Market to make surplus money. As they travelacross the island, they buy food to be resold at a higherprice when they arrive in Havana. Many Cubans feel that the variety is no longer working and that it is time for a qualifying. In Guantanamera, symbolism of this idea isclearly demonstrated. In the movie, a story from theSanteria religion is told. The god of Olofin is delineatedin the movie, Olofin created life but not death. Therefore,everyone lived forever and the elderly people held controland influenced many aspects of society. Nothing everchanged much like the Cuban regimen which is old andunchanging. Then, one day Olofin made it rain for thirtydays and thirty nights. The flood killed the old and onlythe young survived. The current revolution is old, and isnot working as well as it did in the 1970s. The movie iscalling for the need of a natural process, like the rain tocome and wash outdoor(a) the old revolutions ideas so new andyoung ideas can survive in Cuba. However, many Cubans feelthat the situation is not going to change and their desireto leave Cuba is so str ong that they risk their lives byrafting across the Straits of Florida in order to gainfreedom and opportunities in the United States. The hardships of the Special Period became soconsiderable many Cubans chose to take their chances withthe ocean. Large quantities of Cubans began to constructrafts in order to escape to the United States. They hopedto either survive the 90 mile trip or be discovered by theU.S. coastguard and brought to the United States.