I am surprised that your question presupposes that my work (or that of your other interviewees) is not currently relevant to society – or not relevant yet. Excuse me, but I want to believe that it is and that it has been in the past. Leaving aside, out of modesty, my own creative work, I am convinced that my years of work as La Gaceta de Cuba’s deputy editor as much as my teaching at the International Film School, in San Antonio de los Baños, have contributed in some way to a dynamic public sphere, fostering a critical thinking that, from the perspective of decolonization, continuously questions our world and its contradictions.
I think that the three forms of intellectual work typically performed by academics – research, teaching and creation- operate very differently. Teaching contributes to society over the long term, and usually inconspicuously, preferring to operate under the radar. Research also tends to exert influence over time and in specialist areas. Artistic creation, on the other hand, needs to be broadcast openly and on a larges scale. It doesn’t have the luxury of patience, and much less of silence, even though at times its discourse has to be evasive to escape censorship.
Yet, these days, Cuban intellectuals are very polarized, and every group, faction or individual easily becomes entrenched in a position that is at odds with all the others
Cuba currently finds itself at yet another crossroads (maybe its fate is to remain unperturbed by such disquieting situations). Many of us who are involved in politics, intellectual life and civil society are doing all we can to make the future that lies ahead meet our aspirations, even as these aspirations are not one but many. Yet, these days, Cuban intellectuals are very polarized, and every group, faction or individual easily becomes entrenched in a position that is at odds with all the others. I am particularly struck by the aggressiveness and intolerance shown by the Right. There are continuous calls for dialogue, for debate, for tolerance, but few people are willing to listen, and much less come to a mutual understanding. Nonetheless, there’s an intense intellectual life even though it is in danger of closing itself off. There are certainly ongoing debates, some of them ferocious, about matters of culture and ideology, but they do not take place in the public arena, but often over e-mail, and so they do not reach all Cubans. In other words, there are very active intellectual circles, involved with and exerting influence over issues of concern, but their actions tend to be ideologically disperse, and at times very limited.
In other words, there are very active intellectual circles, involved with and exerting influence over issues of concern, but their actions tend to be ideologically disperse, and at times very limited.
We know, however, that our relevance could be greater, much greater. The extent to which intellectuals continue to play a part in Cuban social life will depend on political developments, and we of course can’t know at this time what those will be. It will also depend, among other factors, on the mass media; that is, on those who own the mass media and the interests to which they respond. For decades now, the media has been used to impose a unilateral, basically uncritical discourse, every day more removed from the people to whom it claims to cater. To continue with this situation is a mistake, as it harms, in particular, the ideology of the Left, although it may seem otherwise There also is the danger of mass media discourses becoming superficial, and of academia turning inward, becoming nothing but hollow rhetoric. These are very real dangers, and we should constantly make sure that every work of thought, of critique, fulfills its role of communicating with its audience. In sum, we should make sure that all intellectual work contributes to showing the complexity of our social fabric as well as to making society more dynamic. And it should not just limit itself to Cuba and Cuban issues, for this archipelago does not exist inside a bell jar.
— Arturo Arango
Arturo Arango is editor-in-chief of the cultural magazine La Gaceta de Cuba, and before that, editor-in-chief of Casa de las Américas. He has authored many screenplays, short stories, cultural essays, as well as several novels.