The Cuban Community in Albuquerque

Overview and Brief History:
Cuba, the largest of the Caribbean islands, lies ninety miles south of Key West between the Bahamas and Jamaica. The country also claims the Isla de La Juventud (the Isle of Youth) and other smaller islands. Havana is the capital. Most of the land is flat and crisscrossed by hundreds of shallow rivers, although there are three mountainous regions. Cuba is blessed with a tropical climate. However, the island is a regular target of hurricanes.

Cuba was originally settled by the Siboney, who were hunter/gatherers from South America, approximately 3,000 years ago. At about 1250 AD, the Taino, an Arawak tribe who had settled most of the Caribbean islands as well as the northern edge of South America, came to Cuba. By the time Christopher Columbus reached the island on October 27, 1492, the Taino had driven the Siboney to the western tip of the island. When the Spanish arrived there were an estimated half-million indigenous people living in small farming villages.

In 1511, the Spaniard Diego Velasquez landed near Guantánamo Bay with 300 men to colonize the island. They were fiercely opposed by a Taino chief, Hatuey, who had fled Hispaniola because of Spanish atrocities. Hatuey was eventually captured and burned at the stake. Velasquez established seven settlements. By 1514, the city of Havana had been established by Pánfilo de Narváez. He named the city after San Cristóbal de Habana, a local Taino chief. Smallpox, brutal treatment and malnutrition quickly decimated the natives and by 1570, the entire indigenous population had been wiped out.

The first African slaves were brought to work the mines and plantations in 1522. The slaves were allowed to stay together in tribal groups, which allowed them to maintain much of their African culture, including their religion, santeria. Although Sugar cane was planted almost immediately by the colonizers, a native plant, tobacco, was the first important commercial crop.

Because of its strategic position in the Caribbean, Cuba became the central staging point for the shipment of Mexican and Peruvian treasure to Spain. Although Havana was heavily fortified, it was frequently attacked by British and French pirates. In 1762, the British briefly occupied the port and briefly ended the Spanish trading monopoly.

Following the slave revolution in Haiti, which became the Negro Republic of Haiti, the first black nation, in 1805, French sugar plantation owners fled to and settled in Cuba. Sugar cane rapidly became an important crop and 700,000 African slaves were imported over the next 40 years to work on the plantations. Cuba became the world’s largest sugar producer and the newly independent United States was its biggest customer.

Soon after most of the Americas and Mexico had gained their respective independences from Spain, Cubanos began agitating for their own independence. By the 1840's, many US business interests, buoyed by the Monroe Doctrine, were openly lobbying to bring Cuba into the United States and in 1848, President Polk offered Spain $100 million for Cuba. Many in the US, especially southerners, were anxious to annex the island, and some even participated in unsuccessful invasions, called filibusters at the time. In 1854 President Franklin Pierce upped the offer to Spain to $130 million for Cuba.; but Spain again refused.

During the 1850's a Cuban nationalist movement calling for self-rule grew rapidly. In October, 1868 the first revolution began in earnest. Heroic Cuban soldiers led by General Máximo Gómez and the legendary Antonio Maceo impressively managed to stave off a far superior Spanish army and navy, but they were seriously outnumbered and outgunned. When the war ended nine years later, more than 200,000 Cubans and 80,000 Spaniards had died in the fighting. The rebel leadership was forced to sign a peace treaty in February, 1878.

Following the war, US investors snapped up plantations sold for pennies by bankrupt Spanish landowners and by the late 1890's, 70 percent of Cuba’s lands were in US hands and 90 percent of the country’s sugar went to US markets.

The second war against Spain was initiated in 1895 by Cuba’s national hero, José Martí, a gifted writer and advocate of social justice. Martí campaigned for Cuban independence from exile in the United States and warned of the danger of American domination. He was killed in the first months of the war but the fighting continued.

In February 1898 the US battleship Maine was suspiciously blown up in Havana harbor. Washington blamed Spain and declared war a few months later. In July the Spanish surrendered and the Americans occupied Cuba. In 1902 the island finally gained its independence after being forced to accept a US drafted constitution which included the controversial Platt Amendment. This amendment gave the US the right to intervene in Cuban internal affairs whenever it deemed necessary to protect American interests. It also allowed for a US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, which remains to this day.

The next five decades were dominated by corruption, incompetence and increasing American control of the economy. Sugar and tobacco were exported to the US and by 1956, three-quarters of Cuban imports were from the US. Tourism boomed along with gambling and prostitution as mobsters from Miami and New York moved into Havana. Meanwhile, poverty and unemployment increased in the countryside. In 1933, a young army sergeant, Fulgencio Batista, seized power and ruled the country until 1944.

Following Batista’s reigne, Cuban government was marked by systemic corruption and brutal repression of political opponents. Batista staged another coup in March 1952 ostensibly to restore order and democracy. Elections, which the mildly liberal Partido Ortodoxo was expected to win, were called off. Batista and his cronies were intent on lining their pockets and the dictatorship opened its arms to organized crime. Order was maintained by the army and the secret police. Hundreds of government opponents were tortured and murdered.

On July 26, 1953, over 100 militants and students led by a young lawyer, Fidel Castro, attacked the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The assault was thwarted and most of the rebels were killed. Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison but served only two years. Granted amnesty, Castro fled to Mexico City where he met a radical Argentine doctor named Ernesto “Che” Guevara. In December, 1956 Castro and 81 supporters sailed from Mexico in a small yacht called the Granma and ignited the Cuban Revolution. The guerrillas established themselves in the Sierra Maestra mountains near Santiago and slowly gained support among the peasants. An underground resistance grew the cities and began staging protests and supplying new recruits and arms to Castro’s rebels.

In May 1958, Batista sent 10,000 soldiers to confront the guerrillas but the campaign failed miserably. Led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, Castro’s troops successfully fought back. As popular support for the guerrillas spread, Batista’s troops became demoralized and eventually his army collapsed. The dictator fled to the Dominican Republic on New Year’s Day, 1959, with $40 million in Cuban cash. Che and Camilo, accompanied by the revolutionary army, arrived in Havana the next day. Fidel arrived in Havana on January 8th. He was named Prime Minister and on January 25th, over a million Cubans filled the streets to hear Fidel speak.

Castro’s government nationalized all lands over 400 hectares (990 acres). The land was redistributed to landless peasants and the rest was turned into state farms. Racial discrimination was abolished, rents were slashed, and salaries increased. Thousands of volunteers spread across the countryside to teach peasants to read and write. Business interests in the US were outraged by the nationalization of American-owned plantations and the US government initiated a CIA-led plan to oust the Castro Government.

Cuba responded by nationalizing all US-owned companies and by establishing closer economic and political ties with the Soviet Union. Washington began an economic blockade and cut off diplomatic relations in January, 1961. The US effort to topple the revolutionary government culminated under the Kennedy administration with the April 17th, 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles invaded Cuba and were promptly defeated and arrested.

The following October the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Moscow had installed 40 nuclear missiles on Cuban soil. The US threatened war unless the missiles were removed. The Soviets backed down and removed the missiles.

However, the Castro regime was largely an economic failure. Despite Soviet aid, production sagged and a quarter-million Cubans fled to the US. Cuba adopted the Soviet model of authoritarian central planning and bureaucratization. The system survived on Soviet subsidies which helped build an impressive social-welfare system; but underneath, the economy was untenable. In 1980, another 125,000 Cubans fled to the US in the infamous Mariel Boatlift.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba faced dire economic prospects. Without Soviet imports, Cuba’s economy ground to a halt. The US tightened its trade embargo on Cuba and curtailed shipments of food and medical supplies. Basic goods grew scarce and Cuba’s limited economic resources were channelled into education and healthcare. In 1996, the Helms-Burton Bill, which limited foreign investment in the country, was passed by the US Congress, further crippling Cuba’s economy.

Today, Cuba finds itself still under siege by a relentlessly belligerent US Government. Bowing to electoral pressure from influential Cuban ex-patriots in Miami, Florida, neither US political party seems willing to negotiate with Castro’s failing but persistent government. However, the long-term goals of the US government for Cuba, outside of toppling the Castro regime, have never been clearly articulated to the American public. Perhaps the 19th century “Manifest Destiny” goal of annexing the country into the US may prove to be Cuba’s eventual fate; but that seems highly unlikely at this point in time.

History of Immigration to the US and Albuquerque:
Lying a mere 90 miles off of the coast of Florida, Cubans have been traveling to the US in small numbers over the entire course of its history. But most Cubans maintained Cuban citizenship first and foremost. Even Cuban heroes, such as Jose Martí, who, although exiled to New York City in the late 19th century, eventually returned to Cuba. It was not until the ascendency of the Castro regime in 1959 that massive numbers of Cubans began to emigrate from Cuba to Florida and the US.

Most of these early political refugees still had every intent to return to Cuba following the collapse of Castro’s government; but 45 years later, they still remain. Their families have now integrated into American society and it is doubtful that many of them will return to Cuba following the eventual collapse of Castro’s government.

While Miami was (and remains) the primary destination for most immigrant Cubans, many also settled in New York City. Small numbers of Cubans also spread to other cities across the US, usually for education or occupational opportunities. Many of these early immigrants were intellectuals and/or successful business people in Cuba and used their skills to secure positions in the US. Albuquerque’s initial Cuban immigrants were made up of these refugees. Many came to Albuquerque because of the University of New Mexico.

The 1980's saw a vastly different type of Cuban immigrant coming to both the US and Albuquerque. This was the infamous Mariel Boatlift, when Castro emptied Cuba’s prisons of both political and criminal prisoners and allowed them to emigrate in small boats. Many of these refugees were hardened and organized criminals who wreaked havoc across the US, Albuquerque included.

In 1995 there was yet another wave of Cubans into the US. The Santa Fe Archdiocese of the Catholic Church relocated many of these new refugees in the Albuquerque through their Catholic Charities Immigration Project. While many of these immigrants were typical upstanding citizens seeking to create a new life for themselves, as with the Mariel Boatlift, others were known gangsters and criminals in Cuba. As with other cities across the nation, Albuquerque’s law enforcement officials were strapped to deal with this new influx, but they managed to control the situation to a large degree. It is estimated that approximately 3,500 of these latest refugees have been successfully relocated to the Albuquerque area.

Cultural Traditions:
Cuba is a Spanish speaking country, and as such, outside of idioms and colloquialisms, has not had a difficult time in maintaining language traditions. Cuisine is another matter. I was told that there have been three or four attempts a establishing a Cuban restaurant in Albuquerque and all of them have ended in failure. As one Cubano pointed out, “I guess Cuban food just isn’t spicy enough for New Mexicans.”

However, there is one establishment in the Nob Hill area that is currently serving Cuban food for lunch. Although it is primarily an outlet for skin and hair care products, they maintain an lunch counter featuring Cuban-style sandwiches and other dishes, such as Moros y Cristianos (black beans and rice).

Artistic Traditions:
Music and dance are a part of everyday life in Cuba, and one finds this among them in Albuquerque as well. Salsa is the music that drives the heartbeat of Cuba. There are a few clubs that feature locally produced Cuban music, notably The Cooperage. There are a number of very talented Cuban musicians living in Albuquerque, but there are not enough paying venues to allow them to work full time at their craft here. Many travel to the surrounding states just so they can perform at least a few times a month and stay in practice.

The National Hispanic Cultural Center has sponsored concerts by internationally famous Cuban salsa groups and the Outpost Performance Space has brought in smaller Cuban groups; but these events are not common or recurring.

There is a renowned Cuban dancer/choreographer living in Albuquerque. She teaches Cuban dance and maintains a Cuban dance troupe. Her troupe performs occasionally at local events, such as the former Summerfrest.

There is a Cuban woman who is a published novelist who now calls Albuquerque home.

Annual Events and Celebrations:
In spite of its large size (over 4,000 people), the Cuban community is not organized. There is no Cuban American Association and because of this, there are no organized events celebrating Cuban culture. When queried as to why there was no Cuban organization or centralized gathering place for Cubans in Albuquerque, one man laughed and told me that there was no need for a Cuban cultural center because they already had The Cooperage (a local night club frequented by Cubans). Perhaps this will change in the future, but for now there are no known organized annual events or celebrations among the Cuban community in Albuquerque.

Conclusion:
Many Cuban musicians expressed frustration at not being able to perform more often locally. They would like the city to sponsor more concerts featuring Cuban music at events like Arts in the Park, the Zoo Concert Series, and Summerfest.