I had the privilege of seeing the Cuban timba and son band Tiempo Libre perform on 4 April 2008. Their music was engaging, lively, and spirited as one would expect Cubano music to be.
Interestingly, they closed their performance with a song dedicated “to the greatest nation in the world, the United States of America.” Their words, not mine.
This leaves me wondering: What would a bunch of twenty-something natives of Castro’s Cuba think about the assertion of oppression made by some Americans against the Bush administration? What would they think about the political and personal wrangling that has surrounded issues like warrantless surveillance?
Now, I know that the immediate response will be something like “We oppose the Bush administration so that we don’t end up like Cuba.”
Somehow I think the response should be “Yeah, we are the best nation in the world, but we have problems. What can we do about that so that we can be even better?”
Cuba no es libre pero todavía somos. Viva la libertad.
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9 comments:
Cuba is a country? I thought "Cuba libre" was just the Spanish word for rum-and-coke.
No, it's for how you feel after you drink a few rums and cokes... only with not so much coke in it... I guess.
It was funny when I started typing. Honest.
Scotland libre?
Sometimes, the byline says it all.
Somehow I think the response should be “Yeah, we are the best nation in the world, but we have problems. What can we do about that so that we can be even better?”
Is the implication that people who criticize our current situation aren't somehow saying this or engaging in this mindset?
One other question: should our new slogan be, "At least we're better than Cuba?"
No, that's not the implication (at least in my book). I took it to mean that people outside of the USA can see that we have problems just like everyone else, but it is still better here than anywhere else.
Those of us in the USA can't/don't always see things from that view. Forest, trees, etc.
Keba, that's a good point and a fair observation. The reverse is true too, of course: sometimes Americans overlook the flaws. It can be difficult to be objective about one's own country.
And that is not always a bad thing.
Objectivity can be so...objective sometimes.
Damn the objectivity; full speed ahead!
Oh, yeah. Back to the point of the post:
VIVA!
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