Villa Victoria Center for the Arts; WGBH Forum Network; Linda Hirsch on Cuba: Threads of Hope and Renewal

Thank you so much for coming. This is such a wonderful crowd. Really really excited about talking about this work. Linda and I have been working on this project for almost two years. About a year and a half. [Second Speaker] Feels like ten. [Laughter] It does feel like a while. I became the curator here in May of 2008 and soon afterwards reached out to Linda. I was so excited about this show and as Javier just mentioned to you, the context that this show is within is very exciting. You know we rebranded in March to Villa Victoria Center for The Arts. Formerly we were Casa de la Cultura Center for Latino Arts. And when we rebranded, we altered our mission somewhat and that included crossed, dynamic cross-cultural collaborations. And so we've been a

little by little bit incorporating that into the exhibitions here in the gallery. So it's no, you know, it's not news to anyone that Linda is not Hispanic or Latino. But um but her on her show really does wonderful things for this program and what we really aim to do here in the gallery. Basically you know when we first started meeting, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that Linda has produced over nine years. I believe this year it'll be 10. [Second Speaker/Linda] Yeah. [First Speaker] The first trip was in 2000 and Linda will give us some more details about her trips to Cuba. But the sheer amount of work is really from a project is incredibly overwhelming. And I was really delighted in our studio visits to go through and to really

to find real images of humanity. And I really feel like that's the bottom line with a lot of this work. There are some really incredible glimpses into some cultural, some Cuban cultural affectations as well as some Jewish cultural affectations. And I think where those lines sort of begin to blend. I really feel like it's where the work really is incredibly strong. I want to go into some depth as to exactly what kind of themes are in the work, but before I do that, before we get into a discussion about the work itself, I want to introduce Linda Hirsch and have her speak to us about her experience and her experiences plural and the work itself.

[First Speaker] Linda: [Second speaker/Linda] Thank you. That was wonderful. Evan has been just tremendous, tremendously helpful as he said. Years and years of images - hundreds - I don't even know how many. And they're all film captured. All my images from Cuba have been film captured, which then meant I had to scan and digitize and organize and it still hasn't been completed. There are many images I can't even find. So thank you to the Center and mucho gracias to Evan for his patience and his endurance. I think we've broken a lot of records, broken a lot of traditions as well with this show. It was intended initially to be a two person show with a Cuban colleague, a very gifted female colleague who when we started talking lived in Cuba and then sought asylum in the U.S. and I thought "oh it will be easy now; she's in the U.S., we can do a show together" when in effect it made it

harder and it wasn't possible because to come here from another country and to immerse yourself and to get certified as a doctor has taken her away from. Now this conversation that I have had to have with myself. It's kind of surreal. The looking glass motif, which is alluded to in some of my writings and in the mirror piece, the installation piece. Over nine years of immersing myself little by little into Cuban culture and the Jewish Cuban culture, I have come to look at myself differently. We can get back to that. And it's caused me to look at my religious and spiritual beliefs differently. And to look at my fellow human beings with greater affection and compassion, because when you go through that looking glass into any other culture, especially the Cuban

one which is so complicated and paradoxical and changing with such a lot of history. You know it's like being thrown into the deep end of the pool and thrown out of a boat into the ocean. And it takes a lot of patience and humility, a great deal of patience and humility, to step back and say "Who am I. An outsider." To enter this culture, even though I understand the religion of the Jewish faith, who am I to tell their story?" So, in the middle of this nine year period during which I have immersed myself, in the middle I had an epiphany and I realized that I can continue telling my version of my experiences. But it's still my story. And I began to raise money for and provide cameras to the teenagers that I was watching grow up. I mean in nine years kids really, wow, they change.

And I'm trying to enable them carefully, cautiously, totally openly, nothing surreptitious about this. Because I don't want to cause them any difficulties if possible. I'm enabling them to tell their own story so that's the next chapter. The next show I have hopefully will incorporate work that I've been receiving from Cuba by flash drive, CD, DVD, e-mail files, every which way conceivable. They've been sending me their attempts to document and tell their history and so forth. So, coming back to the beginning when I was faced with this tidal wave of images and Evan and I had to surf through them. How do you tell a coherent story? Well, again this isn't, now it isn't just my story. It's a combination of impressions of community, faith, and family, which to me are the three essentials of Cuban, of Cubanadad'

si Cubanadad. Because each time I went and two times I went alone. So I had nobody to help me. a lot of the way. People helped. I was taken into homes, I was taken into families. I was nursed and bathed literally by people when I became very ill on my last trip and it was sheer stupidity; I drank coffee with water that hadn't been properly boiled. Ihat can happen anywhere; literally, it can happen anywhere. And so when I became this ill and was unable to care for myself. I learned a lot about Cuban, about the essence of compassion. People bathed me, massaged me, fed me. I learned how to eat raw, fresh yogurt which was a real treat. And when I came home and told the story, people said "oh really? Well that's interesting." And the message is there's something to be learned here.

We can learn a lot from exchanges with other people and you don't have to go to Cuba to learn. You can engage in exhibitions, exchanges, e-mails. Etc. So what else. I think many of you have probably heard the story. I began this journey into the Cuban connection quite by happenstance. I was a professional trained practicing psychologist and then started to study photography and began to do freelance work and I was bored. At a certain point, I became bored a needed a challenge and just stepped back from my commercial work and said whatever calls to me, I will follow. If I'm listening, if I'm ready. And I was at a concert one evening for a client who is a composer, whose wedding I had

photographed. I was there innocently to hear the music, to enjoy a lot of multicultural music rhythms. And while I was sitting listening to the concert, his in-laws were seated next to me, my husband was to my right. And there were three parts to the music. The first part was inspired by Prague. The last part was inspired by Paris. The middle part was inspired by Cuban rhythms and this composer has never been to Cuba. But as I sat there innocently listening, the same thing that's happening to me now - and you can't see it because I'm wearing long sleeves - the hair just stood up on my arms and on the back of my neck. And I thought "that's interesting because that's a sign." I'm very sensitive to these things. And I turned to his in-laws innocently to say "oh, he should take this music and tour Prague, Paris, and Havana." They said no no no he's not going anywhere. But we are going to Cuba. Without even stopping to ask when, why I just said to,

turned to my husband and I said we're going to Cuba. Without; I literally didn't hesitate not even knowing if there was room in the group. And my husband who is a dear, sweet guy said "sure. Ok. I'm up for it." I want to play for you - it's a page, just a snippet. I don't know how well you'll be able to hear this. This is the piece and it's on a recording behind my installation; there's a sound installation. Later when you're walking around if it's back on you'll hear a mix of music that illustrates all the different threads or many not all. Many of the different threads that run through Cuban communities - African, Yoruban, Santeria, Hebrew- Israeli, Ladino, which is Spanish Hebrew mixed together - beautiful soulful songs that I've put on this. Alex Alvidar, who is the performance manager at the Center here - I have his music from Ecuador because I just love listening to him. I mean all the Latin American countries they share the

sounds and rhythms but there are some surprises. And here is the piece if I can get it to go. It's classical surprisingly. [Music playing] Very orchestral. [First speaker/Evan]: Even sounds like an epiphany. [Second speaker/Linda]: Sounds like what? [First speaker/Evan] It sounds like an epiphany. OK so it starts with this grand sweeping gesture and he goes on. Some of it is too soft to hear. And very. I don't know if you can hear this at all but later maybe if you're interested you can come closer. He has the dance rhythms, he has the wind, he has the surf. You can see - you can almost feel the surf on the Malecon. You've all seen pictures of the waves and the spray. And he captured all this. You hear that. And you know this is it. This was the trigger.

And within two months, literally, I think that was not even two months, my husband and I were on a little Russian- made plane. What's the airline from Russia? Oh gosh. Not Aeroflot. It was a Russian airline; we went to Montreal on that particular occasion. We thought it was cheaper. We legally had a license. We went to Montreal through a blizzard and took this little tiny aircraft that was made in Russia to Cuba and we held the seat. Our knuckles were white the whole time. It was it was quite an adventure and we had no time to plan. I mean literally we just threw stuff into duffles. We had our restrictions: 40 pounds, a little bit more from Canada. Some of you have gone perhaps from other places. Almost every time I've gone it's been 40 pounds. You know how much 40 pounds is? Not much. You carry 40 pounds to Cuba; that's it. I learned how to travel light and fast. And there, I learned from the people how to economize. And the stores and the products and now, you know, behind us are

market shots. Well, friends who have just come back from Cuba, I still want to say Cuba so forgive me if I shift back and forth. These were the good times in 2006-2007, things were on the uptick. Tourism was up. Produce was up. Then they were whammied, Cuba was whammied with several storms. In fact in 2008, the summer and fall, they were hit with three successive tropical storms. Bananas were devastated; a lot of crops were wasted. And then of course the world economy took a downturn. And now it isn't just our embargo but it's a lot of it related to our embargo. They're hurting and there are food shortages. And the shelves, the shelves are lined with tomato paste and pasta. Tomato paste, tomato sauce, pasta - and nothing else. I mean it's almost comedic, but it's not comedic. You look at it and you think that someone set that up. No, there is a shortage. There are real shortages. [First Speaker/Evan] That was actually one of the questions that I could have very easily asked you offline but I definitely wanted it to be part of this conversation as you

made your first trip to Cuba in 2000. And I think as everybody in this room knows that a lot has happened in the last 10 years. So I mean my question is how has... you've touched on that in the last few statements but how has Cuba changed in the last 10 years over the course of your trips. [Second speaker/Linda] Again, these are only my impressions and I disclaimer right at the front of this all. I really do not want you to think that I am an expert. On anything, photography or Cuba because. I learned by firsthand experience and by doing. These are my impressions. So, changes, well... There definitely is a renewal of religious observance. It's very much out in the open, the churches, although a lot of them are still in disrepair, are active and people are going. Judaism certainly has seen an interesting of an up and down wave of increase

in numbers observing and searching for their roots. People leaving for Israel the more they learn about their Jewish roots and the more they want to strive and achieve because they're all educated and highly literate. Many of the Jews are leaving so the numbers have gone up and renewal has gone up and then people dying, the elderly of course, you know most of them aren't leaving for Israel they're dying. And those who are leaving to Israel so the numbers went down. In the early 2000s, it was fifteen hundred-ish, then it was down to twelve hundred at one point when I went it was close to a thousand because they were leaving in groups of 100. There were big groups leaving. Which was very frightening to me, maybe not to others, but to me it was like Roman-[unintelligible] times, I mean nothing was going to be left. These people were leaving taking the knowledge and the skills with them. What was going to be left was I documenting a disappearing society. So the numbers have gone up and down. Now there's an uptick in Judaism. I can't speak for the other

faiths because there are a lot of conversions. A lot of people are intermarried by necessity, there aren't a lot of Jews, fellow Jews, in Cuba. So there are conversions and the numbers are up again. But - other faiths - Yoruban [synthratistic??] faiths which were suppressed and hidden and there are hints in the other room and there's one mural here directly alluding to Santeria, that was not allowed years ago and now it's public and now people can observe their faith and it's become a real hot tourist attraction. Which raises the other issue: tourism. Definitely is up from all over the world. Downside is that... my husband and I drove into isolated peninsula areas where they're just ravaging the landscape. And Cuba tries to protect - they have UNESCO sights That's a UNESCO site next to where that car is. It's a beautiful park. They do protect certain areas very, very well but the tourism is ravaging the beaches. The

empty beach in the other room, the bright and barren image, will not look like that, probably doesn't look like that now. That was taken some years ago. The downside is tourism will help some parts of the Cuban economy but not all the people certainly. It won't be distributed. And it gives you this two-tier economy, which we all know is very, very dangerous, very dangerous and very destructive. So Tourism is up and the new crop of students at the university, with whom I ate dinner and they were buzzing over me like flies. That's the new industry. That is their [unintelligible] it's not even medicine because medicine is suffering. That's another change. We'll come back to that in a minute. So education is still very, very active. Tourism is up but I'm afraid it's going to do some damage. And they're not even set when our embargo is and whenever it is changed or opened up they're going to be flooded and they won't be able to handle the flood of people who want to go there. It's going to it's going to have some consequences. Medicine, I had first hand experience and

there are some pictures that allude to my visits of the hospitals. Everyone, well not everyone, but many of you may know Michael Moore's movie. It isn't really like that. Not completely. Recently there was a terrible, terrible disaster. I don't know all the details yet but a hospital that cared for disabled people, and I don't know the nature, had a huge number of deaths because the heating system wasn't working properly, wasn't repaired or wasn't fueled. I don't know the details but there's a big public investigation. And in Cuba this is highly unusual, highly unusual to have something that public exposed and some people were documenting this. And so I'm waiting to hear more. This is a horrible blow to their esteem. They don't have a lot of medicines - that's gotten worse. Their doctors are being exported to other countries. Of course Haiti needs them and that's justifiable. Venezuela is taking a lot of doctors in trade for oil. And so Cuba

is suffering they're not having as many doctors to take care of their own. And certainly the medicines are lacking. And so I ended up in...I visited this hospital. That woman is having a double mastectomy and to her right is my cousin who lives there. It's another linchpin of my connection to Cuba. This woman is going to have a double mastectomy the next day and my cousin and friends of hers were there to be angels of compassion to provide her with fresh clothing, fresh linens, fresh food because the hospitals do not do this. Certain hospitals, I cannot speak for all. So I got to see the inside out of the hospital settings and then I had a little adventure. I was robbed one night. Nothing major but because I suffered a little cut, the policeman said you must go to the hospital. We have to go through this routine. And I left the hospital very quickly when I saw the disarray. It was like a Marx - no pun intended - a Marx Brothers comedy because I couldn't tell who was the doctor. Who were the patients. It was like

very scary to me. It was an emergency room which is scary to anyone. But I'm sure the care was fine but I didn't need care and I signed a release and the policeman was happy to let me go. But that whole night was a true lesson in "communidad" because nothing of significance was stolen but I screamed at the thief [Spanish: I need my visa, please]. All I wanted that he took from me was I needed my exit visa to leave the country. And he understood me. And as he neatly tore up and took off with other things, he dropped my visa for me and I found it. And I traced the path of the torn letters. To where I suspect he lived and stood outside screaming in the most perfect Spanish every epithet that I could think of. Then went to the police station, where I was treated to four hours of note-taking. The police are very thorough but they didn't catch him. They finger-printed, they went back with spotlights and fingerprinted. I have my fingerprints are in Cuba now. So I saw their justice system at its best at midnight

I saw two police stations with undercover policeman etc. etc.. If you want a real lesson in another society, I don't advise getting robbed, but I actually took some pictures that my cousin was very angry at me. You're not supposed to photograph in certain places but I'm a photographer so I caught the policeman, I caught the ambulance, I caught the door to the hospital and that was it. So yes, that's changed. I would say the medical care has suffered. What else has changed? [First Speaker/Evan] You know, we talked - you touched on a lack of physical resource. [Second Speaker/Linda] Yes. [First Speaker/Evan] You touched on a lot of different kind of resources but there was - when you and I were going through the show and putting it together, and sort of talking in some detail about some of the works, I was amazed to find out that for these that are on this wall, for some of them, I'm not sure for which all of them, that there were spiritual resources that were brought in

for, was it the congregation in Cienfuegos but they did not have a rabbi. Yes and this is a topic of great interest. But as far as, you're talking about the Jewish communities. OK well how does it work? Is that what you're asking? [second speaker/Evan] Well I guess the subject being a flux of spiritual resources. [First speaker/Linda] OK as far as I know, the revival, the search for renewal started up again around 1993. And it's no coincidence that they, because it was shortly after the Russian influence had waned, had diminished. And it wasn't... so suffice it to say it wasn't the Cuban government per se that had, sort of put the lid on religion, it was more the Russian influence and then the pope's visit opened that and so then various organizations

from around the world; The Joint Distribution Committee, Hadassah, B'nai Brith, time to think, and seminaries in Latin America, Argentina, Chile, they all began to send money and personnel. But it was never for permanent It was never for anything permanent other than to restore the large central synagogues in Havana which were in total total disarray and just falling down. And those have all been restored very nicely and continue to be kept up by influx of funds, by predominantly but not exclusively, the Joint Distribution Committee. But the question remains how do the people learn and are their rabbis OK. The seminary in Argentina is the major source of students who come up to the Central Synagogue in Havana, known affectionately as the "patronato", anyone who's ever been who's Jewish or interested in the temples that's where they take you they give you the spiel, they show you the pharmacy the books but

pharmacy, a lot of that stuff stays there it doesn't get distributed as widely. The books, they could use more, and they have a beautiful computer lab run by orts which is really impressive and a rec center. Sephardic center has been restored beautifully. Their chairs are more comfortable than the ones, forgive me, in my own temple. Sephardic shul has a recreation center that used to be huge. Now it's half. They're doing OK. Their leaders have all been leaving for Israel. They have new leaders now. And the Orthodox shul which was in total disrepair, it's the oldest poorest population have now got their own website. Their Web savvy. They've gotten very good at attracting tourism and teaching. And it used to be, and this is another big change, the Central Synagogue which is where the authority resides at the patronato, used to send tutors to every province. There are approximately 10 to 12. And I have a map later I can show you where the

communities are located. They used to send tutors out to go around the country teaching for bar mitzvah rituals, and Shabbat. And I just heard and I was shocked and despondent to hear very recently, but that has stopped and I don't know why I have to investigate what the reason is. The up side is that the young people who are leaders. The boy who is becoming a bar mitzvah in that picture of the boy in the other room becoming a bar mitzvah this young lady becoming a bat mitzvah and others who are in some of the pictures are stepping up to the plate. They're all rising leaders they're being trained because they're parents, you know, aren't going to be there forever and they are having to assume responsibilities that they sort of kind of been trained for but now they're being thrown into it. The spirituality is marvelous. The religiosity, as with many religions is a little behind. So spiritually you know you sit in a temple anywhere or in a house which serves as a sanctuary in the

countryside, most of the countryside is they meet in homes. And you listen to the governing the praying and you just want to get up and dance the salsa to it because some of especially the orthodox I've been to many many services and I've recorded them, sound like Spanish auctioneers playing salsa music. I mean it's like fast and cadence and it's like very rhythmic. My husband was carrying the Torah around in one of the temples as an honor and I really literally thought he was going to start dancing with the Torah. It was fun. Spirituality is palpable in Cuba you can't avoid it. I mean the people. it's a kind of sensuousness and an openness to, as with my behavior in the music episode, being open they're very open. they're trusting people which is what I'm concerned with the increase in tourism and too rapid increase that you know

these are very trusting, very open people. They want they want to embrace the outside. They want to be included and involved. And I hope that there is some means to, you can't protect people or they, you just have to see what it will be. The leaders that I've met. I've met Imam's. There's a Muslim community in Cuba. There's some Muslim rhythms on my sound piece if you listen you'll hear pieces that you'll wonder why is that on there. There is a Muslim, a very tiny, population. The Imam I met was very bright very curious. The leaders of the Jewish community are very dedicated and they're overwhelmed. I also have to say that the leader right now who assumed leadership after a very prominent a very tightly controlling leader died unexpectedly and too soon, Adela [unintelligible last name] who many of you would have met, was thrust into this role. And it's been a huge challenge for her because

there are so many demands from within and from tourism. You know the tourists we make demands we show up with satchels of goodies, meds and books and money and whatever, and it you know it feels good. But you have to think, how is this going to be handled? Is it going to be handled properly, appropriately. Which is why I stepped back and started to say enablement also is very important here, not just assistance. And I chide, and I will do this tonight, I chide people that when they do go to any other country not just Cuba, to be aware of your actions that they could possibly do more harm than good. Well-meaning could do more harm than good. You have to be aware of other peoples needs and respect their boundaries and just these are fellow human beings. They're very proud. These people are extraordinarily proud and private to a degree which I feel very humbled and honored that they have let me into their

lives. It's a kind of presumptuousness that we as Americans often have that we can go and do good and help and fix. them and it gets here I[Second speaker/Evan] I think that's that's one thing that I really want to bring to the conversation is that, you know, I think it's very easy, with this exhibition, to come in as a viewer and to see these images and to immediately emote. You see these images and, whether you're Jewish or whether you're Hispanic, you see I think part of yourself and in a lot of these photographs. And it happens immediately. And I think that one thing that should be very very clear is that those moments that are captured on film by Linda are the result of a relationship that has, you know, happened over nine years. And there was a lot of work that went into being able to be invited and be a part of that moment.

[First speaker/Linda] And some of them were just lucky. [Second speaker/Evan] Right, yeah, that should be, let's throw that out there too. But that was one of the things that I was so attracted to about this project is that I think one of the things that we inevitably find ourselves talking about in these artist talks here in the gallery, for all the exhibitions that we do, is what is the route to your own heritage. What is your understanding of your heritage. And for many of the shows here that question has to do with our Latino heritage that has to do with our Latin American heritage. And this show poses a very very different question. It doesn't ask you what your, it asks who you are as a human, who you are as a human being. And you know my sister and I are fifth generation American. So we, before that, our family was in Mexico. So we haven't been Mexican for five generations. But we identify as Hispanics.

We were raised Hispanic. I was the first one over there eating those Empanadas. The moment that they got here. [First speaker/Linda] He beat me! [Second speaker/Evan] But, the point being that I was raised in America. And all of my other colleagues at the center, they each have their own story. You know some of them are first generation, and some of them are fifth generation. We all come to this place on a different road. And I think one of the really incredible things about this exhibition is that you can ask yourself that. You get to look at these images, and we were talking about these a moment ago. The beautiful young girl that the bat mitzvah, and the boy the bar mitzvah above her. You know for a lot of the residents of this neighborhood that Javier told you a little bit about our community, for a lot of the residents that will walk through here, they will

immediately identify with those people because they look Hispanic. And yet that image will be so foreign to them because of the religious nature of that photograph. And so it allows so many different kinds of people to be a part of this dialogue. And I think that we are incredibly blessed to be able to have that conversation here. We are incredibly thrilled that Linda is the one to be able to bring that to us. And you know the photographs themselves, technically, are quite quite exquisite.