Knowing each other, recognizing each other and integrating
• Conception and reach of Cultural ALBA
• Cuba’s contribution and expectations

Pedro de la Hoz

IF there is one acronym that possesses an anticipatory symbolic responsibility it is that which defines the Bolivarian Alternative of the Peoples of Our America. The first light before the dawn, the ALBA ("dawn" in Spanish) is, in political terms, the launch of a long-dreamed of hope: continental integration on the bases of independence, cooperation and the full community of identities.

One of its pillars is the ALBA Cultural Fund, whose general coordinator is Cuban Ismael González, a psychologist by training and with vast experience in managing cultural institutions.

"It was tremendously encouraging to observe, for those of us who believe that one of the premises of integration is to know and recognize each other, how, when Fidel and Chávez signed the initial ALBA constitutional agreement on December 14, 2004 in Havana, two leaders predicted that culture would have a very important role in the materialization of this new coordination authority," he told Granma.

"This is not just a conceptual consideration," he specified, "but a practical plan, given that it is formulated on the basis of encouraging, through concrete actions, the creation and circulation of cultural production in a way that socially promotes the most authentic values of the peoples of the region. All of this is in keeping with the strategy of empowering the culture of emancipation and counteracting the effects of the hegemony exercised by transnationals and the circuits of the so-called entertainment industry in detriment to the cultural diversity of what Martí called Our America."

González explained that although the Cultural Fund is still in the process of organization, tremendous progress has been made over the past five years: "There was a notable impulse," he commented, "which took place in the Cuban capital in 2006 when, within the framework of the Havana Book Fair, Chávez and Fidel signed the agreement for the creation of the ALBA Cultural Fund; less than one year later, that started to come into effect. It is an indispensable instrument for encouraging the production and financing of programs."

"In 2007," recalled González, "the ALBA culture ministers met for the first time, at a conference that was also attended by representatives of other countries which had not signed up to joined the Alliance at that time, but who essentially shared our ideas in the field of culture. Those attending the conference reached the conclusion that it was necessary to emphasize the interweaving of policies in order to define a strategic program, to be reviewed every three years, and which was approved at the Summit of ALBA heads of state held in Caracas one year later. That summit defined the resources mobilized to comply with the aims of the ALBA Cultural Fund and the role that the nascent Bank of ALBA would assume with respect to financing. But perhaps the most important conclusion reached was the full comprehension that in the field of culture, the ALBA could and would have to expand its reach throughout the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean, given that the communicating vessels at a spiritual level are many and varied and expectations and needs are great."

Currently, as part of this grannacional (grand-national) project, 50 different projects are underway in five strategic areas: promoting creativity, the distribution and diffusion of art and literature; the organization of alternative agents and exponents for the development of cultural movements and industries; arts education and human resources training; recognized activities that favor the visibility of writers and artists through awards and competitions that acknowledge creative talent and ability; and the sponsorship of festivals and meetings.

For Cuban Deputy Culture Minister Fernando Rojas, this integrating initiative has not only been responsibly adopted by the island’s authorities and institutions, but also by our intellectuals and artists and is now beginning to be reflected in the interest of the public.

"This latter initiative has been witnessed in Havana since last summer," he explained, "when, prior to its official inauguration this December, the Casa de ALBA – on Linea and D Streets in Vedado – has hosted book launches, concerts, theater performances, poetry workshops, and conferences attended by hundreds of people who are beginning to identify the character of the institution."

"Writers and readers," he confirmed "have appraised a program like that of the ALBA Publishing Fund as extremely promising. Paradigmatic works by Cuban authors have been some of the first titles published. Together with a classic such as Martí’s The Golden Age, other titles in the catalogue are Todo Calibán, by Roberto Fernández Retamar, and Bolívar: pensamiento precursor del antimperialismo, by Francisco Pividal."

Referring to the reasons that are animating the Cuban cultural movement to sustain the principles of ALBA, Rojas underlined the very essence of a proposal that "puts spiritual values before profit" and is based on "the idea of sharing our heritage, our current activities and our search for new ideas."

"What is also revealing," he emphasized, "is the idea of considering Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, because there hasn’t always been a perception of how much the islands where languages other than Spanish are spoken enrich us. The same could be said of the attention liven to indigenous peoples in the shared projects."