In Cuba, the book finds its breath in the face of barriers

Text by: Domitille Piron

A popular cultural event in Cuba, the Book Fair is currently being held in Havana (from February 6 to 16, 2020). A unique opportunity to buy books in a country where bookstores are not very busy the rest of the year. But for its 29th edition, this Fair becomes more an outing with friends or family than a real literary meeting. Young people in Cuba seem to lose interest in reading. State control of publishing would curb literary passions.

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From our correspondent in Havana

As every year for 29 years, in this month of February, the books stormed the fortress of Havana. To wander the aisles of this Book Fair, we are accompanied by the academic Enrique Lopez Oliva, who has released for the occasion a beautiful light gray suit jacket, on a top with an African motif, and his Panama style hat. The professor of the history of religion at the University of Havana is truly a passionate, even addicted, reader.

“ At home, I have over 5,000 books, and my bed is full. So, to sleep, I only occupy a small corner of the bed. In fact for me, books are my spiritual food. I prefer not to eat, I even sold lamps from my house, which is now half dark, so I can buy books! "

Cuba lacks paper

Buying books at the Havana Fair is not available to all Cubans. Enrique Lopez Oliva wishes to acquire a book on Pope Francis, on which he will soon give a conference at the university. But he points out that the price of the book is almost half of his retirement.

Beyond the price, the former journalist and professor also notes that if this year the Cubans are buying fewer books, it is because there are very few novelties.

“ First of all, there is a hardware problem, a paper problem. Cuba has serious economic difficulties, and therefore we have difficulties in importing paper. Then, the Cuban printers are largely obsolete and many do not work anymore, so all this does not meet the needs. "

Last April, due to a lack of paper, Cuba effectively reduced the pagination of Granma , the daily newspaper of the Communist Party, recalling the first measure adopted to face the special period of the 1990s.

#amoureuxdeslivres with Enrique we went to the book fair of #LaHabana pr @RFI - We talked about # editing, reading of young people and editorial control in #Cuba "at home I have more than 5000 books and I sleep on a corner from my pcq bed there are books everywhere »pic.twitter.com/0vbKagxkRx

" Critical books don't come in "

The current economic difficulties would therefore slow down book publishing in Cuba. And the State, via the Cuban Book Institute, also advances the argument of the inaccessible price of copyright. This is why many foreign books would not be published in Cuba.

For Enrique Lopez Oliva, publishing books on the island also depends on significant ideological and editorial control.

" Not only can't we read everything, but on top of that, I, who was able to travel, when I arrived at the airport, they checked the books I brought and they didn't let me in with some the country. Books that can refer to what happened in Cuba, certain periods of history, or critical books on Marxism ... The books that come in come from Trotskyist or left-wing publishing houses, but critical books don't come in! "

The professor of the history of religion recalls that all of the publishing houses in Cuba are state-owned, although some, notably Catholic, are gradually acquiring a certain independence, with still some barriers.

“ For example, the Geronimo fathers' Catholic bookstore had problems with its containers of books which were held at customs for months. And the authorities explained that anyway, there was no public in Cuba for these books ! Because even today, there is a fear that the Cuban people may have a critical view of what is happening here. There is a fear of criticism, but I see that little by little, spaces for criticism are opening up. "

Generation change underway in Cuba

What the retired journalist also fears is the disaffection of young people for reading. Cuba, in 1959, had however opened the way to reading for all, by introducing free education, access to libraries and numerous bookstores, and by importing and selling Spanish books at low prices.

“ With new technologies, we are facing a big generation change in Cuba. The new generations no longer read books, everything goes through new technologies. "

While some independent journalists do believe that half of Cubans do not read, the use of new technologies by young people has also made it possible to hack digital copies of numerous works banned on the island.

At home, I have more than 5,000 books, and my bed is full of them. So, to sleep, I only occupy a small corner of the bed. In fact for me, books are my spiritual food ...

Enrique Lopez Oliva

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