Parades and rights

Parades and rights / Yoani Sanchez
Posted on December 10, 2014

Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 10 December 2014 — The carnival was planned for
days, months. The background music would slogans and false joy. The
venue, the same Havana corner where the Ladies in White were called to
remember the International Day of Human Rights. Meanwhile, the "corps de
ballet" would consist of workers and students – taken from their
workplaces and teachers – to occupy the site chosen by the activists.
There would be no lack of food kiosks and some provincial towns added
huge trucks dispensing beer because, in our case, instead of bread and
circuses, the formula is alcohol and repression.

Then it was time for the parade. Around the Coppelia ice cream stand, in
Havana, an unusual crowd of people dressed in civilian clothes caught
the attention of some naïve bystanders who didn't know if it was a line
to buy an extinct product, or passionate movie buffs waiting for the
Yara cinema to open. Moving their heads from side to said, like someone
waiting for prey, they were wearing the clothes we all recognize as the
attire of State Security when they want to go undercover, and displayed
that physical state of over corpulence compared to the average Cuban.
They weren't dancing, like at carnivals, they just moved towards the
women who came dressed in white and tried to shield with their bodies
the act of forcing them into a police car. A macabre "corps de ballet"
thus represented their choreography of reprimand.

And then the trumpet sounded, excuse me… the car horn. A small lady had
managed to get to the left atrium of the heart of El Vedado. Dozens of
faces turned and they spoke into the little cables hanging from their
earphones. An agent, who for years infiltrated the ranks of independent
journalists, unmasked without pain or glory, directed the orchestra. The
loudspeakers blared previously recorded phrases, so there were no
surprises nor spontaneity. The woman disappeared in seconds. The kids
drank their soft drinks and Havana experienced one of the coldest days
of the year. The spectacle continued for hours.

How many times as a child was I part of a carnival of repression without
knowing it? What naive parties did I participate in that, in reality,
were a cover for the horrors? Have those dances and street festivals
also been a police operation? After this, it will be hard for me to ever
enjoy a parade again.

Source: Parades and rights / Yoani Sanchez | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/parades-and-rights-yoani-sanchez/