Finnish enthusiasm for all things Cuban still going strong

Music, warm climate, and good feelings retain appeal despite shortcomings in civil liberties

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By Pirkko Kotirinta
     
      "Cuba's cause is ours", one might say, paraphrasing a Swedish expression of solidarity with Finland during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1939-1940.
      The most recent manifestation of this pro-Cuban sentiment was the campaign launched on the Finnish music scene during a summer open air concert in Kaivopuisto, to donate instruments and other equipment for young Cuban musicians.
      The project is a fine idea. However, when reading the material produced for the campaign one wonders if Finland's ties with Cuba might not involve the same kind of attitude familiar from the days of the Soviet Union, which is now making Finns shut their eyes from some of the less pleasant sides of Cuban reality.
     
"Cuba is a great power of rhythm and music, and the USA is a powerful country with money. For nearly fifty years an extensive trade embargo maintained by the USA has been directed at Cuba", is what the Global Music Centre writes on its website.
      "Finnish music circles respect their Cuban colleagues and want to demonstrate the importance of Cuba for the musical life of the world!"
      When the long-serving Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 80, fell ill in late July, speculations flew around. Many in the pro-Cuban camp believe that everything will continue unchanged after Castro. For many, Castro is seen as virtually sacred.
      When an admittedly opinionated and plain-spoken biography of Castro by Serge Raffy was published in Finland a year ago, the publisher came under intense attack.
      "For instance, the Finland-Cuba Society used several pages in its magazine to dispute the claims in the book. It was seen as a provocation in other respects as well. In the opinion of many, it should never have been published", says Aleksi Siltala of WSOY Publishers.
     
Siltala, who has lived in Cuba and also studied in Miami, says that he takes a basically sympathetic view of the Cuban system. "But it is certainly totalitarian, and one needs to be able to say it out loud. There is no talk of freedom of speech in the Cuban dictatorship."
      Works by Cuban authors that are published abroad are often left unpublished at home, such as Dirty Havana Trilogy by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez. Both he and Zoé Valdés have been critical about foreigners who cannot see the truth behind the clichés in Cuba.
      There was a boom of solidarity felt toward Cuba in the 1970s. Omara Portuondo and countless other Cuban musicians became familiar in Finland.
      Work brigades, comprising volunteers from the Nordic Countries who went to Cuba to harvest sugar cane and citrus fruit, were popular in the 1970s.
      The first brigade was organised in 1970, when the right-wing dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, which preceded the revolution, was still in fresh memory.
     
The brigades organised by the Finland-Cuba Society are still going strong, and there has been special interest shown in the next Christmas brigade. "Castro's illness has undoubtedly had an effect", says Pekka Savinainen. "Many want to see the country in the time of Castro."
      Savinainen said that even citizens of the United States join the brigades, regardless of the trade embargo. "They come though Mexico, for instance."
     
Established in 1963, the Finland-Cuba Society remains one of the largest friendship societies in Finland. It had about 4,000 members in the 1970s, and now there are about 1,000.
      "At first, the activities were very political, but now it is getting to be a cultural society", Savinainen says.
      He admits that the publication Cuba sí can give an excessively propagandistic or coloured image of the society. It depends on who has written the articles, he says.
      "The society is not a mouthpiece of Castro. It is an independent civic organisation, in which people have their own opinions."
      If something more critical is published, there can be feedback from the Cuban Consulate in Finland. Once this happened when there was an article about prostitution in Cuba.
      Risto Vuorimies, alias DJ Papá Montero is one of those who got hooked on Cuban music after taking part in a work brigade in 1975.
     
"One might wonder that if the revolution had not won, would anybody notice Cuba? Or would it be a sleepy country a little bit like Puerto Rico, where nothing happens?" Vuorimies ponders. In 1982 he was one of the founding members of the band Sepeto Son.
      During his many visits to Cuba Vuorimies has never encountered "political unpleasantness". He also does not understand why Cuba should be singled out in human rights issues.
      "I think that human rights are trampled on much more in other countries in the region. There are even human rights problems in democracy."
      "And even if I had known about some underground thing, I do not believe that I would ever have gone to check it out", he said, commenting on musical and cultural trends that are going on beneath the surface.
      Tero Toivanen, who lived in Santiago de Cuba in 1992 - 2001, and who made his living as a musician paid by the state, also sees more positive than sides to the system, although he concedes that the lack of freedom of speech is a problem, as is the fact that the Cubans are not able to travel freely. "They could trust the people more and not control them so much."
     
Castro has genuine and steadfast support, in his opinion. "Many Cubans think that their problems are caused by bureaucracy, and that Fidel does not know about them."
      An interesting cultural change took place in Cuba in the 1990s, when a change took place in the attitude toward religion, and especially Santeria, with its roots in Africa.
      "Still in 1995 our band was not allowed to play a Santeria piece at the Café Cantante in Santiago", Toivanen recalls. Now things are different. There are very many references to Santeria in popular music nowadays.
      "Santeria is very popular in Cuba today, also among the whites", says Sinikka Tarvainen, who lives in Madrid. She is working on her second book on religions of African origin. The first, Voodoo, afrikkalainen menestystarina ("Voodoo, an African Success Story") was published in 2002.
     
Santeria and African culture in general has had an extensive impact on Cuban culture, including classical music, Tarvainen points out.
      Especially through music, Castro's government has long strengthened the power of the black tradition. During the past ten years, religion has also come into the picture. "At the same time it is a counterforce to US culture, and naturally it also brings in tourists", Tarvainen points out.
      The rise of Santeria can also be seen in Finland. The band Los Elementos, which has been playing for a year, is the first Finnish band specialising in robust Cuban rumba music. The 16-member band, which studied in Santiago de Cuba, performed in Helsinki Saturday night, and brought batá drums on stage for the first time. The drums are used in religious rituals.
      "Santeria is a very interesting matter spiritually", says the head of the band, Vili Rantanen. He plays son music in the Kuukumina band, but rumba and Santeria appeal to him. "Santeria rituals in Cuba have amazing energy", he says.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 27.8.2006


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Foreign Ministry recommends keeping US-made equipment out of Cuba music aid effort (28.8.2006)

PIRKKO KOTIRINTA / Helsingin Sanomat
pirkko.kotirinta@hs.fi