The Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS), a young and radical arm of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, did not take the discussion with too much enthusiasm The worst generation event in which a group of new writers intended to discuss literature, culture, politics and society.
The debate, which was to take place in the space La Madriguera, in Centro Habana, on October 15, was canceled this Tuesday under the pretext that several of its members had repeatedly reneged on the AHS, and its directors, therefore Therefore, they saw no reason for “unpleasant” subjects to participate in their spaces.
Alejandro Mainegra, one of the organizers of The worst generation specified to 14ymedio that the meeting would serve to introduce a book project for creators “who are having a voice right now, who are writing and being read”.
“We naively thought that we could all coexist one afternoon to talk about literature, within an AHS space, and it didn’t happen. It’s very sad”
“We naively thought that we could all coexist one afternoon to talk about literature, within a space of the AHS, and it did not happen. It is very sad,” he added.
“The worst generation was conceived with the aim of bringing together in the same place some of the most outstanding names in the different edges of the letters of the current generational context”, he explained in a facebook message its coordinator, Raymar Aguado Hernández.
To the dialogue, moderated among others by Aguado and Mainegra, Mel Herrera, Julio Llópiz Casal, Alexander Hall, Lisbeth Moya, Jairo Aróstegui, Ricardo Acostarana, Hamed Toledo and Manuel de la Cruz were invited. The group was characterized by its ideological diversity, its rejection of political monolithism and its regular collaboration in independent newspapers and magazines.
This heterogeneity was precisely the trigger for the censorship and “conditioned the verdict” of the AHS, Aguado denounces. Its objective, which was to “generate debates around the Cuban literary panorama and achieve closeness between the public, the authors and the home of the young creator of the capital”, was cut off by the association.
In his message, the coordinator of the worst generation Attached is his resignation from the positions of specialist in Visual Arts and Criticism and Research of the Havana AHS, in addition to his dismissal as a worker at La Madriguera. He maintains, however, his membership in that body.
In a position that wants to be moderate, Aguado argues that the AHS should “represent all the values of national culture and young art, and neither political differences with the creators, nor tangential positions to institutional aspirations, nor episodes of misunderstanding”.
“I work out of conviction, commitment to my generation and to the culture of my country, therefore, I cannot stay out of this episode of censorship”
“I work out of conviction, commitment to my generation and to the culture of my country, therefore, I cannot stay out of this episode of censorship,” lamented the young man.
That is why they chose La Madriguera to meet, with the support of the initiatives La Tertulia Literaria and Cubao, since they represent “an example of artistic resistance” apart from the “terrible management of Cuban institutions.”
For her part, one of the guests, Lisbeth Moya, alluded to the space as a “free zone” for “diverse voices.” The young woman, a contributor to the Comunistas platform, made it clear that she would not leave the AHS despite institutional pressure. “When they want to talk, here I am,” she settled.
Meanwhile, the artist and critic Julio Llópiz Casal, in a comment to Aguado’s publication, stated that “many Cubans will continue to pay the enormous price of living in a country mired in sadness and despair,” at the mercy of institutions such as the AHS , “without autonomy or firmness”.
With the censorship of The worst generation the island’s bureaucracy despises a whole group of recent and talented writers and, as happened after the hopeful November 27, 2020, close the doors to dialogue and consensus across culture.
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