By Jim Burns. CNS News.
CNS Senior Staff Writer. January 08, 2001
(CNSNews.com) - Cuba's state-run media vehemently criticized an Epiphany
parade in downtown Havana on Saturday that was organized by Spain's embassy. The
state run media believes the event was an "imported capitalist show
dangerous for local children."
Cuban state television and the communist party official newspaper "Granma"
called Spanish businessmen and diplomats who dressed up to represent the Magi as
"scarecrows," "clowns," and insulting types. The costumed
businessmen and diplomats threw sweets to children who gathered on the streets
of downtown Havana during the parade.
The Spanish Embassy's Cultural Center in Havana organized the parade, which
included the three magi riding in horse-drawn coaches. It was approved by the
Castro government and had a police motorcycle escort.
Despite the official approval of the event, Cuban state television described
the Three Kings as "imported monarchs" and "strange and
unrecognizable clowns."
After showing footage of the scramble for the sweets, the TV commentator
added, "These scenes that we have seen show the difference between the
capitalist and the socialist conceptions of the respect and dignity with which
children should be educated."
Asked about the criticism, a Spanish diplomat said, "There was
absolutely no intention to create a situation."
"This was an activity organized for the children with the approval of
the Cuban authorities," he added, saying the embassy held two similar
events in Havana in past years.
Cuban journalists from Sunday's Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde
were even more scathing in their criticism.
"With what right do they humiliate our children, throwing them sweets
onto the pavement, or into the mud, depending on the accuracy of the aim of
these scarecrows?" wrote Rosa Miriam Elizalde in an article entitled "Wise
Men Bearing Trinkets." br>
"What greater cynicism can there be than to tell Cubans they should be
the protagonists of an imported show?" she added, citing reaction she said
the newspaper had received from members of the Cuban public.
Reports indicate the parade demonstrates a new level of official religious
tolerance in Cuba that many say began after Pope John Paul II visited the
communist-run nation in 1998.
Cuban Leader Fidel Castro made Christmas a "public holiday" after
the Pope's visit. Although communist authorities have done nothing to encourage
the celebration, last Christmas, many Catholic and Protestant churches drew
worshippers to Christmas Day mass.
The Castro government for the first time in decades allowed large Christmas
trees to be displayed in some Havana hotels reserved for foreign tourists. The
government also allowed the trees to be sold in selected shops that operated in
U.S. dollars only.
However, official government policy still banned Christmas trees and
greetings from official public buildings, offices, squares and avenues. | 