Carnival and National Identity in the Poetry of Afrocubanismo

5. Drumming Up the Black Vote: Chambelonas and Cuban Electoral Politics in José Zacarías Tallet’s “Quintín Barahona”

5 Drumming Up the Black Vote Chambelonas and Cuban Electoral Politics in José Zacarías Tallet’s “Quintín Barahona” A los partidos oficialmente reconocidos les conviene mucho la supeditación de la masa negra. Por ello seguirán con el hombre de color el mismo proce­ dimiento que hasta aquí: Buenos ofrecimientos que siempre . . . serán olvidados a la hora del cumplimiento. [The submission of the Negro masses serves the purposes of the officially recognized parties. For that reason with the man of color they will follow the same procedure as they have until now: great offerings that will always . . . be forgotten at the hour of fulfillment.] Juan Marinello “Acción y omission” El más genial de los políticos había sido aquel futuro representante que repartía tarjetas redactadas en dialecto Apapa, prometiendo rumbas democráticas y libertad de rompimientos para ganarse la adhesión de las Potencias ñáñigas. ¡Votad por él . . . ! [The most brilliant of the politicians had been that future representative who handed out cards written in the Apapa dialect, promising democratic rumbas and freedom to celebrate their rituals in order to win over the loyalty of the Ñáñigo potencias. Vote for him . . . !] Alejo Carpentier, Écue-Yamba-Ó From a political standpoint, the concerted efforts made by Cuban politicians to ban or eliminate supposedly backward Afro-Cuban customs and traditions presented them with a significant conundrum: how to uproot or contain African cultural influences while at the same time courting the support of black men who had recently been granted the right to vote. As Alejandro de la Fuente has noted, Afro-Cubans represented nearly one third of the voting population by 1907, and the mainstream Cuban press warned that there were “‘too many’ to be ignored by candidates. No matter what their personal feelings and prejudices, political figures were forced by universal male suffrage to pay at least lip service to the Cuban Electoral Politics in José Zacarías Tallet’s “Quintín Barahona” · 141 ideal of an inclusive republic . . . in other words, Cuban politicians could not afford to be racist” (58). The great hypocrisy of many administrations was revealed by their courting of the black vote and promotion of certain causes dear to Cubans of color in order to advance their own political agendas at the same time that they condemned and outlawed certain African-derived music and dance, religious practices, and other cultural manifestations. For example, David Brown has noted that because of the ever-increasing “visibility, economic power, and voting-block influence of the Abakuá by the early 20th century, candidates for local office began to court the votes of Abakuá constituencies. Political messages in the Brícamo language appeared on handbills” and “innumerable greased hands” enlarged Abakuá coffers (Light Inside 32).1 De la Fuente has similarly noted that “presidential and congressional candidates made Afro-Cuban societies an unavoidable stop on their tours,” and he adds that “in their quest for votes” politicians even visited associations such as the Abakuá brotherhoods despite the fact that they were widely reputed to be hotbeds of criminal activity (162). Cuban president José Miguel Gómez was known for aggressively soliciting the black vote by visiting Abakuá lodges and using Afro-Cuban symbols during his political rallies (Ayorinde 52), and he was vehemently derided by his conservative opponents for failing to condemn ñáñiguismo . Gómez was also among the first to drum up the black vote by hiring traditional Afro-Cuban carnival ensembles to play in his electoral campaign . However, during his administration there was an aggressive fight against comparsas and congas and other cultural manifestations associated with them. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that it was during his presidency that the Partido Independiente de Color was banned, political organizations based on race were outlawed, and more than three thousand black Cubans lost their lives during the Racist Massacre of 1912. Gerardo Machado also hired Afro-Cuban congas, and he provided considerable financial support to certain Afro-Cuban cults during his electoral campaign (Thomas 683, Ayorinde 52). He was also well known during the early years of his presidency for “pro-black” policies: he granted land and funds to black organizations such as the Club Atenas, signed a law that turned the date of Antonio Maceo’s death (December 7) into a national holiday, opposed the formation of a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Camagüey, and appointed blacks and mulattos to prominent positions in his administration (de la Fuente 92...