May 20, That Hole in Our Memory

May 20, That Hole in Our Memory / Reinaldo Escobar
Posted on May 20, 2015

Desde Aqui, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 20 May 2015 — Yesterday I invited
my granddaughters to get ice cream. To boast of her knowledge, the
oldest, who is in the third grade, said to me: "Today marks the 120th
anniversary of the death in combat of José Martí, our National
Hero." She said it with the same pride in wisdom with which one day,
many years ago, I alerted my parents to the fact that the earth was round.

"And tomorrow, May 20, what will we celebrate?" I asked her, imitating
the emphasis of schoolteacher. Almost arrogantly she responded, "On May
20 nothing happened."

As she was born in the 21st Century I invited her to look for the
significance of the date on a phone app containing Wikipedia, which she
could consult without an Internet connection. Surprise! The text there
reads: "1902: Cuba achieves independence from the United States of America."

But the newspaper Granma wasn't having it: In the top right corner of
the last page, where anniversaries often appear under the heading "Today
in History," it said: "1902: The neocolonial republic was installed in
Cuba."

I can foresee that in the future, that bright morning of the first day
of the year will not be remembered as the end of a dictatorship, but as
the beginning of another

The protagonists of History are not to blame for how the future
interprets their acts. For example, the massacred aboriginals who
inhabited our beautiful island never could have suspected the enthusiasm
with which Cubans would celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Spanish
colonial settlements. The people of Bayamo who watched their properties
burn could never have imagined the degree of voluntary unanimity today
attributed to the glorious fire of 1869. No one could have convinced
those who lost a son, a father, a brother in the bloody events of 26
July 1953, that that date would be a national holiday.

On May 20, 1902 dozens of countries around the world publicly recognized
the advent of Cuba as an independent nation. The joy was massive,
sincere and overwhelming. And I do not say unrepeatable because 56 years
later there was a first of January on which Cubans never thought that a
tyrannical regime would be installed in Cuba.

I can foresee that in the future, that bright morning of the first day
of the year will not be remembered as the end of a dictatorship, but as
the beginning of another. Nor that when my great-grandchildren are asked
what happened on that date, they will respond "nothing happened that day."

Source: May 20, That Hole in Our Memory / Reinaldo Escobar | Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/may-20-that-hole-in-our-memory-reinaldo-escobar/