I had the opportunity to attend a panel of Cuban experts and people working with Latino families in Bozemanon Wednesday March 30. The panel was the final event of the Maestra tour stop in Bozeman. Other events included the premier of the Maestra documentary and an international dialogue with Girls for a Change core committee members and film maker Catherine Murphy and Maestra star Norma Guillard.
President Cruzado and Norma Guillard sat on the panel along with a few other women. President Cruzado, a native Puerto Rican, began with a poem by Lola Rodríguez de Tió.
“Cuba y Puerto Rico son
De un pájaro las dos alas,
Reciben flores y balas
Sobre el mismo corazón…”
Translated
“Cuba and Puerto Rico are
De un pájaro las dos alas, A bird’s two wings,
Reciben flores y balas Receiving flowers and bullets
Sobre el mismo corazón… On the heart …”
A panelist discussed “The Family Code” which became Cuban policy after the Revolution of 1959. The code basically required men to participate in household duties. While some women would say that it has been less than fulfilled, many would agree that having the policy contributed to the advancement of women in Cuba.
Leah Schmalzbauer discussed her work with Latinas living in the Gallatin Valley, most of who are from Mexico, and their mixed status families. Many of the fathers are documented migrants, the children are citizens and the mothers are undocumented. The mothers live in fear of been deported. They avoid parent-teacher conferences, doctors appointments and even calling 9-1-1 in an emergency out of fear of being separated from their families. However, when asked where they would rather be they say they want to be in Montana because of the quality of life and good schools. Their main priority is for their children to get a better education than was available to them in Mexico.
Catherine Murphy discussed the Cuba Literacy Campaign that took place in 1961 and its impact on women.
Norma Gulliard said that after the literacy project she felt like she had grown two wings and that today she found the other wing in President Cruzado. She discussed the impact of the literacy project on women in Cuba today, saying that it contributed to the advancements of women in Cuba.
To learn more about Maestra please visit www.theliteracyproject.org or www.womenandcuba.org.
Watch the documentary trailer – Maestra Trailer.
April 1, 2011, written by Price Klaas
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