Two Children In a Sandbox

      On April 8, 2008 Sarah E. Cooper, a foreign language professor at CSU Chico did a presentation on “The intersection of Politics & Art in Cuba.” She titled her presentation “Cuba & the U.S in a Sandbox: Tit for Tat in the Cuban Funny Papers Then & Now.” Professor Cooper’s main interests in her study are heavily on Cuba. She has done a lot of research on Cuba and their political art. Her presentation had to do with Cuba and their political art mainly focusing on their cartoons of the United States. She describes the Untied States and Cuba relationship as two children in a sandbox. Two children that get into an argument because the other one doesn’t want to play a game their way. They argue over who is right, and then threaten to pick their toys up and go home. This is exactly what the U.S and Cuba did. When the children go back home they go back and talk badly about each other and call each other names. The example of this is Cuba’s political art.

            Professor Cooper first went over Cuba’s post-revolutionary period around 1959. The United States jumped into the war between Spain and Cuba, Cuba won and then seemed to have become free but because the United States was involved it was set up so that the United States would have free reign to Cuban government. The political cartoons shifted from making fun and criticizing Spain to focusing on the United States Once Castro came into power the United States canceled sugar, which left them flat until they made a deal with the Soviet Union to become Socialist if the Soviet Union would buy their sugar. She showed many of the different cartoons that made fun of the United States. Art from artists like Cirilo Villaverde, Pecruz Bohemia, and Felo Palante. The United States is shown as bullies. The cartoons make fun of President Kennedy, President Bush, and even Uncle Sam. The cartoons that are published in Cuba today make fun of the United State trying to take corn and make ethanol. Cuba sees this as a waste because there are people starving all around the world and the United States is using corn as fuel. There are many other things that are shown in the political cartoons from Cuba.

            In Conclusion, I found this presentation very interesting and I think that Professor Cooper did a very good job. I usually always look at the cartoons in the daily newspaper, and usually have a good laugh from the political cartoons that are published. It was neat to see political cartoons from another country and just to see Cuba’s outlook on the United States. It’s important to know how other countries view the United States, and it is not just Cuba that makes fun of us, it’s other countries too. In all political art is a method used by the government of a country to express their views.