IN CUBA, FORGING A BLACK IDENTITY

Rastafarianism Attracts Followers

Havana - It was a balmy night on a beachfront lot, and a salty breeze
mingled with whiffs of ganja. Hundreds of young Rastafarians, many in
dreadlocks or Bob Marley T-shirts, rocked to the steady lilt of live
reggae.

"A new generation of black youth is finding its identity, and it is
filled with love," cooed singer Consureto, a dark, thin man in
flowing African robes. "Yah, man," listeners shouted.

It felt like Kingston or Montego Bay, but the concert took place this
month on the outskirts of Havana and was attended by local
Afro-Cubans, not rum-sipping tourists. Reggae concerts are
increasingly common here, the most visible sign that Rastafarianism,
the religion formed in Jamaican slums in the 1930s, is attracting a
wave of black followers in officially atheist Cuba.

For some Afro-Cubans, Rastafarianism is a means of individual
expression in a society that places a premium on conformity. For
others, growing dreadlocks and smoking - or selling - marijuana is a
way to attract the attention of dollar-toting tourists. For most, the
movement offers spiritual comfort during an economic crisis that has
disproportionately hurt Afro-Cubans, already the country's poorest
people.

"There is a lot of racial discrimination here. Rastafarianism is a
way to create a black identity and build a message of unity," said
dreadlocked Elijio Flores. A Rasta who left his low-paying job as an
agronomist at a state-run tobacco cooperative in Villa Clara, in the
center of the country, Flores, 30, sells bead necklaces in the plazas
of Old Havana.

With his 1959 revolution, President Fidel Castro sought to end the
racism that has existed since colonial times in Cuba, where a
majority of residents are black or of mixed race. But despite
advances, blacks remain at the bottom of the economic ladder, and
they were hit hardest when the collapse of the Soviet Union in the
early '90s stopped the flow of aid from Moscow.

"Young blacks who are products of the revolution have grown up with
the message that 'We are all Cubans,' " said Katrin Hansing, an
anthropologist at Florida International University in Miami who has
studied Rastafarianism in Cuba. "But the economic problems have led
them to realize that some Cubans are more Cuban than others, and
those Cubans are white. Rastafarianism offers a way to express their
frustrations and provides an alternative view of blackness."

The state has shown increased tolerance toward Rastafarianism in
recent years as it has eased controls on Catholic and Protestant
churches. Still, it doesn't recognize Rastafarianism as a religion or
movement. "There are only a few isolated individuals who call
themselves Rastas," said Raul Montes of the state Office of Religious
Affairs.

Cuban Rastas say they number in the thousands, concentrated in Havana
and in Santiago de Cuba, which faces Jamaica from the southeast
coast. Though some Rastas meet for weekly Bible study and discussion,
and many congregate in specific neighborhoods or parks, most consider
themselves part of a free-floating community rather than an organized
group.

In the mid-'80s, when Rastas were few, police routinely stopped or
briefly jailed them. These days, Rastas say, they are still stopped,
particularly if they are seen with white tourists, but further action
is rare.

"When I first started to grow dreads, the police would approach me,
photograph me and make me pay fines," said Manolo Mayeta, 45, who is
one of Cuba's Rasta pioneers. Now Mayeta bundles his dreads beneath a
towering tam bearing stripes of red, black and green - the colors of
the Jamaican flag - and yellow.

Jamaican students studying medicine here, as well as sailors
returning from Caribbean ports, brought Rastafarianism and reggae to
Cuba as early as 1979. But they mostly kept to themselves and reggae
wasn't - and still isn't - played on state-run radio, which dictates
that 80 percent of all music on the airwaves be Cuban. It took until
the mid-'80s for small groups of Cubans to adopt Rastafarianism's
basic tenets.

These include black empowerment, a rejection of Babylon - the term
Rastas use for the white power structure that they believe has
subjugated blacks - and a belief that Ethiopian Emperor Haile
Selassie I, who died in 1975, was the second messiah.

The movement grew rapidly in the late '90s amid the economic crisis,
when Cuba opened the nation to foreign investment in tourism.

Many foreign companies favored fair-skinned Cubans for jobs in
hotels, restaurants and elsewhere, according to Alejandro de la
Fuente, a University of Pittsburgh professor and author of the book
"A Nation for All: Race, Inequality and Politics in 20th Century
Cuba."

Blacks' frustrations have led to various cultural and religious
expressions of what it means to be Afro-Cuban, from paintings and
sculpture to Rastafarianism and hip-hop. "Blacks are saying, 'We may
have lost ground in the economy and in the tourist industry, but we
...cannot be ignored," de la Fuente said.

Many artists and rap groups explore the dynamics of being black in
Cuba through overt references to police brutality or racial
discrimination. Cuba's half-dozen reggae groups tend to focus on the
Rasta goal of togetherness.

"My message is peace, love, one unity, one God," said Luis Alberto
Figueras, who in 1990 founded Cocoman, the first reggae band here,
and now fronts the group Paso Firme, or Steady Step.

Cuban Rastas have added homegrown elements to the movement. Many,
like the Havana-based painter Ariel Diaz Garcia, practice Santeria,
the religion African slaves brought to Cuba that remains a mainstay
of Afro-Cuban life.

"Rastafarianism is my personal philosophy, while Santeria is my
religion," explained Diaz, 38, who has used elements of both in his
paintings.

The soft-spoken, bearded Diaz also sees no contradiction between the
atheist teachings of communist Cuba and the religious tenets of
either Rastafarianism or Santeria. "While socialism is an important
step in my life, it is not enough to feed the spirit," he said.

Other Rastas, however, see Rastafarianism as an alternative to
communism. "I studied Marxism in school but it is lies. Where are the
opportunities for all Cubans that we were taught about?" asked
Carlos, 23, a Rasta who works as a salsa dancer. Like many here, he
didn't want his full name used for fear of reprisals from the state.

Some Cuban Rastas consider themselves purer than their Jamaican
counterparts, who they say have been corrupted by gangs. "The Rastas
of Kingston accept Babylon. They have been involved in drugs and
violence," Mayeta said.

Rastas in Cuba, which imposes stiff fines and jail time for drug use,
also are far less open about smoking marijuana than their
counterparts in Jamaica.

As Cuba's Rastafarianism grows, some worry it is being reduced to a
fashion statement. However it evolves, the movement signals that
after four decades of strict party rule here, the will to be
different is thriving.