by Nancy Osa
In learning more about the longstanding embargo that restricts trade and travel between the U.S. and Cuba, I was impressed by the efforts of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. This organization [IFCO stands for Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization] has been challenging the embargo and promoting cultural exchange and peace with Cuba since 1992. Local Cuba groups across the country work with Pastors for Peace to change the laws and circumstances that divide rather than unite neighbors and families. Kids fit right in with such humanitarian efforts. They’re in the process of discovering their places in society and are natural bridge builders. But the simple act of learning more about a “forbidden” culture is a first step in reconciliation.
Q. Señora Flora asks Violet, “How do you see yourself?” Violet defines herself by what she is and what she isn’t. How would you define yourself in these terms? Do you have any “half talents” you’re still growing?
A. How do I see myself? Well, first of all, I’m not the quince type. I don’t wear dresses or high heels—you’re more apt to find me in jodhpurs and boots. I would generally rather be alone at my desk or on horseback than onstage in front of an audience. But I am at home in a lot of environments. I like to get lost in the crowd on a downtown city street as well as lost in thought in the woods. I’ll also strike up a conversation with just about anyone, to share a little bit of life or get a fresh insight. “Half talents” are my specialty, and they make for lifelong learning: That’s why I’m glad my Spanish, my horseback riding, and my cooking can really use some work! As a writer, my half talent is exploring human nature, for I can never truly comprehend all its subtleties. But I can keep trying.
Q. Abuela asserts that it is women who carry tradition forward and see that it lives on. Do you agree with her? If so, why do you think this role often falls to women?
A. I was thinking about food and holiday events, which are most often women’s domain. Even though my mother is not Cuban, she learned to cook my father’s favorite Cuban dishes. So when I was growing up, a lot of Cuban culture was served up in the form of congrís, arroz con pollo, and lechon asado. Visiting a cousin’s house in Miami one year, I encountered the Cuban tradition of eating twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s. Most of my Cuban traditions came to me through food, as part of a gustatory collective unconscious. Who makes the Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham in your house? Who plans the get-togethers? Maybe Dad, but in years past the women stayed home and made these tasks part of their day, while the men went out and earned a living for their families. So perpetuating tradition through food and family gatherings was what women did. Nowadays, this type of traditional learning is probably fading away. Who spends two days marinating and slow-cooking a roast when they can microwave a fajita? (Answer: the author.)
Q. Do you recall an experience or a moment of realization in your young life that made you feel you had grown up?
A. No. I didn’t have an aha! realization until I was thirty-seven, and, you know, that was right for me. Coming-of-age ceremonies were probably begun as a practical means of keeping young girls from becoming mothers too early. While the focus was on honoring the girl, the event may also have been a social tool for restraint aimed at men, in much the same way that other social taboos work. Violet’s quinceañero is not grounded in this tradition but does embrace the goal of moving a young woman toward her next phase in life. For Violet, all that process really takes is some thought and action: considering who she’d like to be, and then trying to effect that. Some people can do that at fifteen. It took me a while longer.
Q. Are you good at dominoes? What are the highest stakes you’ve ever played for?
A. When it comes to poker, backgammon, and dominoes, luck is my friend, strategy a stranger. The highest stakes I’ve ever played for? My good image and ten cents. I probably lost on both counts.
Q. What would be the theme of your quinceañero? What would you include in the ceremony to make it reflect your personality (or just for fun)?
A. My theme would be “Let the Good Times Roll.” I would enjoy blending all the elements of my roots—there would be Cuban music, Chicago blues, and food from both ends of that spectrum. Instead of a planned agenda, guests would encounter roving entertainers—an improv troupe, fire jugglers, Latin dancers—and have fun with a giant maze, an arts-and-crafts station, and a go-cart track. And, of course, before the cake was cut, there would probably be some sort of a performance by the quince-babe herself . . . dressed in her jodhpurs and boots.
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Published by
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New York
Copyright © 2003 by Nancy Osa
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1. Cuban Americans—Juvenile fiction. [1. Cuban Americans—Fiction.
2. Quinceañero (Social custom)—Fiction. 3. High schools—Fiction.
4. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Cuba fifteen.
PZ7.O785Cu 2003
[Fic]—dc21
2002013389
March 2005
www.randomhouse.com
eISBN: 978-0-307-43326-8
v3.0