SOCIAL MEDIA

Cubans on Twitter: The New Wave

Where before there was a predominance of Cuban exiles, dissidents, and allies of the regime, today the spectrum is expanding, and a network like Twitter features the presence of everyday Cubans.

Madrid

While in the free world people are now constantly connected, eating, waiting for the subway, and even going to the bathroom mobile phones in hand, Cubans are still struggling to access the sea of information that is the Internet. They can barely can have an email address, use a social network, and read a little press, carefully counting the minutes to keep from using their data plan, using Facebook at the office, or hotspots in the city. 

The situation, however, is beginning to change. According to ETECSA, more than 70,400 Cubans currently connect to the Internet from their homes, while about 1,800,000 do so via 3G technology on their mobile phones. And this change is becoming manifest on social media. 

Where before there was a predominance of Cuban exiles, dissidents from Cuba, and allies of the regime, today the spectrum has expanded, and on a network such as Twitter, along with the recent wave of government leaders and spokespersons, including Miguel Díaz-Canel, the presence of everyday Cubans is being felt. 

These new tweeters have comprehended the network quite well, not limiting themselves to merely exchanging information. Rather, they interact, express themselves with humor, use irony, jump on the bandwagon of “in” phrases, giving them Cuban twists, forging communities; in short, they are beginning to constitute a different voice on the Island.

The #AldeaTwitter (#TwitterVillage)

Mentioning tweeters is inevitable to round out this text, but we must begin with what brings them together. Under the hashtag #AldeaTwitter a new wave of Cubans invading the network, with their vitality, comes together. Following the tag you can find them saying good morning, sharing the latest incident on the bus, in the oil lines, joking around, and sharing information. 

At some point they wondered whether it was feasible to talk about politics using hashtags. The opinions are divergent. Some support the use of tags for any type of opinion, including political ones, while others refuse to use the label as a platform for political ideas, regardless of the type ... And, although there is no written rule, the community and its most influential members are setting examples. 

Defining the Village is complex. Someone came along and argued that it was necessary to establish certain rules, to prevent potential problems, such as  people getting fired, or expelled from school, for "belonging to the #AldeaTwitter, a cybernetic group of dissidents funded by the Empire". The fears seem exaggerated, but there is a culture of fear and repression that fuels these thoughts. It would not be the first time that someone was let go, or expelled from the university, for their ideas, not conforming to "revolutionary standards".

Other users did not agree, believing that they are entitled to express themselves freely and share their opinion as members of the Village. There are even some who have a sense of humor about it, saying that they are already being watched... Others have created the #GranjaTwitter (#TwitterFarm) seeking a more "inclusive and pluralistic" forum.

Beyond the differences of opinion, one interesting thing emerges: debate. Long threads of opinions in which many users chime in, a chat group that evidences something new: people making their own judgments, a group of citizens with their own views, defying the sheepish mass into which Castroist propaganda has turned the Cuban people.

Every group has a leader

Of the tribe, the most visible figure that stands out, for his grace and talent, at the level of any Mexican, Spanish or Argentinean twitterstar, is @ElCaciqueUrbano. Despite having just a little over 865 followers, he is still very influential, as his tweets garner more feedback than those of other tweeters with thousands of followers.

"If you have recovered from a pressure cooker explosion resulting in beans dripping from the ceiling, let me tell you that you can do anything," he says in one of his tweets. 

Humor is his forte; that Cuban kind of humor that was missing on Twitter. And, in between jokes, the Cacique also spurs you to reflect. 

"Let's see, let's have a laugh or two at ETECSA's expense. But, we are clear on the fact that it is really them who are mocking you, right?" he says ironically. 

Women Tweeters

Exploring the origins of the #AldeaTwitter, I found it was an idea of Amelia Flores’ (@ameliafp1986), a Cuban resident in Uruguay, because if this community has one quality it is that it brings together Cubans from the island and the diaspora, generating a kind of virtual island in which distances are overcome.

Amelia's inspiration came from the tweets of @ElCaciqueUrbano and the photos of Amy Magaña (@AmyCubana98). 

Amy's photos reflect that Havana hovering between beauty and decay. There are doses of reality: the noisy interior of a bus in a video, the photo of someone reading Hegel on the bus, a policeman in a bookstore, a sign saying "take care of the bus" with an image of Che Guevara... her tweets convey everyday life, even hers, like that of any young woman anywhere in the world who wants to share the books she buys, what she eats, and her walks. 

Also portraying everyday life through images is Luz Escobar (@Luz_Cuba), a reporter for 14 y medio who has been on the social network for some time, and whose tweets are now really standing out.

Photos of the city, ramshackle butcher shops, Havanans going about their routines, garbage men; her tweets feature a journalistic approach, but they are not devoid of irony too. 

"In #Cuba you sweat about money twice, once when you make it, and once when you spend it," Luz says in one of her tweets.

Crossing the "t"s and dotting the "i"s

Among the most interesting trends are tweets that question the state of affairs, and demand accountability, even from Cuba's leaders, who are now present on the network.

One moment he is asking officials to look into a Canadian businessman photographed with several Cuban girls who seem to be minors, then he is complaining about collapsing buildings, or writing about the shortages from which the people suffer.  He often announces that, for demanding explanations from these officials, he has been blocked by them. Condis' biting perspectives do not go unnoticed, his tweets having a major impact.

Along this critical line, of note is José Cemí (@PugaVenegas): "Almost free Cuban. No to Marxism, to Communism, to Socialism. Check out my tweets, maybe one of them will help you." These are the words of this tweeter, who exposes the failures of Cuban Communism. His posts, accompanied by very fitting images, have a great impact, and generate comments. 

Other times he poses questions, and uses Castroist propaganda to expose the regime: "In what other country of the Western Hemisphere do people steal hospital windows? This is right out of Granma (the government newspaper): 'The predatory actions also extend to the windows, especially those in areas where there are few people at night'", he says in one of his tweets.

"Some questions you never hear in Cuba: 1 - What party do you belong to? 2 - What newspaper do you like to read? 3 - What union do you belong to? 4 - Which internet provider do you prefer? 5 - What school do you plan to send your children to? 6 - What country will you visit on your vacation?", he writes in another tweet with more than 600 likes and more than 400 retweets.

The wave is unstoppable. There are many more and, best of all, every day there are more and more tweeters, taking a stand, defying the regime's rhetoric and its army of communist trolls. They, the "villagers" –as they like to call themselves– are the voice of the Cuban people. Listen to them. Follow them. Read them. 

 Here is a sample of what they are writing: They are the #AldeaTwitter. DDC is also on the social network; follow us at @diariodecuba and read our recommendations at @DDC_recomienda.

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