Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:55
A vendor crying out in the streets of Havana.
A street vendor´s powerful cry came through the walls and windows of my house on a recent Sunday, and it woke me up.
At 7:30 a.m. he was proclaiming his goods, which were in this case, onions and garlic…and I wondered, "Is this a cry, a song or a shout?" Then I remembered the witty Cuban phrase for tricky advertising: "What´s not advertised isn´t for sale."
The cries, since the colony´s beginning, are a substantial part of rich Cuban folklore, synthesized expressions of the popular initiative to use musical and lyrical flow to promote goods or services. And for this, songs have developed, experiencing world-renowned fame, such as "El Frutero" (The Orchard) by Lecuona, "Frutas del Caney," (Caney´s Fruits) by Félix B. Cagnet and "El Botellero," (The Bottle Rack) by Gilberto Valdés, among others. An interesting fact I´ll tell you is that Celia Cruz is the singer that has recorded the most of these cries.
According to old historians, Havana street vendors went to the open air at the San Lázaro Plaza and made their proclamations, even in their own form of speech, which obviously worked out. There they would practice and project their shrill or throaty voices, which the neighbors were´t always so fond of, who could freely boo them as well. That was until the late 50´s, when private traders and street vendors were eliminated by the state, which unfortunately banished these cries.
Recently introduced economic ventures and the approval of "self-employment," have brought a relative revival of cries, but most don´t do it in the crafty playfulness and musical way they once had. "Buy your bread here!" "No more abuse, I´ve got taro, cucumber, garlic, black and red beans." "It´s yours for two pesos!" Or the misleading, "I´m buying old gold, I´m buying old gold!" (as if this metal aged and lost value). Those are some examples of the new "postmodern" cries, having nothing to do with those of yesteryear, as they would have characteristically said, "I have "cariocas," sweet and tasty to the mouth."
However, the "illegal" status of many vendors has led to, believe it or not, the emergence of silent cries; the merchant, not even with a sign, discretely advertises their goods with their glance or an offering gesture, with the complicity of clients, inspectors and police. That proves an old popular philosopher´s statement, with whom I recently spoke with on this subject: These cries were and will be a monument to the work and a clear aspiration for progress.
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