The Cuban singer La Crema posted on Facebook a song that satirizes the start of the school year in Cuba, and the result is as funny as it is disheartening: one minute and 21 seconds that depict better than any official speech what families and students are experiencing on the Island.
The song is titled "This school year I come that I don't want a cavity" and begins with an irony that sets the tone for everything that follows: "Welcome to the school year, in this year we need blah blah blah." From there, the lyrics unleash an inventory of school calamities with an urban rhythm and no mercy.
Uniforms that don't fit the children, shoes with loose soles, non-existent snacks, books that students have to print themselves... This is the reality of education in Cuba, which La Crema describes with his unique humor.
"There’s a notebook for two subjects / There’s no money, times are tough / I’ve already spent a lot of cash / You have to be a millionaire; this is madness," he explains.
The role of the director deserves a separate chapter. According to the lyrics, the school official is portrayed as a character who demands everything: lunch, that the parents come to clean the classroom, and of course, a gift on Teacher's Day.
"I've already been asked for a fan / to paint the classroom but I'm not a painter," La Crema laments, dressed as a pioneer.
Power outages, of course, are also a frequent occurrence. The song ends with total resignation: "If the power goes out, I can't do my homework / This way, no one can study, and no one can go to school / God, and to top it off, the power went out. Tomorrow, I'm not going to school, man."
The video garnered over 56,700 views, figures that confirm that the Santiago artist still has his finger on the pulse of what people feel.
What La Crema turns into a parody is, in reality, the exact picture of the school year that began on September 1 amidst power outages that exceeded 20 hours a day in some areas.
The Minister of Education herself, Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, acknowledged that the schools would open under "very difficult" conditions, characterized by shortages of uniforms and materials, issues with teacher coverage, and challenges in maintaining school meals.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party described the beginning of the school year as "another act of heroism" and called for community initiatives to "beautify" the schools, which in practice meant asking parents to paint the classrooms.
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