Laughing under Castro (Paperback)

Kiko Arocha

ISBN 10: 1497305365 / ISBN 13: 9781497305366

Published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

About this Item

Paperback. The first newspaper that Castro ordered shut out in 1959 was Zig-Zag, Cuba's Mad Magazine. He next banned Cuba's most beloved comedian, Leopoldo Fernandez because while performing on a stage with a large portrait of Fidel Castro, he had quibbled pointing to Castro's picture: "And that one there, we have to hang him very high." In the next 55+ years, there would be no more jokes told in public in Cuba. But the Cuban people did not lose their sense of humor, now steeped in pathos, but took it underground. Twenty years ago, a man living in Cuba began to compile these jokes about the Revolution and managed to smuggle his collection out of the country. Laughter can be a cry of despair as much as tears can be an expression of joy. There are essentially two ways to deal with the predations and privations of tyrannical rule - to surrender to its authority and become its slave or accomplice; or to fight it with the only weapons at your disposal - contempt and ridicule sublimated into humor. Manuel Tellechea, NJ This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781497305366

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Laughing under Castro (Paperback)
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1497305365
• ISBN 13: 9781497305366
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The first newspaper that Castro ordered shut out in 1959 was Zig-Zag, Cuba’s Mad Magazine. He next banned Cuba’s most beloved comedian, Leopoldo Fernandez because while performing on a stage with a large portrait of Fidel Castro, he had quibbled pointing to Castro’s picture: “And that one there, we have to hang him very high.” In the next 55+ years, there would be no more jokes told in public in Cuba. But the Cuban people did not lose their sense of humor, now steeped in pathos, but took it underground. Twenty years ago, a man living in Cuba began to compile these jokes about the Revolution and managed to smuggle his collection out of the country. Laughter can be a cry of despair as much as tears can be an expression of joy. There are essentially two ways to deal with the predations and privations of tyrannical rule – to surrender to its authority and become its slave or accomplice; or to fight it with the only weapons at your disposal – contempt and ridicule sublimated into humor. Manuel Tellechea, NJ

About the Author

Modesto (Kiko) Arocha is Cuban. He graduated as an electronics engineer in Havana. In 1995, at age 58, he went into exile in the United States, where he founded Alexandria Library, at first working as webmaster and translator, and now as a book publisher. He's addicted to his family, now living in Miami.