Since my last posting, the news has been full of Cuban events and their
consequences, and I’d like to get caught up to date with observations about both
the trivial and the important. Likely, it will take several postings to get current on that and the news of Island of
the White Rose.
Where Jay-Z falls—important or trivial—his visit to Cuba certainly
captured a lot of media attention. One point that was mostly overlooked was his
seeming preoccupation with Che. He’s often shown sporting his signature Che
t-shirt, and he self-describes himself as “Che Guevara with bling.” I wonder if
any of his posse has ever told him that in Motorcycle Diaries Che wrote, “The blacks, those magnificent examples
of the African race who have maintained their racial purity thanks to their
lack of an affinity with bathing, have seen their territory invaded by a new
kind of slave: the Portuguese. The contempt and poverty unites them in the
daily struggle, but the different way of dealing with life separates them
completely; the black is indolent and a dreamer; spending his meager wage on
frivolity or drink; the European has a tradition of work and saving, which has
pursued him as far as this corner of America and drives him to advance himself,
even independently of his own individual aspirations.”
The civil rights movement in the U.S. was all about discrediting such a
racist philosophy. That Jay-Z continues to celebrate Che spits in the face of
Martin Luther King and is a throwback to the philosophy of the KKK.
Jay-Z’s embrace
of Che boggles my mind. To make fair disclosure of my other feelings about
Jay-Z, I think his musical arrangements for the new version of The Great Gatsby deserve a special place
in hell. With all of the wonderful music of the 20s, assaulting the audience
with a rap soundtrack to dancing
flappers was a poor choice. Otherwise, I thought the movie was terrific, notwithstanding
a rather dull interpretation of Nick Carraway by Tobey McGuire.
In book news, in ten days I’ll be off to Book Expo America in NYC to visit the largest
book fair in the country (samples please). I hope to be spending some time at
BNN’s booth to help in the marketing of Island.
If you’re in the neighborhood, drop in.
