A soup from Haiti and a song from Cuba are having a glorious moment | Editorial
Haiti and Cuba have had a rough year.
In Haiti, a president was assassinated; an earthquake rocked Les Cayes and violent gangs, basically, are running things. In Cuba, civil disobedience for the first time in decades challenged the Castro-created government and triggered a crackdown on human-rights advocates.
But in the midst of all this, both countries are having deserved recognition for their contributions to our global heritage.
The United Nations has added Haiti’s beloved soup joumou, a meat-and-vegetable-studded pumpkin soup, regarded as a symbol of freedom and dignity, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. The soup is a New Year’s Day ritual to celebrate Haiti’s birth as the world’s first free Black republic.
UNESCO approved the move, effective in six months, after it was agreed that the dish is part of “Haiti’s cultural and gastronomic tradition,” wrote Miami Herald reporter Jacqueline Charles.
So, a toast to soup joumou — and a big spoon.
Let’s also raise our glasses to Cuba’s most famous song in recent years, “Patria y Vida,” which is also winning national recognition in the halls of democracy.
The song — “Homeland and Life” in English — became a battle cry for the legions of Cuban artists and writers who took to the streets on the island in July to denounce the government’s human-rights abuses. It’s a more life-affirming riff off of Fidel Castro’s mantra, Patria o Muerte (Homeland or Death.)
The song won two Latin Grammys in November and, this month, Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart submitted the lyrics of “Patria y Vida” into the U.S. Congressional Record.
“ ‘Patria y Vida’ is more than a song. It is an anthem, a beacon of hope for the Cuban people. By adding these lyrics to the Congressional Record, it ensures that this anthem of freedom is immortalized and preserved for generations to come,” said Diaz-Balart.
In such challenging times, it is especially encouraging to see how a soup and a song can make their marks by speaking for a people.
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This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 3:09 PM.