Cuba News: As Relations Improve American Flags Worn Proudly in Island
As relations seem to be cooling down between the U.S. and Cuba, inhabitants of the communist island appear to be showing their support for the easing of tensions between the two nations by wearing a lot of American flag-inspired clothing.
A recent post on CNN shows that right now Cuban citizens are happily expressing themselves with stars and stripes on everything from leggings to nail polish.
As reported in a New York Times, wearing the American flag in Cuba might at some point have been seen as a political sign of dissent, but it is now basically a fashion choice.
By and large your everyday Cuban, despite over 50 years of propaganda, has been fairly friendly to American visitors and has, according to the piece, kept a close eye on American pop culture as well as American sports.
As a culture, many Cubans apparently love to discuss their admiration for American baseball, while lending whatever the latest American TV shows or films they have downloaded unto their USB drives out to fellow islanders.
This fashion statement is all about optimism.
As Marc D. Perry, an anthropologist from Tulane University and specializing in Cuban social trends, says: “Many Cubans are excited about the potential economic and social benefits that renewed U.S.-Cuban relations could bring.”
“This is Cuba’s current popular zeitgeist, if you will, and these cultural expressions reflect this,” says Perry.
The widespread appreciation for American flags in Cuba seems to be also linked to a sign of general cordiality and welcome, as the country prepares for many U.S. visitors and the mutual benefits of warming of relations and a coming trade.
A shopkeeper donning American flag pants in the city of Trinidad summed up the style, saying: “It is the way our countries are now.”
“Friendly,” she said.
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