Photos: Taken from FacebookCAMAGÜEY.-Elena Obregón arrived in Havana to attend the First Ibero-American Congress of the Tenth and Improvised Verse. The event was intended to be self-financing, but support failed, a cyclone passed and it was left insecure with venues and lodging. When there was a hotel room for her again, it was too late to manage the budget again with the mayor of her municipality, in Florida. She was already in the capital and would happily sleep at her sister's house.

She remembered when months ago she received the letter of intent from the organizing committee, with the courtesy and lullaby also sent to foreign guests. Accustomed to dodging the stones on the road, Elenita called the national presidency of the Cuban Association of People with Physical-Motor Disabilities (Aclifim) and had more than a car at her disposal. Among hundreds of participants, the other delegate from a similar organization, in this case, the one of blind and visually impaired persons, was Tomasita Quiala.

This interview could start with the happy anecdote, however, in the adventures to get there is the most complete profile of the protagonist because she represents a group for whom such opportunities for effective participation in society do not occur daily or they tend to slip away because of the prejudice of others. Then she has to persevere.

─Among practitioners, carriers, improvisers, writers, and musicians dedicated to the tenth... did the Congress live up to your expectations?

─Yes, I went to improve and I succeeded. It was also novel for the organizers. The theoretical program contributed to commissions specific issues of the currently written tenth, as well as the colloquium of homage to Jesús Orta Ruiz, directed by his son Fidel, with testimonies of those who knew him and actions of study centers for the dissemination and learning of the poetry of the Indio Naborí. At the galas, we saw the best projects in the country, such as Oralitura, with an improvisational work linking the tenth with other arts, vindictive of the national stanza from young people.

We talk through WhatsApp, but there is closeness in each response. Elenita is frank, and direct. She points out the deficiencies of Camagüey around the "punto cubano" (Cuban peasant music), even though it has been a world heritage site for five years and a decade has passed since the declaration of repentismo as a nation's heritage:

“Improvised verse is suffering from impoverishment. We confirm it with the recognition of only two figures, Nelson Lima and Héctor Peláez; if another arises, it is isolated. The same happens with Eneida Sosa, an institution in the tune. The poor treatment in the media is alarming: the program Amorosa guajira, the only one on Television Camagüey, was lost, and the country music radio station was moved from prime time to early morning. The best lutenists and tres players have left us due to lack of work; poets have had to sing a cappella in a demeaning way because they don't want to pay an accompanying group. We must lift the heart of the tenth”.

Elenita with children from the Casa de la Décima de Mayabeque.

─What was discussed about transmission to new generations and audiences?

─To refresh the tenth, to interact. Work from the Casa de la Décima de Mayabeque was presented where the poets made controversy with rappers. From that municipality, a three-year-old girl sang tunes and brought tears to my eyes.

"Now, with the nascent Casa de la Décima in Camagüey, projects should be promoted that involve the best exponents, such as Camagua, theater people... and whatever favors the visualization and cultivation of the tenth in the youth universe."

─ What challenges do you identify for the written tenth?

─The tenth written in Camagüey is one of the healthiest in Cuba. The national contests prove it to us, such as the Cucalambé and Glosas contests, which have been won by Camagüey's women for almost three consecutive years. On the other hand, it suffers from little publicity and the stigma that it is a thing for peasants to spend nights without light weighs too heavily. You still find resistance in publishers to publish a tenth without being forced to combine it with other verses. In addition, you need more prizes and encounters.

The dialogue returns to the sorrow of the bad times due to the lack of attention. Out of modesty, she does not stand out herself, but she is probably, along with Caridad de la Torre, one of the very few tonadists in Florida. But she does not remember the last time she was invited by the municipal Department of Culture to a gala for Farmers' Day, not even when she won a national award with her group.

“No new values ​​are sought, they are not cultivated, and the two or three existing ones are not protected. I must take advantage of social networks to spread my work, like when I was at the Cuba Soneto 2022 event, in Taguasco, Sancti Spíritus, the awards... of course, I thank the written press, radio, and television because there I do feel cared for; and my people know me,” she emphasizes.

This turn of events takes us back to the theoretical session of the first peasant conference Guateque de la Llanura, in April, when Luis Paz (Papillo), director of the Ibero-American Center for the Tenth and Improvised Verse (CIDVI), in Camagüey commented on ideas for the Congress and made an anecdote about Jesús Orta Ruiz.

─They say that Naborí when asked if the poet is born or made, replied: "but cultivating the plant is not inventing the seed." What do you think?

─Naborí represents the empowerment of the tenth in Cuba within a culture monopolized by great artists of other expressions. He took it from the uneducated improvised colloquial environment to the cultured one, stuck to the lyrical technique, marked an era, and traced guidelines. He was a sage. That definition has many readings. The seed is talent, and mental agility, with that vision of a poet you are born but it is necessary to cultivate your star. You have to cultivate the poet.

The Camagüey's delegation to this Congress was also made up of Nelson Lima, Odalys Leyva, Yadira Troche, Alejandro González, Diusmel Machado, and Héctor Peláez.

─Was the Congress prepared to be as inclusive as it aspired to be?

─Two people with disabilities participated, Tomasita Quiala and me. The possibility of a larger presence was not anticipated, but I do not want to put a stain on such a good Congress. I received careful attention. I lost night activities of my own free will, my physique does not allow me so much. Of my countrymen, Diusmel Machado was attentive to me and Odalys Leyva recognized me as part of her group Décima al filo when she spoke.

“The Aclifim and the direction of Culture in the municipality assumed their role as far as they could. I cannot say the same about the provincial authorities: they did not inform me about transportation for delegates, and they ruled me out from the first suspension of accommodation... Quite the opposite of my national presidency, proud because a person with a severe disability achieves effective participation that places on the cultural map of the nation. But the most important thing for me was that Florida, my beloved people, was present in Congress, their voice was heard.”