(28 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 27 December 2024
1. Various of Yusuany Casneiro dressed as Santa Claus walking through the streets, waving bell, wishing people Merry Christmas
2. People hugging and waving to Santa
3. Santa jingling bell
4. Girl talking to Santa
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Yusuany Casneiro, Santa:
“Santa Claus has nothing to do with politics. Santa Claus is universal. He is the Christmas spirit who brings toys to all children. For a long time, they took away Christmas and Santa Claus and have criticized it on television claiming that Santa Claus undermines the tradition (of the revolution) in Cuba. This is only once a year and does not diminish the significance of any tradition; it is also a global celebration.”
6. Various people on the street greeting Santa
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) María Karla Serpa, Santa fan:
“It is super exciting to see a Santa Claus on the street. It’s like fulfilling that childhood dream.”
8. Ylaisy Ariocha taking a photo with Santa
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ylaisy Ariocha, Santa’s fan:
“Merry Christmas for those who can celebrate it. For those who can’t, it is what it is. Let’s see if better things come for us in 2025.”
10. Santa greeting and jingling the bell
STORYLINE:
An actor and resident of Havana, Yusuany Casneiro, took it upon himself to be Santa Claus as, little by little, Christmas symbols gain space in the streets of Cuba.
Sweating in his heavy red suit and fake beard, Casneiro jingles his bell and shouts, “Feliz Navidad" as he walks through the streets of Old Havana.
For many decades, amid the revolutionary fervor that challenged various religious traditions, the Cuban authorities opposed Christmas festivities and the symbols associated with them.
Since the 1960s, the Christmas holidays and their religious context have been viewed negatively as remnants of a past that conflicts with the establishment of a communist society.
But Casneiro says he does not see any conflict.
‘Santa Claus has nothing to do with politics. For a long time, they tried to erase Santa Claus and Christmas, claiming it was against Cuban tradition, but it is only once a year and celebrated all over the world,’ Casneiro said.
It was only in 1997 that then-President Fidel Castro declared a Christmas holiday as a special courtesy to Pope John Paul II, who arrived on the island during the détente between the Catholic Church and the State that began in that decade.
In 1998, December 25 was officially designated a nonworking day.
In recent years, decorated trees, colored lights, and other Christmas ornaments have begun to appear in some homes.
“It is like fulfilling the illusion of being a child again,” said María Karla Serpa.
At 19 years old, Serpa grew up after the ban on Christmas and remembers waiting for Santa Claus with milk and cookies.
As the country endures a severe economic crisis, Cuban Santa does not carry gifts in his sack, but his cheerful presence brings joy to both children and adults, who take turns giving him hugs and posing for photographs with old Saint Nick with hope for better days in 2025.
AP Video Ariel Fernández and Milexsy Durán
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