Cuento para un hombre que lloró tapándose el rostro
by Digdora Alonso
Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, not dated
Photocopies on paper with watercolor accents and yarn
Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri (2009.62 a&b)
Gilbreath-McLorn Museum Fund
An inconspicuous brown folder, once opened, reveals a banner showing a man in elaborate Greek armor with a sword and heavily decorated shield. The man holds both hands over his face while tears pour over his fingers and wrists. On a brown sheet behind this figure, cut to his silhouette, a lengthy poem is inscribed in imitation Greco-Roman font. Behind this sheet, there is a small cutout of a vase, which portrays a draped woman handing armor to the crying man, presumably the same one displayed on the front cover. The Vigía lamp illuminates both figures. The overall theme references the ancient Greek epic, the Iliad, but the poem is a modern Cuban work written in Spanish.
The illustration and the poem directly reflect one another, and the overall work refers to books 16-18 of the Iliad. These books recount the death of the warrior Achilles’ closest male friend Patroclus and Achilles’ gift of new armor from his mother Thetis. Just as the Iliad reflected ancient Greek views towards human behavior and emotion during war, the Cuban retelling also reveals aspects of Cuban attitudes towards public displays of emotion, especially by men. Ancient Greece and contemporary Cuba share commonly held beliefs about dominant masculinity.
The ancient Greeks viewed Achilles’ uncontrolled emotions as causing destruction. Likewise in Cuban society, the cultural trait of machismo discourages men from displaying emotion publicly. Alonso’s poem, in this context, reads as a reaction to attitudes pervasive in Cuban society. The Greeks, however, would emphasize the excessiveness of Achilles’ emotion, rather than condemning the particular act of grief as effeminate. This work appropriates an ancient Greek epic to illustrate a modern cultural issue: the display of male public emotion and the reaction towards it, especially since Cubans often stigmatize such emotion as “unmanly.” As Alonso suggests, even the toughest, most masculine warriors cannot, and should not, hide strong emotions.
by Campbell Garland
An inconspicuous brown folder, once opened, reveals a banner of a man in elaborate Greek armor with a sword and heavily decorated shield. The man holds both hands over his face while tears pour over his hands and wrists. On a brown sheet behind this figure, cut to his silhouette, a lengthy poem is inscribed in imitation Greco-Roman writing. Behind this sheet, there is a small cutout of an amphora portraying a draped woman handing armor to a crying man, illuminated by the Vigía lamp, presumably the same as the one displayed on the front cover. The overall theme recalls the Iliad, but the poem is a modern Cuban work written in Spanish. The work, Tale for a man who cried covering his face, was written by Digidora Alonso and published by Ediciones Vigía.
The poem itself is a brief summary and retelling of the main aspects of books 16-18 of the ancient Greek epic, the Iliad, namely the death of Patroclus and Achilles’ gift of new armor from his mother Thetis. Little to no information is currently available about the writer, much like the author, or authors, of the Iliad itself. The Iliad, however, reflects some views of ancient Greek society throughout the poem, especially towards human emotion and behavior during war, and the retelling of part of this epic in turn reflects some aspect of the Cuban mindset and culture.
The illustration essentially reproduces the poem in its details, allowing the viewer to see the poem. Alonso specifically focuses on the grief of Achilles after the death of Patroclus and the creation of his shield and armor by Hephaestus at Thetis’ request. The heavy emphasis on the elaborate armor and shield seems to be in contrast with the primary focus of Alonso’s poem and illustration: the act of crying. However, the Iliad also has a similar interplay of war and human emotion throughout the epic.
Achilles certainly was regarded as the best warrior, which Alonso states at the beginning, but his emotions left much to be desired in the eyes of ancient Greeks. His excessive emotions are frequently portrayed as causing trouble and pain to others and himself. The Iliad is a war tale, but it focuses on the consequences of uncontrolled anger, even if the cause justifies the anger to some degree. Alonso’s work, likewise, alludes to aspects of battle in large detail, namely the elaborate armor, while reminding the reader about the true focus: grief. However, the tone seems sympathetic, rather than harsh, towards Achilles’ emotions. Alonso simply states at the end, and shows, that the armor cannot hide the tears. The illustration, showing the elaborate armor in its details as well as the grief, reflects and emphasizes this theme.
The Cuban ideals of machismo and the “new man” are similar to the concept of ideal masculinity in the Greco-Roman culture. It would not be too much of a leap to suggest that how the Greeks viewed Achilles’ behavior, as excessive, is similar to how Cubans would react. Che Guevara, one of the revolutionaries, envisioned the model of the “new man,” which was based on moral rather than materialistic ideals, and this model became an ideal in revolutionary Cuba.1 The “new man” model, along with the existing trait of machismo, essentially identified the homosexual man as effeminate and uncourageous.2 Several prominent members of the poet community of Cuba were among those affected by homophobia with several going into exile, although some still produce poetry within Cuba.3 This poem, in this context, seems to be a reaction against the attitudes of Cuban society towards behavior considered “un-masculine.” However, as mentioned, the Greeks would be emphasizing on the excessiveness of Achilles’ emotion, rather than condemning the particular act of grief as effeminate.
The emphasis on emotion is one proposed reason why the Homeric epics held, and still hold, an appeal to various cultures over many centuries. Perhaps this Cuban poet chose the element of grief to make a specific point about the reaction towards grief in his society by employing a war epic from a society that also held masculine ideals in high regard. After all, it suggests that even if people try to hide their emotions or act tough for the sake of their appearance, true emotions will become apparent to all. The creators of this work decided to appropriate an ancient Greek epic to illustrate what seems to be a modern cultural issue: the display of public emotion and the reaction towards this, especially since such emotion is often stigmatized as unmanly. As Alonso suggests, even the toughest, most masculine warriors cannot hide the strongest emotions.
by Campbell Garland