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Monica,

This is not a new program. It aired previously, and, YES, its propaganda. Only a program about Cuban nature could be so politicized. I'm a nature buff and I always watch nature programs--I must have seen thousands over the years--and I don't remember seeing this level of politicization regarding any other country. They usually limit themselves to discussing the flora and fauna, PERIOD. But not this program. If I remember correctly, they go on and on about how the revolution saved Cuba's natural patrimony. Think about how they are always talking about Cuba's architectural fabric and how Fidel--allegedly-- saved it from eminent doom. Well, that's what they do here.

Of course, they don't mention how the revolution has polluted the Cuban bay and many of its rivers or how Castro tried to dry out the Zapata Swamps, on the contrary, they credit him with saving it!

Thanks Ray. That must be the "special arrangement with the Cuban government" they mentioned. What crap.

"footage of many of the more obscure provinces." Obscure? Like what? Tienes que ser de La Habana.

"footage of many of the more obscure provinces." Obscure? Like what? Tienes que ser de La Habana.

I'm from Hialeah/Westchester/Kendall actually :) My parents were born in Villa Clara though, not La Habana. And what I meant by my statement was just pictures that aren't of La Habana or Varadero. I personally haven't seen much footage of Villa Clara or Camaguey or Holguin etc... so to me, they are more obscure.

Fair enough...

Fair enough...

Monica,

Actually, I just finished seeing the program. Yes, this one aired previously as I mentioned in my earlier post. As I said, I saw it when it first aired, however, this one wasn't the really bad propaganda piece that I had in mind. I thought that this was a National Geographics nature program on Cuba that PBS aired about two years ago that was totally infuriating.

Ray,

I looked for it up here in Boston but all I could find was a Jane Austen special... glad to hear about it though. Thanks!

Monica,

You are very welcomed. By the way, you didn't miss anything great. While the program wasn't overt repulsive propaganda like the National Geographics documentary I mentioned, it was in a way subtle propaganda because of what it did not say. For instance, Castro Inc. is building hotels on formerly pristine beaches that is causing much pollution, he is allowing European hoteliers to built sand bridges between some of the small wildlife filled islands that dot Cuba that is harming the environment of the area, Cuba's barrier reef [the largest in the Caribbean] is being cut and sold to tourists, back in the 1960's, Castro tried unsuccessfully to drain the Zapata Swamp which is an area of great biodiversity [no mention of that was made in this program], also in typical harebrained fashion, Castro introduced American crocodiles that bred with the unique Cuban crocodile and this depleted much of our species, etc...

All that we saw in the documentary was a beautiful wildlife sanctuary full of wonderful species. Considering all of the fauna that has been depleted since Castro took over, the strip mining and the pollution [Havana Bay is among the most polluted in the world], it's amazing that this program would celebrate Cuba's biodiversity without any mention of the destruction that has occurred since 1959. This gives a wrong impression.

But at least it wasn't as bad as the National Geographics garbage. To give you an idea of how bad it was, here is what National Geographics website says:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature4/index.html
Before this trip, Cuba for me meant Castro and cigars, alluring beaches and intoxicating Afro-Cuban rhythms. I now know it as a place of unimagined biodiversity. With help from Cuba's Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment, I gained unprecedented access to some of the most pristine island wilderness in the world. Traveling thousands of zigzagging miles over five months, I photographed some rarely documented wildlife behaviors and came to view Cuba as another Galápagos, preserved by its lack of development and by the will of a people committed to conservation.

Yea, uh huh..

The documentary, though beautifully done, still created some controversy.

In the documentary, the large Jutia being chased by the Cuban alligator was not there by pure chance. National Geographic staged the whole thing in order to film the alligator leaping six feet out of water to retrieve its prey. National Geographic should’ve have known better considering that their historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the CONSERVATION of the world's cultural, historical, and natural resources." It’s a known fact that the Cuban Jutia (Hutia) is close to extinction (as is the Cuban Iguana). When the documentary was first aired in Miami, I have a vague memory of reading an article (2003?) about a wealthy Cuban-American that threatened to burn all his National Geographic Magazine collection (starting from the 1890s) as a protest. I don’t know if he did.

As to their claim that… “Protected by its isolation, the wildlife of Cuba has remained naturally preserved, untouched and unexplored.” I beg to differ. After the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, the Cuban government built several hotels for tourists in the “Cienaga de Zapata.” In the documentary you can see the crabs on their way to the ocean bypassing one of these hotels and also climbing over a soda can.

http://www.cuba.cu/reserva/hotels/bayofpigs.php

http://www.netssa.com/zapata-cuba.html

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