--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of…" description: "\"“For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of the problem between blacks and whites. It was considered too disagreeable to discuss. But my father spoke to m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/cristina-garc-a-19858_cuba_for-many-years-in-cuba-nobody-spoke-of-t_964201.jpg" --- # For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of the problem… ![“For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of the problem between blacks and whites. It was considered too disagreeable to discuss. But my father spoke to me clearly so that I would understand what happened to his father and his uncles during the Little War of 1912, so that I would know how our men were…” quote by Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/cristina-garc-a-19858_cuba_for-many-years-in-cuba-nobody-spoke-of-t_964201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/cristina-garc-a-19858_cuba_for-many-years-in-cuba-nobody-spoke-of-t_964201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/cristina-garc-a-19858_cuba_for-many-years-in-cuba-nobody-spoke-of-t_964201.jpg) > ““For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of the problem between blacks and whites. It was considered too disagreeable to discuss. But my father spoke to me clearly so that I would understand what happened to his father and his uncles during the Little War of 1912, so that I would know how our men were hunted down day and night like animals, and finally hung by their genitals from the lampposts in Guáimaro. The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books. Why, then, should I trust anything I read? I trust only what I see, what I know with my heart, nothing more.”” [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator doubts written histories after learning brutal, suppressed family trauma, trusting only personal experience and heart. **In simple terms:** History can hide painful truths; trust lived experience. Key Takeaway Seek truth beyond official narratives. Themes history racism memory trust family Mood anguished defiant Type reflective political When to use this quote - family storytelling - education - activism - personal reflection Key Concepts colonialism generational trauma silence Questions to Reflect On - How do personal stories reshape collective memory? - What responsibilities arise from knowing hidden histories? A Different Perspective Official accounts may omit or distort suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cuba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cuba/) [Day and night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-and-night/) [History books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-books/) [Massacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/massacre/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Never trust anything you read in a travel article.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/never-trust-anything-you-read-in-a-travel-article/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [As a member of the mainstream media for many years, I've learned just one thing: never to trust anything I read in the mainstream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/as-a-member-of-the-mainstream-media-for-many-years-i-ve-learned-just/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [“Don't trust everything you read, everything is gonna be just fine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/don-t-trust-everything-you-read-everything-is-gonna-be-just-fine/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [You can never trust what you read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-can-never-trust-what-you-read/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [God bless my father, but he always spoke in this continental, literary accent, probably because he was a professor of comparative literature and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/god-bless-my-father-but-he-always-spoke-in-this-continental-literary/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [“I’m not,” Ben said. “I’m careful. There’s a difference.” “Of course,” my father said. “I’d never—” “Save it for the paying customers, Arl,” Ben…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-m-not-ben-said-i-m-careful-there-s-a-difference-of-course-my-father/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I guess early on in my Christian walk, you know, people said to me, "Never question God" you know? But actually I just found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-zschech/i-guess-early-on-in-my-christian-walk-you-know-people-said-to-me/) [Darlene Zschech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-zschech/) > [“Madeline (said the Countess in a solemn voice), in my concern for your father, I spoke unguardedly; and I already repent having done so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-maria-roche/madeline-said-the-countess-in-a-solemn-voice-in-my-concern-for-your/) [Regina Maria Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-maria-roche/) > [“Finally, her father spoke. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t understand how this could have happened. She’s only fifteen; I didn’t even know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-darity/finally-her-father-spoke-are-you-sure-i-mean-i-don-t-understand-how/) [Tracy L. Darity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-l-darity/) > [“It was as if, when her father spoke, her mother looked at him and saw a little goldfish, popping open his mouth over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-henriquez/it-was-as-if-when-her-father-spoke-her-mother-looked-at-him-and-saw-a/) [Cristina Henriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-henriquez/) > [“Like the line of love, I thought. Once crossed you can't go back. Like the line between past and future. Or maybe really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin-belmondo-style/like-the-line-of-love-i-thought-once-crossed-you-can-t-go-back-like/) Adam Berlin Belmondo Style > [My father spoke with something very similar to a 1920s newscaster type of English, and I learnt that accent of power in post-colonial Zimbabwe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/my-father-spoke-with-something-very-similar-to-a-1920s-newscaster/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [My father spoke several languages and he had hundreds of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-lamy/my-father-spoke-several-languages-and-he-had-hundreds-of-books/) [Michele Lamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-lamy/) > [“My father spoke with his hands. He was deaf. His voice was in his hands. And his hands contained his memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-uhlberg/my-father-spoke-with-his-hands-he-was-deaf-his-voice-was-in-his-hands/) Myron Uhlberg > [It just so happens that my father spoke through his music, so his voice and his music are one and the same. It's his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedella-marley/it-just-so-happens-that-my-father-spoke-through-his-music-so-his/) [Cedella Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedella-marley/) ## More by Cristina García > [“The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/the-war-that-killed-my-grandfather-and-great-uncles-and-thousands-of/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“I become convinced that you have to live in the world to say anything meaningful about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/i-become-convinced-that-you-have-to-live-in-the-world-to-say-anything/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“To live your life even half right seems extraordinary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/to-live-your-life-even-half-right-seems-extraordinary/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“Jan-Peter offered to teach me the language of Amsterdam's red light district. ...But after his first phrase--'Using the back door will cost you double'--I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/jan-peter-offered-to-teach-me-the-language-of-amsterdam-s-red-light/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“Would you mind taking off your shirt?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/would-you-mind-taking-off-your-shirt/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [I wish I could live underwater. Maybe then my skin would absorb the sea’s consoling silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/i-wish-i-could-live-underwater-maybe-then-my-skin-would-absorb-the/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“Felicia stayed on the fringe of life because it was free of everyday malice. It was more dignified there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/felicia-stayed-on-the-fringe-of-life-because-it-was-free-of-everyday/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [Nobody is ready for death. If you ask Joe Blow on the street, he aint gonna tell you he thinks he'll live forever. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/nobody-is-ready-for-death-if-you-ask-joe-blow-on-the-street-he-aint/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“She ponders the transmigrations from southern latitudes. the millions moving north. What happens to their languages? The warm burial grounds they leave behind? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/she-ponders-the-transmigrations-from-southern-latitudes-the-millions/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“Down the street, the trees are imprisoned equidistantly in square plots of dirt. Everything else is concrete. Lourdes remembers reading somewhere about how Dutch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/down-the-street-the-trees-are-imprisoned-equidistantly-in-square/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“I imagine these men sitting in fashion control centers around the world thinking of new ways to torture women, new ways to make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/i-imagine-these-men-sitting-in-fashion-control-centers-around-the/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“...No small amount of schadenfreude. Do you know what that means?" "Dad, it's the lifeline of gossip. Of course I know what it means.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/no-small-amount-of-schadenfreude-do-you-know-what-that-means-dad-it-s/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [You have to live in the world to say anything meaningful about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/you-have-to-live-in-the-world-to-say-anything-meaningful-about-it/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“Poetry by its very nature is subversive . . . It turns words inside out, confounds meaning, changes black and white to ambiguous shades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/poetry-by-its-very-nature-is-subversive-it-turns-words-inside-out/) [Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [“For me, the sea was a great comfort, Pilar. But it made my children restless. It exists now so we can call and wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/for-me-the-sea-was-a-great-comfort-pilar-but-it-made-my-children/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) [Explore all 32 Cristina García quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) ## More Cuba quotes > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There is us living the Cuban experience that we believe is ours. We do not believe that it is perfect, but it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/there-is-us-living-the-cuban-experience-that-we-believe-is-ours-we-do/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Part of me believes that Beyonce and Jay-Z were naive when they chose to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary in Cuba. However, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-schlapp/part-of-me-believes-that-beyonce-and-jay-z-were-naive-when-they-chose/) [Mercedes Schlapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-schlapp/) > [Kennedy had made a mess in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. He had to do something to look good. The Apollo program of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-schirra/kennedy-had-made-a-mess-in-cuba-at-the-bay-of-pigs-he-had-to-do/) [Wally Schirra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-schirra/) > [“The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/the-war-that-killed-my-grandfather-and-great-uncles-and-thousands-of/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [I don't want anything from Cuba. I want them to be free and enjoy the things I enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/i-don-t-want-anything-from-cuba-i-want-them-to-be-free-and-enjoy-the/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [Greece is a sort of American vassal; the Netherlands is the country of American bases that grow like tulip bulbs; Cuba is the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greece-is-a-sort-of-american-vassal-the-netherlands-is-the-country-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Clearly if the United States' relationship with Cuba changed, which would require a regime change inside Cuba, if Cuba moved towards a more democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/clearly-if-the-united-states-relationship-with-cuba-changed-which/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [Our Cuba policy was a major obstacle to getting things done in the hemisphere and a source of tension around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-rhodes/our-cuba-policy-was-a-major-obstacle-to-getting-things-done-in-the/) [Ben Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-rhodes/) > [Fidel Castro outlasted U.S. presidents determined to overthrow him, survived the collapse of the communist bloc that sustained him and outlived many of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-gjelten/fidel-castro-outlasted-u-s-presidents-determined-to-overthrow-him/) [Tom Gjelten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-gjelten/) > [Cuba forces in Angola gave a real shot in the arm to the liberation movements, and it also was a lesson to the white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/cuba-forces-in-angola-gave-a-real-shot-in-the-arm-to-the-liberation/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's a growing consensus that the best way to defeat communism in Cuba is to get its citizens hooked on American goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/there-s-a-growing-consensus-that-the-best-way-to-defeat-communism-in/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [I have my great grandmother's recipe for black beans, all the way from Cuba, and I know how to make those. I'm actually pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-pino/i-have-my-great-grandmother-s-recipe-for-black-beans-all-the-way-from/) [Danny Pino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-pino/) > [A whole series of changes that are in the code, are in the laws of the United States. If Cuba changes its position toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/a-whole-series-of-changes-that-are-in-the-code-are-in-the-laws-of-the/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) [Browse all 654 Cuba quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cuba/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For many years in Cuba, nobody spoke of the problem between blacks and whites. It was considered too disagreeable to discuss. 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