Cubans hungry for papal news

By Herald Staff Report

HAVANA -- Nicolas Matos was furious.

Hungry for information on Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Cuba, the 75-year-old waited more than three hours at a corner newsstand in Havana's Vedado neighborhood Thursday morning to buy Granma, Cuba's official newspaper.

Rapidly scanning it, he bristled at what he considered scant coverage of the event. ``This is a piece of trash,'' he said, and headed back home to tune in Radio Marti for more news.

Cubans are eager for news about the papal visit and although the government has given the event front-page and live television coverage, for some, like Matos, it's not good enough. Often, newspaper, radio and television use the same words to tell the news -- words that are carefully scripted to emphasize that this is a pastoral visit highly welcomed by President Fidel Castro.

Except for a half-hour of television air time given to Cardinal Jaime Ortega last week, the Catholic Church has had little access to Cuba's state-run media to give its own version of the papal visit.

Cuban television broadcast John Paul II's arrival live on Wednesday afternoon. At the last minute, it decided to air the pontiff's first Mass in Santa Clara nationally Thursday morning.

On Thursday, Cubans awoke to an account by Radio Rebelde that emphasized Castro's welcoming of the pope, heavily quoted Castro's comments about the revolution's achievements and mentioned the pope's gratitude for the greeting.

Granma dedicated three and a half of its eight pages Thursday to the event. ``Warm Welcome to His Sanctity, John Paul II,'' read its front-page headline. Two photos of the pope and Castro and a story about the arrival dominated the front page.

`` . . . John Paul II cordially greeted the whole Cuban nation . . . and heartily thanked this warm welcome that kicks off his pastoral visit,'' read the article's summary of the pontiff's words. `` . . . He emphasized that Cubans are and must be the main characters of their own personal and national history.''

Other news spoke of vaccination campaigns, tobacco plantings and highway construction on the island.

No matter what the coverage in the official media, the only news source for most Cubans, images and accounts of the pope's every move are a hot commodity. At one Havana newsstand, readers started gathering at 5 a.m. to get a copy of Granma.

Marta Sanchez, who sells the paper at a busy corner known as Centro de la Rampa, normally gets 160 copies every morning. This week she's getting an extra 40 papers. She usually sells them all in less than an hour to folks who spend hours awaiting the tabloid's arrival.

She couldn't remember the last time she saw such a frenzy, she said.

``It gets crazy,'' Sanchez said Thursday as she waited for her daily supply. ``You see all these old men? They argue all the time, `I got here first,' `You're second in line . . . ' ''

Mercedes Garcia, a devout 64-year-old Catholic, said she was keeping abreast of the details of John Paul II's visit through television and newspapers, but mostly through church newsletters and announcements.

She was surprised that the government's media devoted as much time and space to the visit. ``I never thought they would give us so much,'' she said. ``God is great.''

Teodoro Becerril, parish priest at Nuestra Señora del Carmen, said he thinks Cuban coverage has been adequate so far. And he's hopeful that the church will be able to increase its religious programming.

``I think that's going to happen soon,'' he said, noting that Castro recently met with a group of bishops to discuss that.

``This is a key moment. We'll see how events develop after all this.''