Vanessa Bauza

HAVANA · In hushed tones and euphemisms, some Cubans criticize their government behind closed doors or in the company of trusted friends. But at some
Havana clubs comedians fire direct darts at the island's woes, satirizing the blackouts that plague most towns and the bare shelves at the government-run bodegas. A
common theme is the daily struggle to make ends meet in a world where salaries are paid in pesos but most consumer goods can be bought only in dollars at a 26 to
1 exchange rate.

Question: "What do the dollar, the peso and the pound have in common?"

Answer: "It takes a pound of pesos to make a dollar."

On a recent weeknight, the crowd in a dimly lit Chinatown restaurant erupted with laughter as Punto y Coma, one of Havana's most popular comedy ensembles,
lampooned the "double morality" of those who pretend to be Communist Party faithful while secretly planning to leave the island.

"You listen to Radio Martí," the comedians sang, referring to the Miami-based, anti-Castro broadcast. "You fox, now you won the visa lottery!"

Their repertoire of social satire also takes aim at the jineteros or hustlers who feed off the tourism industry. In one skit a Cuban woman pleads with a Spanish visitor
to buy her a "Sanyo, Phillips, or Sony" television set. "For that I'll make love to you like Hurricane Lili," she teases.

Since Punto y Coma's five young comedians began performing together in 1994, audiences and club managers have become more tolerant of their skits and songs,
they said.

"We have more space now," said Jardiel González, one of the five.

Still, they are not invited to perform in clubs in eastern Cuba, where political sensibilities are more delicate than in Havana.

With their irrepressible wit, Cubans have chronicled the island's economic free fall since hefty Soviet subsidies disappeared more than a decade ago.

"In the 1980s social satire focused on bureaucracy. In the '90s it became about the impact of the special period and the legalization of the dollar," said Osvaldo
Doimeadios, former head of the government-affiliated Center for the Promotion of Humor. "Humor is an escape valve."

Independent journalist Tania Quintero says Cubans' sense of humor helps them cope with day-to-day hassles on an island where almost everything but levity is in
short supply.

"It's part of the Cuban idiosyncrasy," Quintero said. "People don't stress over things, they make light of them. Even at my mother's wake we spent the night laughing."

Of course, comedians know their limits and tread carefully around touchy subjects. They never mock President Fidel Castro in public, though in private many
Cubans might easily come up with half a dozen jokes that include the comandante.

Subversive jokes told in trusted circles are not repeated in public venues. And even much of the material used in comedy clubs never gets into the
government-controlled media.

"There's no decree about what you can and can't say," said Jorge Alberto Piñero, a humorist who writes for the communist youth daily, Juventud Rebelde. "But there
are figures which can't be touched and issues that are delicate."

Dozens of jokes have cropped up around world leaders such as the pope, who visited Cuba in 1998, or embattled Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, a close
Castro friend.

The drawn-out custody battle for Elián González produced massive rallies as well as plenty of one-liners. One of the most enduring refers to a statue of Cuban
patriot José Martí holding a little boy in his arms and pointing an accusatory finger at the nearby U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana. The punch line has Martí advising
Elián: "Hey kid, that's where the Americans approve the visas."

There are even jokes about jokes: Castro calls one of Cuba's funny men to the presidential palace and tells him to stop with all the subversive humor.

"Things are looking up in Cuba," Castro says. "You'll see, the situation is rapidly improving and our economy will soon prosper."

Unconvinced by this optimism, the man asks Castro,

"So who's the comedian, you or me?"

Vanessa Bauzá can be reached at vmbauza1@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel