Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Eva Silot Bravo.
Dr. Silot-Bravo, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in the 1970s in Havana, Cuba, in a tropical “socialist” island where looking for food is still the main daily activity for most of the population after more than half a century of “revolution”. I felt lucky and proud to be part of a racially mixed family that insisted in the value of education as key to move forward in life. At the time, Cuba was a country where any personal or family initiative outside the government control was considered illegal and punishable. Therefore, any private initiative was practically of non-existence until the end of the 20th century. I lived with my family in a two-bedroom apartment in El Vedado, one of the most popular neighborhoods in Havana. One of the best memories I had of my life in Cuba were the improvised and regular gatherings I used to have at my apartment in Havana, where friends of all kinds meet just for the pleasure of spending time together, either listening to music, dancing, singing, improvising radio programs, talking about politics or doing costume parties.
As a child, I studied music and classical piano for seven years, including music appreciation-history, solfeo, vocals and music theory, at a very demanding conservatory modeled after the eastern European classical music curriculum. During my college years, I studied international studies and then I acquired other seven years of work experience as an expert in international organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite the good and the bad, I had mostly great memories of my life in Havana.
As a Diplomat, I had the opportunity to travel back and forth between New York and Havana on a regular basis. In NY, I worked as an international negotiator and representative of Cuba in managerial, budgetary, financial and reform negotiations of the United Nations. In that capacity, I learned to navigate diverse professional and managerial cultures, and actively contributed to the approval of decisions by consensus of the majority of almost 200 member-states. I also coordinated a group of 135 developing countries in negotiations with other major partners like the U.S., the European Union and Japan. In addition, I was regularly interacting with government delegates, UN staff and visitors from all over the world, which translated into substantial personal and professional connections that widened my life perspective in different ways.
Has it been a smooth road?
Living in New York and working in UN was beyond my craziest dreams as “una habanera”. There, I was constantly exposed to different cultures, art events and to people from all over, which definitely helped me develop a strong sense of identity as a global citizen. However, being a Cuban diplomat also implied significant restrictions to my personal life, which I couldn’t withstand in the long run. As a result of that and as part of a family decision, I left behind United Nations and my life in New York and became a migrant.
All of a sudden, I didn’t know much about what to do next or what to expect. First, my parents flew me and my former-husband to Mexico, where we stayed for three months and I got pregnant. Then we decided to return to the U.S., this time to Miami, where I’ve been living since. That was probably one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made, and at the same time a blessing in disguise for which I’m grateful. Becoming a migrant has been an unexpected and long-term change that impacted the rest of my life. However, I had a strong willingness to start all over my life from scratch, no matter the unforeseen obstacles that have accompanied me in this journey.
When my son was two years old, I got divorced. All of the sudden I had to reimagine my life once again in Miami, this time as a single mother, doing a part-time job, starting graduate studies and living in a place I couldn’t afford by myself. As a result, I felt really overwhelmed and temporary lost a sense of direction. Since then, I have experienced a bumping, confusing and yet liberating progressive process of personal growth and awakening. What I think kept me moving throughout all these years was a strong sense of personal confidence, my family support and especially the fulfilling unconditional love I’ve experienced as a mother from my son.
Another great surprise during my life in Miami was becoming a cultural advocate. While I didn’t turn into a musician per-se after my conservatory studies in Havana, music has had a significant presence in my life. While living in New York, I was always looking for and had the opportunity to witness first hand album recordings, countless music festivals and jazz concerts, where some Cuban friend musicians participated. When I moved to Miami, I worked for or collaborated with some non-profits, cultural and academic institutions, curating and producing art festivals, doing public and media relations, marketing campaigns, event programming, and community outreaching. I also ventured to do some concert productions.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
After a period of doing different tedious jobs in order to survive, I decided to further my education to better my prospects. I spent 10 years doing graduate studies, resulting in a Master in International Studies from Florida International University, and a PhD. in Cultural Studies, Spanish and Literatures, from the University of Miami. After my Ph.D. graduation in 2016, I was offered a temporary position as a professor of Cultural Studies, Spanish and Literatures at the University of Miami, which ended in May 2018.
My academic experience was enriching. I discovered a strong passion for teaching, a strong call to inspire and motivate students, and a need to connect the academic world with artists and other audiences. In my teaching endeavors, I make sure my students develop interdisciplinary skills and critical thinking on the connections among different knowledge disciplines, such as foreign language learning, the arts, identity, socio-cultural questions and their power contexts.
My life as a scholar helped me also discover my voice as a writer, leading to the creation of my personal blog Cubanidadinbetween in 2011. The blog became a curated personal archive, where I have been collecting and sharing texts, interviews and art reviews I usually write about the Cuban transnational music and artistic scene in places like Miami, New York, Madrid and Havana. Together with my social media outlets, in my blog I also reproduce and share content on alternative and transnational networks of cultural and creative production throughout different parts of the world, including the island.
My research and publication topics of interest also include questions connected to the cultural legacy of the African diaspora in the Western world, gender and feminine perspectives, transculturation and fusion as ongoing process of cultural encounter, and narratives of identity and power in literature and the arts. My published research is known by terms like The Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene (TCAMS), Cubanidadinbetween, and Cuban Fusion.
I’ve published more than 20 articles in English and Spanish, in academic and non-academic journals, magazines and blogs. I’ve been invited to make presentations about my research topics in prestigious universities like Princeton, Brown, and the West Indies. I’ve put together academic panels at the University of Miami, where diasporic and local musicians have interacted first hand with students, academic and public audiences. As a scholar, I’ve also been invited to make presentations in panels and conferences in the U.S. & abroad. My research has been featured at local and national media and a documentary, and it’s been rendered into several courses I’ve designed. I’m currently finishing my first book in English on the connections between transnational Cuban music and literary-cultural production at the turn of the 21st century. I have a second book project about Funk music and started an autobiographical novel in Spanish.
My personal and professional quest during all these years led me to the creation of Alafia Creative Entertainment in February 2018. The company is a response to my sustained interest to provide greater visibility to the city’s diverse artistic talent and programs beyond mainstream markets.
ACE is also a personal platform to structure my skills, creative ideas and efforts, while learning about and venturing into the business world. It’s also a result of the possibilities brought by better access to technology, social media and recent developments on the local creative industry.
I envision ACE as a social entrepreneurship and consulting company with a primary focus on arts education, by promoting first-hand interactions, learning experiences and mutual collaborations among different cultural communities, transnational artists, educational, and cultural institutions. ACE pursues delivering curated and interdisciplinary events, workshops, panels and educational programs to promote awareness about the legacy of AfroCuban, AfroHispanic, AfroLatina and African diasporic music and art forms in our contemporary lives.
Since its inception, Alafia Creative Entertainment has co-produced two music concerts of local and transnational Cuban-American artists Yusa, and Sol + The Tribu. I was invited to make a presentation on Afro-Cubaness at a dance conference by the local non-profit Ilé-Ifé at the Miami Dade Public Library. Currently, Alafia Creative Entertainment is immersed in some projects for the second part of 2019, in collaboration with other local partners like Artisnator, Skylight Yoga, Nu Flamenco, Liliam Domínguez Studio, The Culinary Alchemist, Funcionarte, local and international artists from various disciplines. These projects are a podcast series entitled “Miami Alternativo” that will feature local and transnational artists; “Culture of Wellness”, an interdisciplinary, interactive, and experiential event to explore connections between the arts and wellness; and participating and co-producing another interdisciplinary event devoted to highlight the need to eradicate violence against women and girls.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m aware that the road to success as a social entrepreneur is a long path with many uncertainties, ups and downs, and that collaborations and partnerships are important to move forward. Personally, the most difficult challenge has been the financial constraints I’ve faced trying to make a living as a single mother while developing the company. In the process, I’ve also faced moments of isolation, exhaustion and estrangement by some closed ones. The company is also looking for funding, partnering and investment opportunities, in order to sustain itself and expand our current efforts.
It’s been only a year and a half since Alafia Creative Entertainment was created. Despite the hurdles, my commitment and enthusiasm for the company and its potential keeps on growing by the day. As an independent, creative and educated Afrocuban woman and mother, who is creating her living path in Miami against all odds, I’m determined to pursue opportunities to engage and collaborate in business ventures that translate into inclusive and diverse spaces for mutual learning, collaboration and growth. I’m also motivated by the need to leave a personal legacy for my son.
Hopefully, my determination, optimism and endurance with Alafia Creative Entertainment could also serve as an inspiration for other migrant girls, women and other creative people that are finding their way in a city they also call home. In Miami there’s a constant influx of incredible talent from all over that are eager to make visible the richness and diversity of their cultural legacy, as an integral part of the city’s human fabric. ACE ultimately aims to tap into that potential, to contribute to the diversification, better access and enhancement of Miami’s cultural and educational opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alafiacreativeentertainment.com
- Email: alafiacreativeentertainment@gmail.com
- Instagram: @alafiacreativeentertainment
- Other: www.cubanidadinbetween.blogspot.com https://independentscholar.academia.edu/EvaSilotBravo
Image Credit:
The pictures that are in Wynwood are by artist and photographer Miri Paez Bolet.
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