Granma, the official state newspaper controlled by Cuba's communist party, has noticed that some Cubans are now obsessed with garden gnomes and they are simply outraged.
Journalist Pedro De La Hoz slammed what he sees as the excess of Cuba's "new rich" in an anti-materialistic screed for the paper. Of course Cuba's "new rich" isn't very rich. They just like to buy the occasional knickknack and some clothes.
"What would we think of a scenario in which the ability to own, possess, accumulate and hold overpowers the ability to feel, to love and share?" wrote De La Hoz in Spanish.
De La Hoz says Cuba's new rich is obsessed with brand names and not the quality of the clothing, with noise and not music and noisy video games over digital encyclopedias (never mind the fact owning a computer in Cuba was illegal until 2007, and ownership rates remain rather low).
He's also outraged that garden gnomes (from Nordic legends he points out) and Disney characters can be found decorating homes. And not just any homes, but homes with fireplaces! What capitalist horror! He then throws some shade at girls having "15 costume changes" for their quinceañeras instead of just having a simple outing with their friends from school.
Instead, De La Hoz says, Cubans should concentrate on things like spiritual development and solidarity, and concludes that "the satisfaction of material needs finds fulfillment only if it corresponds to the cultural growth."
Because apparently anyone with a garden gnome is an evil, selfish heathen who hates culture.
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