Identity, memory and diaspora, voices of Cuban-American artists, writers and philosophers
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I d e n t i t y, me m o r y a n d d i a s p o ra , v o i c e s o f Cuban-American artists, writers and philosophers Jorge J. E. Gracia, Lynette M. F. Bosch and Isabel Alvarez Borland, (eds). State University of New York Press, Albany, 2008, 296pp, $29.95 (paperback) ISBN: 0791473171 Latino Studies (2011) 9, 494–495. doi:10.1057/lst.2011.39
The realities of migration and displacement have informed the Cuban consciousness and imagination for centuries; however, the exodus and consequent scattering that followed in the wake of the 1959 revolution is distinguished by its proportions as well as its longevity. When speaking of present-day Cubans, one is thus referring simultaneously to those who have remained in Cuba (both voluntarily and involuntarily), as well as to a multi-locale, multigenerational diasporic population that has spread across the globe and now includes three generations born outside the island. Dating back to the vanguardia movement, Cuban artists and intellectuals have persistently sought to define the shared consciousness and way of being or world view that connects a broad spectrum of Cubans residing both on and off the island – phenomena that the famed Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz termed Cubanı´a. Highlighting the experiences of diasporic Cubans and their offspring in a series of personal interviews, Jorge J. E. Gracia, Lynette M. F. Bosch and Isabel Alvarez Borland’s edited collection Identity, Memory and Diaspora, Voices of Cuban-American Artists, Writers and
Philosophers raises fundamental questions regarding Cubanı´a, especially as it pertains to transculturation and identity formation in a transnational context. More specifically, it reveals a persistence of memory that characterizes and binds together diasporic Cubans across generations, as well as a correspondent tendency to self-identify according to culture and nation regardless of factors such as when individuals left the island, or whether they was born outside of Cuba or raised in cultural isolation. Though individual interviews presented in Identity, Memory and Diaspora maintain their own integrity and highlight varying themes, each is guided by a set of pre-determined questions, which deal with the manner in which Cuban-Americans self-identify or are identified by others, and explore the extent to which issues regarding cultural heritage and personal experience inform artistic or intellectual production. In terms of its specific organization, the collection is composed of a brief preface and historical chronology, and three interlinked sections featuring nine artists, six writers and four philosophers, respectively. Each grouping
r 2011 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3435 Latino Studies Vol. 9, 4, 494–495 www.palgrave-journals.com/lst/
Book Review
opens with an introductory essay and concludes with examples of the interviewees’ work. The introductory essay to Section I, by art historian Lynette Bosch, emphasizes the idea that the primary concerns of artists in general tend to be technical and visual. Visual artists, she a
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