Second Cultural Events - Strawberry and

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Jesus A. Diaz, Ph.D.
Philosophy
Kean University
Union, NJ
SECOND CULTURAL EVENT
STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE
Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea 'and Juan Carlos Tabio
Written by Senel Paz
Produced by Cuba, Mexico, and Spain
Miramax Films
Released 1994
117 minutes
LOCKWOOD: There has been an organized effort by your government to
deal firmly with homosexuals. It seems that a naively conceived
effort was under way to stamp out homosexuality.
CASTRO: We will never believe that homosexuals can embody the
condi tions and behavioral requirements that would allow us to
consider them true revolutionaries, true communist militants. A
deviation of that nature clashes with our idea of what a militant
communist must be.
Lockwood, Lee. Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel. Boulder:
Westview Press, 1990. 106-107. The quote is part of Castro's
reply
to Lockwood's question. The interview took place in the
summer of 1965.
No homosexual represents the Revolution, which is a matter for
men of fists and not of feathers, of courage and not of trembling,
of certainty and not of intrigue, of creative valor and not of sweet
surprises.
- Feij 06, Samuel. "Revolution and Vices." El Mundo (a
Havana newspaper). April 15, 1965: 5.
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BORGE: What do you think about homosexuality, lesbianism, and free
love?
CASTRO: I won't deny that at a certain moment machismo influenced how we
viewed homosexuality. I am not homophobic. I have never endorsed,
promoted, or supported policies against homosexuals. That was a certain
stage associated with machismo's heritage.
Borge, Tomas Un Grano de Maiz: Conversacion con Tomas
Borge. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1993. 213 215.
(My translation)
Marriage is a union voluntarily agreed by a man and a woman
who can legally join their lives.
- Cuban Constitution, Chapter III, Article 35
Ratified in 1976 (My translation)
http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portal/constituciones/constituciones.shtml
Being homosexual, bisexual, transgender or travesty is not a
disease; it is neither a perversity nor a crime. They are not due to
being seduced at any age, to contagion, to defects in education or
to bad examples in the family. They are, as heterosexuality, ways to
express sexual diversity. (My translation) .
(Cuban) National Center for Sexual Education
http://www.cenesex.sld.cu/webs/diversidad/diversidad.htm
Mariela Castro Espin, Raul Castro's daughter, runs this
government-controlled Center.
We have to abolish discrimination against those persons. We
are trying to see how to do that, whether through marriage or civil
unions. Socialism should be a society that does not exclude anyone.
- Ricardo Alarcon, President of Cuba's National Assembly,
cited in USA Today. February 27, 2007.
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Few films have Strawberry and Chocolatets impact and success.
It won the Gramado, an important Latin American cinematographic
prize, and the Goya, a prize equivalent to the Oscar in Spanish
speaking countries. It was the first Cuban film nominated for an
Oscar in the United States. Critics in Berlin awarded it the Silver
Bear.
The
Organizaci6n
Cat61ica
Internacional
del
Cine
(International Catholic Cinematographic Organization) surprised
everyone when it described the film as exceptional. Due to the
church f s homophobic bel
s, many think the film t s defense of
religious freedom led to that praise. Also, less visible to the
public, the film has generated a lot of scholarship.
In Cuba, criticizing the government or defending human rights
can bring serious problems with the repressive apparatus of state
security. For that reason, it is remarkable this motion picture was
filmed in Cuba during the Special Period, the economic crisis
caused by the collapse of the Soviet block. It is also surprising
that the public jammed cinemas and spoke freely about a film that
criticizes the government and its injustices against sexual
minorities. Even Castro welcomed the actors in a private audience.
It was as if censorship stopped for a few days. In this film and in
the story that inspires it 1 Paz criticizes the Revolution by saying
that Cuban nationalism and socialism must integrate L/G/B/T people.
As all works that expose the injustices of dominant
ideologies, Strawberry and Chocolate controls the drama so its
criti sm of those ideologies does not exceed the limits of the
permissible. We never see Diego with a companion, we do not even
know if he has one. We see German, his platonic friend, also
without a companion. Does this mean that those who made the film do
not allow us to glimpse at the sex lives of the two gay men? We
know both desire sexual partners; can they not find them?
In the written story, Diego tells David how he lost his
virginity at age twelve; on the screen David gets up and leaves
when Diego starts narrating the story. In the written account,
Diego asks David to narrate his first sexual experience and his
Senel Paz. El Lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo (The wolf, the
forest and the new man). Mexico, D.F.: Ediciones Era, 1991. 59
pages. ftWoods ft can replace "forest" in the translation without
losing meaning. The written story won the Juan Rulfo Prize awarded
by Radio France International to literature in Spanish. See
http://www.rfi.fr/actues/pages/001/prix_juan_rolfo.asp.
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fantasies; David changes the topic, so we are left ignorant about
them.
But in the film David's sexuality shines, as do Nancy's and
Vivian's. Nancy does not appear in the printed story and Vivian
gets
two
insignificant
mentions.
Safeguarding
David's
heterosexuality is the cinematographic purpose of Nancy r sand
Vivian' 5 roles, some critics think. Without them, an average
theater goer might question David's sexual orientation. This view
assumes people who read short stories do not need these assurances.
Others see in the film's ending another effort to make the
drama acceptable to the mainstream. Jobless, Diego must emigrate
alone when David and Nancy start their relation. But this
interpretation ignores that Miguel is maneuvering to expel David
from the university; moreover, many will question David's
heterosexuality as Miguel spreads his poison. Emigrating will be
difficult for David and Nancy, so their future in Cuba is
uncertain.
Because in Latin America a man can have sex with another man
and preserve his heterosexuality if he penetrates but is not
penetrated (that is, if he is lIactive" but not "passive ll ) , some
wonder why neither the written story nor the film narrates a sexual
relation between David and Diego. According to Paz, his purpose in
both works was to expose the iniustices toward homosexuals in Cuba.
Achieving his goal was easier with David as a heterosexual
revolutionary without sexual relations with Diego than with David
as a heterosexual revolutionary in intimate relations with Diego.
In addition, adds Paz, if David and Dieqo had sex, Cuban authorities
would have not approved the film and the Cuban public would have not
welcomed it.
But the film criticizes the machista 2 idea that men in
"passive" positions during sexual acts are homosexual because they
place themselves as women having sex with men'. When Vivian goes to
the bathroom in the inn, David watches through the hole in the wall
when he hears a woman vocalizing her pleasure. What does he see? A
woman thrusting on top and a man laying down passively on the
For expediency's sake we may translate machismo (the noun from
which the adjective or adverb machista derives) as the Latin
American version of male chauvinism. Comparing Latin American and
Cuban machismo with Anglo-American male chauvinism is inadequate
but a full explanation is beyond this scope of this document. One
of the groups will explain machismo to the class.
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bottom! Positions in sexual acts have nothing to do with gender,
gender identity, or sexual orientation.
The Dark Side of the Moon3 reached the cutting edge Strawberry
and Chocolate did not dare. The latter was a film one had to go to
the theater to watch, the former was a soap opera broadcasted on
national television in 2006. As we said before, we never see if
Diego or German have companions; but the leading character in the
soap opera was a married man who in his relation with another man
confronts his homoerotic feelings 4 • Because the state controls and
owns all mass media in Cuba, government approval was necessary to
air the novel. Despite competing with the transmission of baseball
games and despite an intense controversy Strawberry and Chocolate
did not generate, the Dark Side of the Moon had the highest ratings
of any program in the history of Cuban television. The soap opera
was so daring because Strawberry and Chocolate had laid the
foundations. Apparently, reactions to Strawberry and Chocolate and
to The Dark Side of the Moon suggest that Cuban society can
criticize its homophobia.
Translating this phrase is tricky. El Otro Lado de la Luna is
the title in Spanish. The Other Side of the Moon is the literal
translation. "El otro lado de la luna" and "el lado oculto de la
luna" (the occult side of the moon) denote the side of the moon we
do not see from Earth. English uses "the dark side.
." to name
the same thing, so The Dark Side of the Moon is a correct
translation but not the best. The soap opera's title obliquely
refers to the leading character's sexual orientation, unknown to
him till he met another man. "Bad ll or "evil fl are two meanings of
IIdark;" hence, because some people view homosexuality as a moral
flaw, The Dark Side of the Moon can convey a meaning not present in
the original. I have to use The Dark Side of the Moon because that
is the translation everywhere.
4 NonCuban movies had explored stories of heterosexually married
persons with homoerotic feelings they had not experienced before:
Making Love. Dir. Arthur Hiller. Twentieth Century Fox, 1982. DVD
and VHS. This movie was Hollywood's first positive portrait of a
gay man; My Two Loves. Dir. Noel Black. Alvin Cooperman Productions
and Taft Entertainment, 1986; Fire. Dir. Deepa Mehta. New Yorker
Films, 1996. VHS and DVD.
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Strawberry and Chocolatels
drama occurs in Havana in 1979. We
can infer this from the newscast reporting that Nicaraguan dictator
Anastacio Somoza left his country. Somoza left Nicaragua on July
17, 1979. We hear the news when David and Miguel meet at what looks
like a movie theater at the university.
CHARACTERS
DAVID - University student. He suppresses- his interest in art and
literature because he must study things he thinks are useful to the
motherland. This obligation arises, according to him, from his debt
to the Revolution that made it possible for he, a son of peasants,
to receive an education. He cannot reciprocate Diego I s sexual
desire but his interest in Diegols forbidden knowledges opens his
mind to new ideas and creates their friendship. His homophobia
disappeared as he got to know Diego, especially after Diego IS
effort to save Nancy I s life when she attempted suicide. David
undermines Latin machismo: A virgin at age twenty-two, he loves art
and literature, his best friend is a religious homosexual and he
has the courage to take the risks these feats involve.
As you saw in footnote one, the title of the story that
inspired the film refers to "the new man" . Creating this new man
was an important revolutionary goal. Committed to communism, this
man would not respond to capitalist incentives, be morally
flawless, incorruptible, atheist, heterosexual, and resolute. David
is a product of the system geared to produce this man. He is a new
man when the film ends but he owes his transformation to a gay
friend,
not
to the homophobic government.
His moral and
psychological growth led David to abandon homophobia and to
challenge other prejudices. For example, his relation with Nancy
shows he has also overcome biases about iritergenerational sex,
educational differences, and class. His example is a lesson for
all.
Used in a generic sense in the 1960s, "hombre II ("man ll in English)
meant "humanity." To avoid sexist biases today we prefer "humanity"
or IIhumankind. 1I
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DIEGO - Homosexuals have strawberry, heterosexuals have chocolate.
David verified Diego's homosexuality when Diego ordered strawberry
though chocolate was available in the ice cream parlor. Diego feels
an intense sexual attraction toward David. Because David does not
reciprocate it, the desire becomes a friendship. As a platonic
friend, Diego attracts David by exposing him to things the
Revolution censors: Mario Vargas Llosas' books; the works of Jose
Lezama Lima, specially Paradiso, and the works of Severo Sarduy. He
also introduces David to John Donne, an English author; to Maria
Callas,
the
famous
soprano;
to
treatises
about
Havana's
architecture, and to Johnny Walker Red, the enemy's drink. Until
now brainwashed by the Revolution, naive David begins to enjoy
forbidden fruits.
During a conversation between David and Diego, the classic
Cuban song Las Ilusiones Perdidas (Lost Illusions) playing in the
background means two things: Diego's revolutionary past and his
accepting that David will not be his sexual partner. Diego
supported the Revolution during its first years. He taught peasants
to read and planned to be a teacher, but homophobia and refusing
indoctrination did not allow him to reach that goal. He was in
prison during the UMAP years. Toward the end of the film, Diego is
fired from his job and blocked from future employment in cultural
affairs. This is the punishment for sending a letter to the
government protesting the censorship of German's work. Leaving Cuba
is Diego's only alternative.
NANCY - Diego's neighbor and his best friend. A person of many
contradictions. She is religious (in the Afro-Cuban sense) but
spies on her neighbors for an atheist government. She taught Diego
that raising the volume of the radio allows him to speak against
the Revolution without the neighbors listening. She does not work
in a country that punishes idleness; instead" she sells contraband
merchandise for dollars. To have dollars in the Cuba of 1970s was
a serious crime. She had been a prostitute.
Nancy does not appear in the written story. What is her
function in the film? Assuring David's heterosexuality could be
one, as we saw before. Exposing the government's corruption could
be another, as the previous paragraph suggests. David and Diego
cement their friendship contributing to Nancy's recovery after her
suicidal attempt. Perhaps Nancy represents Cuba. Due to their
friendship despite their differences, David and Diego show that
only a mutual effort between its diverse citizens can save the
country.
GERMAN - Diego's platonic friend. The government pressed him to
modify his sculptures to allow him to exhibit them in Mexico. The
sculptures mix Catholic and Marxist themes. One shows Christ with
a sickle and a hammer, the symbols of communism. German yields to
pressures, which creates friction with Diego. In a rage, German
shatters his work to pieces.
MIGUEL - David's roommate at the university. He encourages David to
spy on Diego because, according to Miguel, homosexuals threaten the
Revolution. Without Miguel's urgings, David might have not gone
back to Diego's apartment; thus, without intending it Miguel
contributed to David's transformation. Miguel blackmailed Diego to
sign documents to expel David from the university. Diego refused.
VIVIAN
Apparently David's first girlfriend. She leaves him to
marry a diplomat who can offer her the luxuries only the
governmental elite enjoys. She wants to continue her liaison with
David, but he refuses.
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As with Water, after watching the film I will divide the
class into six groups. Each group will: (1) Select one of the
following topics (two groups cannot work on the same topic); (2)
Give a class presentation; (3) Write a paper. Each group's class
presentation and paper will be on the group's topic.
To compile its report, all groups will search bibliographic
databases encyclopedias, card catalogs at several libraries,
Research Navigator, the Internet and others. I will not accept
bibliographies listing Internet URLs unless the URLs come from
reliable sources. If you list URLs, they will be a few in a
bibliography where scholarly sources predominate.
As with Water Strawberry and Chocolate's content influenced
my selection of topics.
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THE SIX GROUPS
(1)
CUBAN HISTORY UP TO JANUARY 1, 1959: De-emphasize the
period from Columbus' arrival to the mid nineteenth
century. Describe the groups of Indians that populated
the islands when Columbus arrived. Cacique Hatuey's
story. Spain's motivation for colonizing Cuba. Why were
slaves imported from Africa and cheap labor from China?
Emphasize events from the mid nineteenth century on:
The two wars of independence and the little war (la
guerra chiquita) of 1880. The annexationist movement in
Cuba and in the USA. The Home Rule Party (Partido
Autonomista). The sinking of the U.S.S. Maine. The
Spanish-American War. The American occupation. The
Platt Amendment. The Constitution of 1901. The
occasional insurrections (e.g'l in 1906 1 1912, and
1916). Starting in the 1920s, the rise of nationalism,
anti-yankee imperialism and anti-capitalism. Who was
Gerardo Machado? EI Machadato and the Sergeants' Revolt
leading to the rise of Fulgencio Batista. The
Constitution of 1940. Batista's March 10, 1952 coup
d'etat. Castro's July 26, 1953 Movement and the assault
on the Moncada Barracks. Granma expedition. The March
13, 1957 attack on the Presidential Palace and Radio
Reloj. The events of January 1, 1959. Why did Batista
fall?
GROUP (1) WILL NOT ENGAGE IN BIOGRAPHIES. JUST EXPLAIN
WHAT PEOPLE DID, NOT THE STORIES OF THEIR LIVES.
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(2)
CUBAN HISTORY AFTER JANUARY 1, 1959: The early days of
the Revolutionary government. Agrarian reform. Trials
and executions of Batista's supporters. Literacy
campaign of 1961. Nationalization of private
industries, including American companies. The American
embargo (early measures in the early 1960s, Cuban
Democracy Act of 1992, Helms Burton Act of 1996.
International reactions to the 1992 and 1996 Acts). Bay
of pigs. October Missile Crisis. Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution. President Kennedy's attempts
to assassinate Castro. Repressions of L/G/B/T people
UMAP. Goal to produce ten million-tons of sugar in the
1970 sugar harvest. The Revolution institutionalized.
The Constitution of 1976. Why do historians claim that
by the end of the 1970s the Revolution reached its
zenith? What factors soon after exposed its flaws? The
Mariel Boatlift, why it was so humiliating to the
government. Two key reports on human rights in Cuba:
The 1976 International Commission on Human Rights and
the 1988 United Nations Human Rights Commission. The
collapse of the Soviet Block. The significance of
General Arnaldo Ochoa's execution. The Special Period.
Street unrest in 1994. Dissident movement. The Varela
Project. Cuba's present and future- in general and with
specific attention to race, gender, religion, and
L/G/B/T people.
(3)
KEY PERSONS IN CUBA'S POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY:
Jose Marti, Fulgencio Batista, and Ernesto (Che)
Guevara.
UNLIKE GROUP (I), THIS GROUP WILL ENGAGE IN
BIOGRAPHIES.
I am leaving out many important persons because we do
not have time for all of them.
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(6) CUBAN MUSIC: Because music has been one of Cuba's most
influential contributions, this group will focus on
music. Lacking time to play full songs, play to the
class representative parts of key songs. These songs
will have sounds illustrating points you want to make.
For example, as you explain the African and Spanish
elements of Cuban music, consider playing a song
exhibiting those influences with a South American song
with Indian and Spanish influences ..On the popular
side, discuss bolero, rumba, son, danz6n, zapateo,
conga, mambo, nueva troba, cha cha cha and more recent
styles. Time allowing, include singers as Benny More
(you heard him in the film), Celia Cruz, Gloria Stephan
and others. On the classical side, discuss the two
great Cuban zarzuelas (Gonzalo Roig's Cecilia Valdes
and Ernesto Lecuona's Maria la 0) as musical
masterpieces and as narrators of gender and race
relations. We heard Lecuona's piano in the film, so
consider including it in your presentation.
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ANNOTATED BffiLIOGRAPHY
The following sources helped me prepare this assignment. I
recommend them as starting points but you have to consult others.
Your group paper's bibliography must list peer reviewed sources
not listed below.
Read your group's assignment first, then read this
bibliography to locate those sources relevant to your group's
topic.
Separating fact from propaganda is not easy when learning
about Cuba. Exercise your critical abilities.
PRINTED MEDIA
Almendros, Nestor and Orlando Jimenez Leal. Conducta Impropia.
Madrid: Editorial Playor, 1984. See VES version of this book in
AUDIOVISUALS, titled Improper Conduct: Castro's Cuba. This book
contains the VES' sound track in printed form. Book and video
narrate Castro's repression of L/G/B/T people during the
Revolution's early years.
Arenas, Reinaldo. Antes que anochezca. Barcelona: Tusquets, 1992.
Translated to English by Dolores M. Koch. Before Night Falls.
Viking, 1993. See the DVD version of this book in AUDIOVISUALS.
The book and the DVD contain Arenas' autobiography. A famous gay
Cuban writer, the Revolution persecuted and imprisoned him.
Argote Frere, Frank. Fulgencio Batista: From Revolutionary to
Strong Man. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2006.
Written by a Kean professor, this is probably the best Batista
biography. Chapter 4 (Machadato) and Chapter 5 (Sergeants'
Revolt) explain Batista's rise to power. Other chapters outline
his early years and explain how in public life Batista dealt with
his race and humble origins.
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Arguelles, Lourdes and B. Ruby Rich. "Homosexuality, Homophobia
and Revolution: Notes Toward an Understanding of the Cuban
Lesbian and Gay Male Experience, Part 1." Signs: Journal of Women
in Culture and Society 9.1 (1984): 683 699. The August 1985 issue
of this journal (volume 11.1) published Part II on pages 120 136.
Part I discusses L/G/B/T Cuba before and after the Revolutionj
Part II describes L/G/B/T exiles in Miami. Both chronicles stop
in the early 1980s. Read Part I with Hodge, Young and Lumsden's
Chapter 2.
Ayorinde, Christine. Afro-Cuban Religiosity, Revolution, and
National Identity. Gainesville: University of Florida Press,
2004. An analysis of Afro-Cuban religions from colonial times to
the present. Chapter 1 argues the importation of slaves from
different parts of Africa explains the diversity of Afro-Cuban
religions. Spiritism, very popular in the island, is not of
African origin. Chapters 4 and 5 survey the relation between the
Revolution and Afro-Cuban religions. Chapter 4 lists the
categories of persons sent to the UMAP camps, which included gay
men and religious people. Read with Benitez-Rojo, Cros Sandoval,
Helg, Michelle Gonzalez, and Sawyer. Also read with parts of
Lumsden's Chapter 2 and Appendix A, also in his book.
Benitez-Rojo, Antonio. "Creolization in Havana: The Oldest Form
of Globalization." Translated by James Maraniss. Contemporary
Caribbean Culture and Society in a Global Context. Ed. Franklin
W, Knight and Teresita Martinez-Verne. Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina Press, 2005. Chapter 4. Similar to Aline Helg's
article in the same volume but focused on Havana. Read with
Ayorinde, Cros Sandoval, Helg, Michelle Gonzalez and Sawyer.
Bourne, Peter. Fidel: A Biography. Dodd, Mead, 1986. Because
Castro's life cannot be understood apart from Cuba's struggle for
independence and nationhood, this biography opens with a chapter
on Cuban history. Well written book. Bourne's psychiatric
training surfaces when he explains events in Castro's life. Read
with Quirk and Szulc's.
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Bunck, Julie. Fidel Castro and the Quest for a Revolu onary
Culture in Cuba. University Park: The pennsylvania State
University Press, 1994. The author's assessments of the successes
and failures of the Revolution in gender equality, shaping young
people's minds, and sports as a political tool. Read her comments
on gender equality with Lumsden's Chapters 1 (pp. 20 ff.), 6, and
9.
Castro, Fidel. My Early Years. Ed. Deborah Shnookal and Pedro
Alvarez-Tabio. Melbourne: Ocean Press, 19.98. Castro reflects on
his life from childhood to the Moncada assault.
and Frei Betto. Fidel Castro y la Religi6n: Conversaci6n can
Frei Betta. Buenos Aires: Editorial Legasa, 1986. Devoted to
Castro's views about religion.
Cros Sandoval, Mercedes. Worldviews, the Orichas and Santeria:
Africa to Cuba and Beyond. Gainesville: University Press of
Florida, 2006. An examination of santeria, an Afro-Cuban
religion. Read with Mitchell, Ayorinde, Benitez-Rojo, Helg,
Sawyer and parts of Lumsden's Chapter 2.
Dewart, Leslie. Christianity and Revolution: The Lesson of Cuba.
New York: Herder and Herder, 1963. Also published with the title
Cuba, Church and Crisis: Christianity and Politics in the Cuban
Revolution. London, 1964. You must use the first title to find
which library has it. Examines how the Catholic Church dealt with
the emerging communist government in the early 1960s. Too
detailed for your assignments.
Gonzalez, Edward and Kevin F. McCarthy. Cuba After Castro:
Legacies, Challenges, and Impediments. Santa'Monica: Rand
Corporation, 2004. Based on an analysis of conditions today,
predicts Cuba's future after Castro. Available at
http://www.rand.org. Read with Helg and Sawyer. Also with
Lumsden's Chapters 1 and 9 and his Appendix C.
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Gonzalez l Michelle. Afro Cuban Theology: Religion, Race, Culture,
and Identity. Gainesville: University Press of Florida 2006. An
l
explanation of how African beliefs and Roman Catholicism mix in
Cuba. Chapter 5 explains the history of La Virgen de la Caridad
del Cobre l began in the seventeenth century as a local devotion
among slaves. After her trajectory through the wars of
independence in 1916 Pope Benedict XV proclaimed her Cuba's
patron saint. The virgin is related to Ohunl a Nigerian goddess.
You see this virgin several times in Strawberry and Chocolate.
Other chapters deal with Yemaya (Virgen de RegIa)
Chang6 (Saint
Barbara)
Bablu Aye sometimes spelled Babalu Aye (Saint Lazarus),
and Orunmia (Saint Francis of Assisi) .,Read with other sources
about Cuban religions.
I
I
I
Guillot Carvahal, Mario. "Fresa y Chocolate: Una pelicula
racista? Revista Hispano Cubana 9 (2001): 195-198. Issues of race
in Cuba emerge as Guillot explains why she thinks the film is
racist.
Helg, Aline. "Race and Politics in Cuba. II Contemporary Caribbean
Cultures and Societies in a Global Context, Ed. Franklin W.
Knight and Teresita Martinez-Vergne. Chapel Hill: The University
of North Carolina Press, 2005. Chapter 9. A review of race
relations in Cuba from colonial times to the mid 1990s. See
Benitez-Rojo, Ayorinde Cros-Sandoval, and Sawyer.
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Henken, Ted. "From Son to Salsa: The Roots and Fruits of Cuban
Music. II Latin American Research Review 41.3 (2006): 185-200. A
review of several books about Cuban music. The information in
this article, in the books it reviews and the data the group on
Cuban music can find eliminates the need to add to this
bibliography more sources about this topic. '
Hodge
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G. Derrick. "Sex Workers in Havana: The Lure of Things."
NACLA Report on the Americas 38.4 (2005): 12-15. Sex tourism and
prostitution in today's Cuba. The contrast between pingueros
(male prostitutes) and jineteras (female prostitutes) on the one
hand and penetrating man and penetrated man on the other exposes
the social construction of gender and sexuality. The emergence
during the Special Period of an ideology of individualism and
consumption. Read with Arguelles, Part I and with Young. See
Wonders et. al. Also Lumsden's Chapter 2.
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-- . "Colonization of the Cuban Body: The Growth of Male Sex
Prostitution in Havana. II NACLA Report on the Americas 34.5
(2001): 1 12. This article paved the way for the one by the same
author cited above. Hodge argues that pingueros transformed the
old concepts of bugarr6n and maric6n (penetrator and penetrated)
adjusting them to the emerging capitalist economy. Pingueros are
more acceptable than female prostitutes because pingueros
"represent the strength of the powerful Cuban phallus conquering
the bodies of foreigners." Read with Wonders et. al.
Leiner r Marvin. Sexual Politics in Cuba: Machismo r Homosexuality
and AIDS. Boulder: Westview Press r 1994. The wealth of detail and
abundant references make Chapter 2 encyclopedic. Excellent to
understand the Cuban and Latin American concept of what makes a
man heterosexual or homosexual. Women's lesser status in those
societies is related to this concept and the penetratorpenetrated distinction. Their status explains why those societies
pay little attention to lesbians. Substantial discussion of the
UMAP camps and the Yellow Brigades. Factors that led to more
acceptance starting in the 1980s. Read with Lumsden's Chapters 2
and 6.
Leonard, Thomas M. Encyclopedia of Cuban-United States Relations.
Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2004. Introduction provides an
overview of the history of relations between the two countries.
Though shortr the articles cover every person and event relevant
to the topic.
Lumsden, Ian. Machos, Maricones, and Gays: Cuba and
Homosexuality. Philadelphia: Temple University Press r 1996. A
Canadian examines the Revolution's treatment of gay men with
emphasis on Cuban culture, including gender r ' racism r and
religion. Chapter 1 and 9 are excellent discussions of Cuba from
the 1980s to the mid 1990s. Chapter 2 examines machismo and
homophobia before the Revolution (read with Arguelles et. el.
Part I). Chapter 6 explains the erosion of machismo. Chapter 2
also discusses Afro-Cuban culture with a brief history of the
Catholic Church in Cuba. Appendix A discusses the relation
between Cuban sexual values and African religions. Read Chapter 2
with Thomas' Chapter XCII. Read book with Bunck.
18
Maher, Michael, liThe Lost Sheep: Experiences of Religious Gay Men
in Havana, Cuba." Journal of Religion and Society 9 (2007): 1-15.
Diego in Strawberry and Chocolate is gay and religious, so this
paper is very relevant. Maher interviewed ten religious gay men
in Cuba. Santeria seems to be the religion most accepting of
gays. Unlike their counterparts in other countries, the ten men
lacked supporting communities, so personal reflection and prayer
were their only means of reconciling religion and sexuality.
Despite a present easing, the Revolution has suppressed both
religion and homosexuality. Read with other entries about
religions in Cuba.
Martinez Fernandez et. al., Eds. Encyclopedia of Cuba: People,
History, Culture. (Westport Greenwood Press, 2003). 2 vols. A
comprehensive source.
Mitchell, Mozella, G. Crucial Issues in Caribbean Religions. New
York: Peter Lang, 2006. Chapter 4 compares Cuban santeria with
similar practices in Haiti, Brazil, and Trinidad. Table 1 in that
chapter charts the Afro-Cuban and Afro-Haitian deities and their
corresponding Catholic saints. According to Mitchell, the Yoruba
belief system absorbed and syncretized Catholic beliefs
contributing to the creation of Afro Latin American religions.
Chapter 7 examines santeria in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The book
also discusses Espiritismo and La Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady of
Cobre). Read with Cros Sandoval, Michelle Gonzalez and other
sources about Afro Cuban religions.
Noa, Nelson. UMAP: Cuatro letras y un motivo, destruirnos. Miami:
Senda Publishing, 1993. Written by a detainee at a UMAP camp this
book is cited often; however, per http://www.worldcat.org, The
University of Miami is the only library in the United States
holding it.
Ocasio, Rafael. "Gays and the Cuban Revolution: The Case of
Reinaldo Arenas." Latin American Perspectives 29.2 (2002): 78-98.
Contains a lot of information about the repression of gays. It
supplements others sources in this bibliography dealing with this
topic.
19
Olson, James S. and Judith E. Olson. Cuban Americans: From Trauma
to Triumph. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1995. Though focused on
Cuban Americans, chapters one and three have excellent summaries
of Cuban history and culture. The historical reviews emphasize
how class and race influenced events. Read Perez, Thomas, and
Sawyer.
Perez, Jr. Louis, A. Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2006. An excellent source now in
its third edition, this book is a history. of Cuba from
precolonial times to the mid 1990s, including the Special Period.
It ends with one of the most extensive-bibliographies anywhere.
Chapter 4's closing pages and Chapter 5's first half explain why
some Cubans' desire to maintain the slave plantation economy in
the nineteenth century led them to seek annexation to the United
States. Read these chapters with Thomas's Chapter VII. Chapter 9
outlines the rise of nationalism in the 1920s. Scattered
throughout the book you will find references to Partido
Independiente de Color and the Afro-Cuban revolt of 1912. A
complement to Thomas's.
Perez Sarduy, Pedro and Jean Stubbs. Afro-Cuban Voices: On Race
and Identity in Contemporary Cuba. Gainesville: University Press
of Florida, 2000. At least thirteen authors contributed to this
thorough anthology. Read with Ayorinde, Benitez-Rojo, Cros
Sandoval, Helg, and Sawyer.
Quirk, Robert E. Fidel Castro. New York: W.W. Norton and Company,
1993. Another biography. Read with Bourne and Szulc.
Quiroga, Jose. "Homosexualities in the Tropic of Revolution." Sex
and Sexuality in Latin America, Ed. Daniel Balderston and Donna
J. Guy, New York: New York University Press, 1997. 133-151. A
discussion of Strawberry and Chocolate in the context of Cuban
culture and history. Difficult to read.
20
Sawyer, Mark. Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Examines race
relations in Cuba since the Revolution. The Revolution has not
been racist but it has not eliminated racial inequality, which
increased during the Special Period. Black Cubans have benefitted
from access to education and health care. The exile community's
equation of the struggle for racial justice with communism is out
of touch with present Cuba. Read with Ayorinde, Benitez Rojo,
Cros-Sandoval, Helg, Edward Gonzalez et. al., and Olson.
Smith, Louis, M. and Alfred Padula. Sex and Revolution: Women in
Socialist Cuba. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. With
litt
emphasis on class and race, this book surveys the
Revolution's impact on women's education, employment, family and
sexuality. A lot has happened since the Soviet Union's collapse
transformed Cuba. Mindful of its age, you can consult it
profitably if supplemented with a source dealing with women
during the Special Period.
Szulc, Tad. Fidel: A Critical Portrait. New York: William Morrow
and Company, 1986. A wealth of biographical information about the
Cuban leader and secondarily about Cuba's history up to the mid
1980s. Read with Bourne and Quirk.
Simo, Maria and Reinaldo Garcia Ramos. "Hablemos Claro." Mariel,
Revista de Literatura y Arte 2.5 (1984): 9-10. L/G/B/T Cuban
exiles reply to Arguelles et. al. It is difficult to find this
article.
Staff Report. "A Barrier for Cuba's Blacks." Miami Herald. June
20, 2007. One of a series of articles on race relations in the
Caribbean, this article is focused on Afro Cuban.
21
Thomas, Hugh. Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. New York: Harper and
Row, 1971. Many regard this encyclopedic volume as one of the
best histories of Cuba published in English. Chapter XCII
chronicles the history of the Catholic Church in Cuba, with
emphasis on its relation to Batista's second presidency. Read
with Lumsden's Chapter 2. Chapter LXXV describes the March 13,
1957 attack on the Presidential Palace and Radio Reloj. Chapter
XVII describes the annexationist movement and the origins of the
Cuban flag. Read with Perez's Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter XIV deals
with slavery and the importation of Chinese labor. Read with
Perez.
Turton, Peter. Jose Marti: Architect of Cuba's Freedom. London:
Zed Books Ltd., 1986. Written by a British scholar, a book
exclusively focused on Marti.
Wonders, Nancy and Raymond Michalowski. IlBodies, Borders and Sex
Tourism: A Tale of Two Cities -Amsterdam and Havana. Social
Problems 48.4 (2001): 545 571. Worth reading with Hodge. Wonders
et. al. focus on female prostitution. As Hodge, they view
economic globalization as the cause. Briefly explains how race
plays a role in sex tourism to Cuba.
l
Young, Allen. Gays Under the Cuban Revolution. San Francisco:
Grey Fox Press, 1981. A gay American at first sympathetic to the
Revolution, Young changed his mind when he visited Cuba. The
repression of L/G/B/T people and other factors led his
transformation. He explains Cuban homophobia and why the Left did
not speak against Castro's abuses. Briefly explains machismo,
local and maric6n. Read with Arguelles et. al., Hodge, and
Lumsden's Chapter 6.
22
AUDIOVISUALS
All in English or with English titles
Before Night Falls. Dir. Julian Schnabel. Fine Line Features,
2000. DVD. See Arenas' book in PRINTED MEDIA.
Fidel Castro. Dir. Adriana Bosch. PBS Home Video - The American
Experience, 2005. VHS. Biography of the Cuban leader.
Improper Conduct: Castro's Cuba. Dir. Nestor Almendros. Films for
the Humanities and Sciences, 1996. VHS. See book by Almendros et.
al. in PRINTED MEDIA.
Gay Cuba. Dir. Sonja de Vries. Frameline, 1995. VHS. Shows
L/G/B/T people marching in the streets with the gay flag and
same-sex couples in public openly expressing their mutual
affection. The homophobic horrors of the 1960s and 1970s no
longer exist but de Vries's report seems too rosy to be true.
Looking for a Space: Lesbians and Gay Men in Cuba. Dir. Kelly
Anderson. Filmakers Library, 1993. VHS. Watching Almendros'
Improper Conduct led Anderson to question her support of the
Revolution. She goes to Cuba to investigate.
Portrait of the Caribbean. Dir. Roger Mills. Ambrose Video
Publishing, 1992. Program Six: Following Fidel. 1992. VHS.
Following Fidel is the report about Cuba in this series of
documentaries about Caribbean nations. Balanced and objective.
The Cubans. Dir. lain Bruce and Ross Keith. Films for the
Humanities and Social Sciences. 1991. VHS. Similar to the
previous documentary.
23
WEB SOURCES
As with all websites/ use them cautiously.
I cannot assure you they are reliable.
Some are overtly political/ others conceal their agendas.
(1) http://www.msu.edu/-colmeiro/alea.html
Cineaste (1995)/ a magazine/ interviews Strawberry and
Chocolate Director Tomas Gutierrez Alea. A valuable
interview in English.
(2) http://afrocubaweb.com
Many links to information about Afro-Cubans and Afro-Cuban
culture
(3) http://www.angelfire.com/planet/islas/index/html
Quarterly Journal of Afro-Cuban Issues
(4) http://www.cucad.org
Center for the Understanding of Cubans of African Descent
(5) http://www.cubaupdate.org
New York City-based Center for Cuban Studies
(6) http://www6.miami.edu/iccas/
Institute for Cuban and Cuba-American Studies
(7) http://www.cubagob.cu/
Official site of the Cuban government
(8) http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/
Granma newspaper site. Granma is Cuba's' Communist Party
newspaper
(9) http://wwwl.lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/granma/index.html
Granma archives index
(10) http://www.cubasi.cu/
Wide coverage/ with sound and video. Cuban government runs
the site
24
(11) http://www.historyofcuba.com
Lots of brief data about Cuba's history
(12) http://www.radioreloj.cu
Website of the radio station university students took over
March 13, 1957. It has a link with the sound track of that
historic broadcast.
CONCLUDING REMARK
In this assignment I use "L/G/B/T" (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender), "Afro-Cuba" and "Afro Cuban." These terms are
common in the United States, not necessarily in Cuba. Cubans use
"gay" and "lesbiana" but these words for them do not evoke the
identity and political consciousness of their American
counterparts. Likewise, Black Cubans refer to themselves as
"negros," which we might translate as IlNegroes," a word no longer
used in the United States. Mixed-race Cubans use Ilmulatos" to
refer to themselves.
Though mindful of these shortcomings in my usage, I wrote
this assignment to American college students taking a course
where we cannot study these complexities.