Fr. 52.50

Cuba Before Castro - A Century of Family Memoirs

English · Paperback / Softback

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Description

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Although much has been written about Cuba after Castro, relatively little has been written about Cuba before Castro. The political reality of Castro's Revolution has created a historical void about this period, paying insufficient attention to an important century before 1959. Cuba has become a political punching bag, between supporters and critics of Castro and the Revolution, making it difficult to understand real life in Cuba because of the disproportionate preoccupation with, and monopoly of, the political reality on the island. In spite of some attempts, it continues to be easier and perceived as more pressing, to write about politics rather than the reality that Cubans experienced in their daily lives- their sufferings and celebrations, successes and failures, lives and deaths, and beliefs and disbeliefs. Going for and against the avalanche of information about the political authenticity in and out of Cuba, most Cubans have tended to forget that Cuba is much larger than the perceived reality after Castro's Revolution. Too many have failed to remember the Cubans who have lived and worked in Cuba in the century before an important period of Cuban history where the nation was forged. Indeed, even limited attention reveals a rich and sophisticated society that calls for study.

In this book Jorge J.E. Gracia approaches this situation by telling true stories about some members of his family (Doctor Ignacio Gracia, Maruca Otero, the Marques de Arguelles, and many others) who lived during a culturally rich century before Castro. He hopes to entice historians, academics, tourists and others, to pursue a balanced exploration of the island by telling part of their stories. This enterprise is neither history nor fiction, but memories written by a Cuban who left Cuba when he was eighteen years old and has become a distinguished philosopher in the United States.

List of contents










Preface

1. Names and Identity. What's in a Name?

2. "Je Suis Française!"

3. Escaping Mexican Wrath

4. The Jesuits Stole My Inheritance

5. Poetry, Spirits, and Flair

6. Treasure Trove for Christmas

7. Promising Future Comes to Naught

8. Una Señora Muy Aseñorada

9. Unexpected Success

10. The Storyteller

11. Bedroom Suite for a Pompadour

12. "¡España Es Nuestra Madre Patria!"

13. Better Marry Than Burn

14. The Marquis' Mistress

15. Ruined by a Hurricane and Resentment Against Spaniards

16. Tears from a "Bileless Dove"

17. Murdered by the Guardia Civil

18. La Dolorosa's Miracle

19. Promising Beginning and Sad End

20. Is Having to Work Punishment for Sin?

21. Broken Promise

22. A Twenty-Five Year Engagement

23. Romance on a Scale

24. "Te Voy a Capar"

25. A Gentleman Farmer at Heart

26. Running Away from Home

27. A Boy's Best Friends

28. A Bad Dream Comes True

29. Rebel with a Cause

30. A Philosophy of Underwear

31. End of Paradise

32. The Bully

33. First Holy Communion

34. Summers at the Beach

35. Yearly Audit and Crocodile Tears

36. Lean Years

37. Written in the Stars

38. A Night to Forget

39. The Refuge of Faith

40. The Consolation of Giving

41. An Interim Abode

42. Long Journey Into Darkness

43. Bicycles Are For Boys

44. Nena's Insistent Gay Suitor

45. Looking for Domestic Help

46. María "Picadillo"

47. "¡Yo soy muy macho!"

48. Teenager in Havana

49. The Club

50. Another Call

51. The Cursed Plantation

52. Sugar and Slavery

53. "El Marañon Aprieta la Boca"

54. "I Believe in God"

55. Building Up the Spirit

56. First Cracks of the Faith

57. Brother Balloon

58. "¿Y Tu Abuela, Dónde Está?"

59. "Mens Sana in Corpore Sano"

60. "De Eso No Se Habla"

61. Two Years of Terror

62. A Beach House at Last

63. Love and Prejudice

64. Quest for Freedom

65. School for Toy Soldiers

66. A Teacher Who Could Not Teach

67. "I've Got Wheels!"

68. Playground of the Caribbean

69. Chaperones

70. Puppy Love

71. Graduation and a Prom of Sorts

72. Starved for Culture

73. Recreating the Garden of Eden

74. From Hope to Despair

75. The University of Havana

76. Alea Iacta Est

77. The Bay of Pigs and a Police State

Acknowledgments

About the Author


About the author










Jorge J. E. Gracia is distinguished professor of philosophy and comparative literature at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

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