Description
Book SynopsisIn essays addressing topics ranging from cinema, feminism, and art to hip hop, urban slums, and digital technology, Sujatha Fernandes explores the multitudinous ways ordinary Cubans have sought to hustle, survive, and create expressive cultures in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse.
Trade Review“A fascinating dossier about the challenges and preoccupations of post-Soviet Cuba. From negotiating the fallout from a globalizing economy to new movements in the visual arts, music, film, feminism, and racial consciousness, Sujatha Fernandes brings readers up to date on the inventive, evolving hustle that is Cuba's survival.” -- Cristina García, author of * Here in Berlin: A Novel *
“In a complex and nuanced way, Sujatha Fernandes describes Cuba's most recent two decades, focusing on subjects that have not been written about in this much detail. She contributes to a new understanding of present-day Cuba—and its many fascinating idiosyncrasies, tensions, and creative solutions to complicated problems—in an engaging and politically sophisticated style that general readers will enjoy.” -- Margaret Randall, author of * I Never Left Home: Poet, Feminist, Revolutionary *
“For any reader who is curious about the embodiment of Cuban life over the past two decades, Fernandes skillfully provides lucid accounts of ordinary Cubans, who, through pure resourcefulness and innovation, and in times of chaos, work relentlessly to find strategies for survival, in ways that are meaningful and artistically expressive….
The Cuban Hustle provides a necessary contribution to the Cuban diaspora literature; the accounts are timely, and deliver a contemporary understanding of Cuba, and the hardships faced by so many since the collapse of the Soviet Union.” -- Mauricia John * Ethnic and Racial Studies *
"The greatest value of the text is in revealing the complexity of Cuban culture and the creativity of Cubans in challenging the outdated stereotypes that may persist in a communist nation. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty." -- J. A. Baer * Choice *
“In
The Cuban Hustle, Sujatha Fernandes explores Cuban creativity in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union.... The essays pay particularly close attention to issues of race, gender, and sexuality, which are examined through the lens of Cuba’s vibrant and incredibly diverse artistic terrain.” -- Rubrick Biegon * Latin American Politics and Society *
“
The Cuban Hustle is a fascinating take on the evolution of Cuban art, culture, and everyday life which spans more than 20 years.... The book is enjoyable and accessible for readers of different ages and educational backgrounds.” -- Esther Hernández-Medina * Social Forces *
“The originality and pertinence of [
The Cuban Hustle] lies precisely in the fact that the reader is led to examine lesser-studied topics, social and cultural actors, often on a microlevel. . . . We can also appreciate the author’s balanced approach, which invites us to ‘understand Cuba on its own terms.’” -- Catia Dignard * Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies *
“Fernandes’s ethnographic descriptions are enthralling and provide readers with a true sense of what it is like to begin to see Cuba as Cubans see it. . . .
The Cuban Hustle provides an insightful overview of post-Soviet Cuban life.” -- William Kelly * New West Indian Guide *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Part I. Cultures of the Special Period
1. Revolution and Rumba: Cuba in the Special Period 9
2. Alice in Wondertown: Interview with Filmmaker Daniel Díaz Torres 15
3. Magín: Feminist Organizing in Cuba 22
4. Vitality in Precarious Conditions: Conversation with Artist/Art Critic Tonel 32
5. Public Art and Art Collectives in Havana 44
6. New Cuban Cinema: Race and Sexuality 53
7. The Capital of Rap: Hip Hop Culture in Alamar 62
8. Cultural
Cimarronaje: Afro-Cuban Visual Arts 71
9. Elio Rodríguez: Of Joint Ventures and Sexual Adventures 77
Part II. Normalization: Netflix Meets the Weekly Packet
10. Cuban Rap: Where the Streets Meet Highbrow Art 87
11. Why USAID Could Never Spark a Hip Hop Revolution in Cuba 90
12. Stories that Resonate: New Cultures of Documentary Filmmaking in Cuba (With Alexandra Hakin) 94
13. What Do Cubans Think of Normalization with the United States? 100
14. The Repeating Barrio 104
15. In Cuba, Will the Revolution Be Digitized? 111
16. Afro-Cuban Activists Fight Racism between Two Fires 120
17. Black Diasporic Dialogues in Post-Soviet Cuba 129
18. The Many Shades of Fidel Castro 133
Part III. Cuban Futures and the Trump Era
19. The Cold War Politics of Donald Trump 139
20. Hairdressers of the World, Unite! (You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Locks . . . and a Community to Win) 143
21. How Socially Engaged Activism Is Transforming Cuba 152
22. A Ship Adrift: Cuba after the Pink Tide 162
Epilogue 167
